Dearest readers,
First, I want to articulate a very sincere and heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who has made Entropy what it is today. Since its founding in March of 2014, when it began as just a conversation between myself and Peter Tieryas Liu, expanding into multiple conversations with admired friends and writers, I have been in awe of the vast and wide-reaching community it has grown into. I especially want to express deep, deep gratitude for all the editors who have dedicated their labor, time, generosity, and compassion to help cultivate a space I could never have imagined 7 years ago. Thank you to our contributors, readers, supporters — Entropy is what it is because of what each and every one of you has put into it. Thank you all for the tremendous amount of work and love you’ve all put into this community, which has and will continue to have, an expansive and felt impact.
The decision I announce here today does not come lightly. I’ve had numerous conversations with many editors and friends, and I have carefully considered other scenarios and options. There has been much careful deliberation and consideration of both emotional and physical labor, costs, technical logistics, alternate realities, mental health, other possible options, general exhaustion and other impacts of the events of the past two years. Though this announcement may come as a surprise to some, for many of us working behind-the-scenes and for many who have seen both the tangible and intangible affects of the ongoing pandemic, this is also a way to honor life and creation through legacy, not just prolongation.
2021 will be the last year Entropy continues to operate in its current form and iteration. Submissions on the website have already closed, and no new content will be posted past December 31, 2021. The website will remain up for a year (through the end of 2022). All posts are currently downloadable individually as PDFs.
Personally, I don’t believe in endings as signs of failure, finality, or even freedom. Endings are simply new beginnings. As one of my favorite writers Bayo Akomolafe has said: “Death needs a new cosmology. Death is not a black hole where things cease to be. If you want to live well, keep death close. Hope includes hopelessness and grieving is showing gratitude for that which has been lost. What would it be like to treat grief as power? Even our hopelessness as a form of decomposing and falling away that is sacred.”
Living well means dying well, and dying well means acceptance, letting go, and recognition of cycles. This autumn, in this season of letting go and existing alongside death and decay and compost, I am forever grateful for everything Entropy has given me. I have met friends along the way who I now consider family. I have had countless encounters with readers and contributors whose love of Entropy reminded me repeatedly why this work is so important and worthwhile. And I have learned so much about community, more than enough for a lifetime, much of which I will take into the next one.
In the meantime, I invite you to join in on one of our last collaborations as a community. This year’s Best of Lists series will be our last. You can submit your nominations for the Best of 2020/2021 here in this Google Form.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you all.
With love,
Janice Lee
Executive Editor & Founder of Entropy
[Featured photo credit: Janice Lee]
