A Tip of the Quill to Our Writers

Written By: Luke Osteen | Issue: August - 2022

While we’re in the midst of celebrating our 20 years ofpublishing this little magazine, it’s only fair that wedevote a bit of space to honor the women and menwho make The Laurel shine – our flock of writers and our deeppool of contributors.Now some of you may take exception to my use of the word“shine,” thinking it’s a publisher’s term of art that’s just thisside of Hype Street.But I’m using the word deliberately, because back in April thegood people at Pew Research contacted our editor about waysin which our little magazine earns the trust of our readership.Though we were by far the smallest minnow in their pool ofcontacts (which included big name publications with a nationalreach), they were keen on figuring out how we build ourrelationship with the people of the Plateau (and even those justpassing through).It quickly became obvious through the direction of theirquestioning that the people at Pew Research were homing in onthe quality of our writers and contributors.Did our editor shape their prose and their style to give theirwords resiliency and savor?Nope, he answered, we trust our writers to deliver their work intheir own distinctive voice.That’s a reflection of the decision we made 20 years ago, whenwe were dreaming up The Laurel. We wanted this magazine tomaintain a friendly voice, which you could imagine being statedby a wise friend over a cup of coffee at Tommy’s or Buck’s.We knew the personalities of our contributors and writers werevaried, passionate, and sometimes just a bit eccentric, but theywere all genuine – and they were all light-years removed fromthe dusty conventions of standard journalistic death-prose.So when you’re reading this issue of The Laurel, or plunginginto our archived editions, see if you can hear the sweet clearvoice of Deena Bouknight as she guides you along the trailaround The Bascom; or Mary Jane McCall as she delineates theunique treasures to be discovered on the Plateau’s boutiques; orMarlene Osteen who delivers decades’ worth of wisdom withher wine and restaurant reviews; or Donna Rhodes, our residentart critic and observer of the absurd.There’s no mistaking the warmth and passion embedded withinWinter Gary’s Highlands Biological Foundation’s monthlyreports; or William McReynolds’ wise examination of whyevery day of each month is a cause for celebration; or MattCanter’s ability to walk us into the midst of a mountain streamand understand the irresistible pull of a Brown Trout; or StuartFerguson’s scholarly examination of the quirks of personalityand twists of fortune that somehow shaped the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau.These are all voices you can trust, and they give our magazinea unique style, one that’s attracted the notice of experts farbeyond the Plateau, people anxious to divine the secrets of thedeep bonds between The Laurel and, of course, you.Thank You, our Writers; and thank you, our Wonderful Readers.

by Luke Osteen