PLACE
West Memphis is in Arkansas, across the river from its better-known Tennessee namesake. And there are family resemblances between the two, principally underfunded governments and endemic poverty, but also the presence of a more affluent, middle class constituency. Like so many other places across America, it can be seen as a microcosm of the country as whole. See the Photo Journal here.
SNEAK PEEK
Across America, patriotism reveals itself across a spectrum, from subtle and personal to overt and manifestly public. Western Ohio wears its patriotism as plainly and openly as it does its fields of beans and corn. Take a sneak peak sneak peek of the work in progress.
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE
We will be traveling California's "Inland Empire" to capture daily life there. If you know any denizens of the Inland Empire who might be willing to show us around and introduce us to the folks, let us know.
And to repeat our repeating, we are still planning to photograph families living in suburbia who would share a slice of that life with a photographer, let us know, and we are hoping to photograph life in office park offices around the country. If you can help with either, please let us know.
As always, feel free to drop us a line at editors@interstatemagazine.com.
INTRODUCTION TO CHRIS ARNADE, A PHOTOGRAPHER YOU SHOULD KNOW
What does a Wall Street trader with 20 years experience and a PhD in physics from Johns Hopkins University know about those Americans living on the other side of the class divide? If he's Chris Arnade, the answer is "a lot". In 2012, Chris left Wall Street behind and turned a camera's focus on "back row America". Following in the same footsteps as Interstate Magazine -- the footsteps of Walker Evans and Jacob Riis, to name but two -- Chris set off to document the lives of less fortunate Americans. The result is a 2019 book entitled "Dignity, Seeking Respect in Back Row America."
You can find a wonderful interview with Chris here, and his book here.
EDITOR'S NOTE: GUNSHOTS IN THE EAST, LITTLE LEAGUE IN THE WEST
Like so many me-too cities – East St. Louis, East New York – West Memphis shares a name and proximity to its namesake big city, but few if any of the big city benefits. There is no revamped downtown, no conglomerate-branded arena, no must-see hipster neighborhood. But more than that, West Memphis displays a split personality, one that reflects, in microcosm, the great split personality of America. Read more in this recent blog post.