Read on Twitter
a couple of months ago, I had this seed of an idea about how a collection of small moments and objects could, combined, capture the strange emotional tone of the pandemic. thanks to readers + a lot of help from colleagues, it launches today: https://www.tampabay.com/special-reports/2020/05/26/the-scrapbook-what-life-has-been-like-these-past-few-weeks/
I wasn't even sure if this was an idea when I pitched it, honestly. but @havana58 and @mstark17 saw something in it, and @clairemcneill and @JayCridlin were brilliant in refining it. and we got hundreds of submissions — they were moving, hilarious, surprising
part of that refinement was moving the idea from "archive" to "scrapbook" — something tangible, familiar, non-academic. and @LisaMerklin came through with the fantastic illustrations, which reflected that idea, tied the whole thing together and brought it to a new level
I think Claire was the one who came up with the phrase "the texture of altered life," and ultimately that feels like what we're going for here — something immersive and nonlinear, sad or funny or interesting in pieces, but way deeper when taken as a whole
anyway, I also really miss my colleagues, and it's been a balm to collaborate closely with the folks mentioned in this thread, as well as the other folks — @ashleycdye, @elizhangnyc, @carolynpfox @allisonbgraves, @JennGlenfield — who made this thing happen
also: the intro + first four sections of the project are out today. more sections out tomorrow and thursday, and we'll be updating the scrapbook as we get more submissions in the coming months. email your stuff to scrapbook@tampabay.com! https://www.tampabay.com/special-reports/2020/05/26/the-scrapbook-what-life-has-been-like-these-past-few-weeks/
