When I saw the notification last week that my issue of Paper Airplane, Vol. 3 was on its way to me, I realized I hadn’t looked through Vol. 2 yet. Ah, me! This oversight has more to do with the deluge of other demands on my time than it does my lack of desire to read the magazine itself. That’s right! This time, there is a physical edition to accompany the PDF version. There’s also a subscription service now, and you’d better believe I signed up for it right away. As I await the next quarterly installment of this periodical, let’s take a look at what makes its first printed edition such a joy.
The cover illustration by Kaitlyn Brito depicts a person (the artist?) at a cafe table, sketching their view. We see that view from the artist’s perspective, complete with sketchbook and writing implements, croissant and kerchief, and cup and saucer. They are sketching a rough draft of what we would see if we were in their seat. If you look closely, there is a picture-within-a-picture element to the sketch. What’s more, we can see the artist’s reflection in the mirror across the cafe with the same accoutrements on the table as they are in her (our) view. It’s a trip.
The contents of the issue are no less impressive. The editor’s note calls out the back cover as a consumable set of four postcards that are meant to be sent to friends just because. It’s a gentle invitation into the rest of the issue. Norlen asks us to “enjoy it with abandon,” which felt more pleasant than most imperative sentences should.
In between the cover pages, I delighted in reading Sasha Nyary’s stories of fact-checking for Sports Illustrated and Life magazines in the time before the Internet. The stories are concise and demonstrate the cleverness and dedication it took to make sure facts were correct when only a few people in the world may have been able to make that determination. Well, that’s still true, but it is easier to get in touch with potential more knowledgeable others these days. Reading it made me appreciate how many hands a page has to go through before publication in major magazines. One gets the sense that Paper Airplane goes through a similarly robust editorial, design, and art revision process as well.
A major feature in this issue is Jonny Teklit’s interview with Hanif Abdurraqib about his collection of vintage music shirts. I’ve read some of his books and essays, but I hadn’t heard of this passion of his before. I am also someone who has “a drawer full of band tees, like DIY band tees, and half the bands didn’t exist anymore,” so this part of the issue was right up my alley. I have much more anxiety around wearing and washing and caretaking my shirts. They are fine in their drawer. Who knows whether the next wash will be the last wash? It’s too much for me to think about. That’s why it’s refreshing to hear from someone who knows the shirts “aren’t meant to stay pristine forever. And to wear them out, eagerly, joyfully, is to—at least for me—form a relationship with the mortality of the item, so that I don’t think about any of it as too precious.” Maybe someday I’ll finally relax. Interviews such as this one might get me there.
The set of four brief comics toward the middle of the issue are varied in their style and content but consistent in depicting small moments that connect us to family, ourselves, our animals, and each other. They’re on consecutive pages because they are the comic section of the issue, but they also seem to be addressing the same motifs from different angles. Each is lovely in its own way.
Also lovely are the word nerd and puzzle pages that follow. I can’t bring myself to write in the actual magazine, so I’ll be printing the word spiral, escape page, and crossword pages myself. (I promise, I will get over my hang-up of not wanting to leave blemishes on the things I love.) Sadly, because I came to this issue too late, I have no current use for the Field Guide to Simple Pleasures: Winter section. In a couple months, I’ll pull this out again and enjoy checking off the list. Even though this is a periodical, I’m going to hold onto it for the long term because it’s just that much fun. Get yourself subscribed here.
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