A Paper Trail to Forever

Dispatches from the slips slips launch event and news about Issue #2!

Before I went up to deliver my opening speech at last Saturday’s slips slips launch event at the storied Dixon Place in Manhattan, several of our contributors came up to me separately and said, “I have an idea…” They pointed out that it’s not every day you can get an image of dozens of people reading the exact same publication, and that it would make a memorable image to have all of them hold it up at once. Well, the lighting was pretty weird from the stage, and I’m not an especially talented photographer, but you do have to admit the image is a fun one.

Fortunately, for those of you have signed up to follow our fledgling publication through this newsletter (thank you!), there are even more effective ways to enjoy the event vicariously.

The first is this wonderful video of the full presentation, featuring readings from 15 of the contributors we were fortunate enough to host in person. Our friend and colleague Bryan Enk of Third Lows Productions did a great job of the event:

Secondly, I urge you to read this remarkable blog post by one of our contributors and readers at the event, the estimable AND inestimable Trav S.D. He does a beautiful job of placing the publication in a cultural context, and his post features more photos from the event.

Finally, you can read a transcript of my own opening speech below, which builds on some of the previous writing in this newsletter to talk a bit more about WHY we decided to embark upon this project in the first place.

BUT BEFORE YOU DO, there are two important things you should now.

First, if you haven’t done so already, please request your own copy of slips slips. You can either fill out this form on our website or write a note to slipsslipsslipsslips@gmail.com with your name and address, and we’ll mail it to you as quickly as possible. slips slips will never appear in its entirety online, so print is your only chance to experience the unique contributions of all 50 writers and artists that make up the first iteration of our community on paper! (And if you want a full stack to distribute in your locality, that’s great too - we have LOTS.)

Second, Kristen and Hope and I are excited to announce that submissions for slips slips #2 are officially open! Here’s what you need to know:

FORMAT: Our plan is continue publishing slips slips as a broadsheet newspaper that we’ll offer for free to anyone who wants it.

THEME: The theme for Issue #2 will be “Dialogues.” In other words, points with counterpoints, exchanges of text and image, voices that connect or conflict. Collaborations. Responses. Salvos. Read more below to find out what that could mean, but rest assured we intend it to be interpreted in pretty much any way you can imagine interpreting it.

FOR WRITERS: Please send a submission of no more than 500 words, in any genre, style, or format you prefer.

FOR VISUAL ARTISTS: Please send 1-5 small, black and white images that would reproduce well on newsprint (e.g., not too much delicate detail). These can be either a serial/sequence or stand-alone images - in the case of the latter, we might pepper them throughout the publication rather than running them together, unless you specify otherwise. If you’re not sure what might work, pitch us some ideas, and we’ll talk!

DEADLINE: Please send us your contribution via email at slipsslipsslipsslips@gmail.com no later than Sunday, August 31. We will contact you if we have any concerns or to confirm that your contribution will be included in our premiere issue.

And now, if you haven’t read enough words yet, here is my speech.

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Hey everybody! Thank you for being here tonight. At least a quorum of you knows that I’m Jeff Lewoncyk, one of the editors of slips slips, along with my incredible partners Hope Cartelli, who also happens to be my wife, and Kristen Leigh, who has been a dear friend for two-thirds of my life. Speaking for our full editorial trio, I’m stunned by this turnout and the excitement behind this first issue.

The main event tonight is a series of readings from some of our stellar contributors, so I’m not gonna give you the whole history of how we got here. You can read about the origins and antecedents of slips slips in our new online newsletter called blips blips. Or if you let me corner you over a drink later, you’ll learn more than you ever wanted to know.

What I would like to do is spend a few minutes trying to explain why, in God’s American Year of 2025, anyone would do something as insane as launching a free print publication devoted to art and literature.

In answer, I’d like to invoke the wretchedly underused word: “foolhardy.” It’s a shame this word has fallen out of fashion, because there’s nothing else quite like it. The “foolish” part is obvious, of course, but by pairing it with “hardy,” it evokes a sense of boldness and adventure. “Foolhardy” implies that we’re idiots, but we’re REALLY committed to it. And that’s the spirit with which we began this project, just about exactly a year ago.

There are so many other foolhardy things we could have done - like founding a tech startup, or running for political office, or attempting to exercise regularly. Why did we choose to create slips slips, of all things?

To my mind, there are three reasons, which kind of join up together into one powerful, motivational blob.

First, and perhaps most obvious, is that we love print, that notoriously dead medium that still surrounds us each and every day.

