Rural is plural
byWe were in danger of becoming a caricature. When a parent stood up at a local school board meeting and expressed her dismay at…
The Ungovernable
by Rebecca WolffOne thing I’m not doing in my poems: reporting on anything that really happened. When I say I’m from New York, Glaswegians say, “Oh,…
Grounds for hope
by the daily asteriskThe grounds for hope are simply that we don’t know what will happen next, and that the unlikely and unimaginable transpire quite regularly. And…
Housing for all
by Lindsy WallaceI slept through ninth grade U.S. History. The following year, my sophomore government class was a joke. Our teacher was regularly out sick and…
Good governance
by the daily asteriskGood governance never depends upon laws, but upon the personal qualities of those who govern. The machinery of government is always subordinate to the…
Meet the government: Carol Higgins
by Deborah HaakEditor’s Note: For the “Local Government” issue of Topology, we interviewed individuals who have been involved in local government in and around Three Rivers,…
Deceived and oppressed
by the daily asteriskThe interest of {merchants and master manufacturers} … is always in some respects different from, and even opposite to, that of the public. To widen the…
The King is dead; long live the King
by Amy Carpenter-LeugsEditor’s note: Each Thursday, we feature a throwback piece from Topology’s predecessor, catapult magazine. In this essay from 2011, Amy Carpenter-Leugs considers what we desire in…
When these things can be said
by the daily asteriskWhen it shall be said by any country in the world, my poor are happy; neither ignorance nor distress is to be found among them;…
Re-imagining rural politics
by Kirstin Vander Giessen-ReitsmaTo establish rural strongholds, progressives must stop stereotyping rural, working-class people as White, reactionary hillbillies who automatically swing Right. History reveals a much more complex truth….