Anyone who’s been to Hope’s and my apartment has seen the fruits of this obsession firsthand. We own a frankly problematic amount of books, magazines, comics, prints, ephemera, et cetera. Whether a printed publication prioritizes imagery or the written word, it is both visual and tactile in a way that can be grounding, relaxing, and stimulating all at once. It also allows you to connect with people over time and space in unpredictable and inspiring ways.

I read a great Neil Postman quote earlier today: “Printing links the present with forever.” In this era of AI slop, disposable content, and algorithmic oppression, that sounds like a pretty noble intention.

The second reason stems from the years Hope and I devoted to theater, the most ephemeral of art forms. Making theater gave us purpose and community for nearly two decades, and many of the people here tonight were a part of that. Our very first production in NYC in 1999 took place in the original location of Dixon Place, and several of you saw it. 10 years later, we produced a major show in this building, written by Trav S.D. and featuring Maggie Cino, both of whom you’ll be hearing from tonight. But after hundreds of performances, and parenthood, and the daily grind of making a living in New York, we burnt out and walked away.

I’ll admit that it left a hole in my heart I’ve never quite been able to fill. I’ve done a lot of writing and drawing since then, but those are ultimately lonely pastimes. I’ve missed the ability to come together and collaborate with others on something bigger than the sum of its parts. Ultimately, I don’t work solo - I want to be a facilitator and a contributor.

I tried and failed multiple times to reproduce this sense of connection online - some people have made that approach work, but our digital overlords have ensured that it’s increasingly overwhelming and alienating. So it slowly dawned on me that a print publication could be a way to combine that hunger for creative company with my love of the concrete - a way to work with a wide range of people who aren’t confined to a specific time or place. I think of slips slips as a “community on paper,” and as you read the first issue and hear tonight’s contributors, I hope you’ll agree.

The third reason wasn’t necessarily top of mind when we began planning this last spring, but it’s become increasingly urgent. Our process straddled the 2024 presidential election and the accompanying “vibe shift” into an overtly fascist country. It was, and continues to be, a scary time.

Yes, we need to organize, we need to agitate for change. But that’s only part of the picture. As the three of us - and many of you - creep ever deeper into middle age, we also need to know what we’re living for. We need a sense of joy and a connection to the deeper currents of our imaginations to remind us why we’re fighting in the first place. We need ways to balance the seriousness of the moment with the fun and frivolity that makes life bearable.

So in its own small way, slips slips is intended as an act of resistance. It is uncommercial, outspoken, and open to all. It does not accept the premises of power that are shaking up the world and endangering lives. It’s a stubborn little pebble jutting out from the good intentions that pave the road to hell. The voices and images provided by our 50 contributors combine into a singular and unprecedented gathering, an aggregate of unique perspectives, a chorus that sings out against silence. Our hope is that, taken together, it will inspire our readers, whoever they might be, to find their own small ways to defy the assumptions of the present and imagine a better future.

If all of this doesn’t add up to “foolhardy,” then I’d like to see what does.

So, speaking of the future, a few words about what happens next. Hope and Kristen and I have been so happy working on slips slips that tonight we’re officially announcing issue #2! We’ll continue producing it in a broadsheet newspaper format, because, frankly, it’s cheap and it’s inclusive: it allows us to involve as many contributors as possible and give it away for free. Our hope for the next issue is to expand it to include more submissions and more pages. The community on paper will continue to grow!

The theme of this first issue was Dispatches, which was intentionally broad - almost anything could be a dispatch, so you’ll see a lot of variety in the work included. But for #2 we’re getting SLIGHTLY more specific. In a tip of the hat to our theatrical community, the theme will be “Dialogues.” This can be taken literally, of course, as a script or conversation, but it also opens up the door to other interpretations, such as collaborative experiments or exchanges between mediums - visual essays, documentary comics, critical responses, whatever you can dream up. So long as it comes in at less than 500 words or the graphic equivalent thereof, we’ll be happy to see it. We’re planning a more public announcement online shortly, but we wanted everyone who came out tonight to hear about it first.

Beyond this, I can hint that slips slips is also the beginning of something larger. Our longer-term plans are to use this publication as the backbone of an independent publishing enterprise, where we’ll explore other ambitious print projects with many of the wonderful creators like you whose work we’re already championing in slips slips. As with everything else, we’ll be doing this at our own, creaky, middle-aged pace - but we hope you’ll come along with us, as we explore new ways to bring people together and create exciting new artistic spaces through print.

In the meantime, though, you’ve heard enough from me. Let me close out by saying the three of us are deeply grateful to each and every one of you who has taken the time to come out and be a part of this foolhardy adventure.