Critical Moment is seeking submissions for our Winter issue. We are looking for pieces that are timely and relevant to Detroit with a strong critique of power. We are interested in a variety of submissions- from poetry and drawings to interviews, reflections, and articles. If you have an idea for a piece, please email it to critmom@gmail.com or message us on Facebook.   All submissions are due Sunday January 15, 2012 by midnight.

TYPES OF CONTENT

Featured Artist

Each month, Critical Moment chooses the work of a local artist to feature in the magazine. We offer them a space to discuss their work, and its relation to Detroit, and also feature 5-10 pieces of their work. In the past three issues, we’ve had a photographer, a street artist, and a collage artist who’ve all shared work that speaks to different aspects of the Detroit experience. In the best case, we try to match up artwork with the themes of the stories.

On the Corner

This section is on page 2 of the magazine each issue. It features writing that’s not traditionally seen as “news writing” but which captures a scene or a moment or a conversation about the city in a way that’s informative and provocative. These are basically essays, anonymous or not, by Detroiters about their experiences in the city–at a coffee shop, in the neighborhoods, out on the corner talking to neighbors.

The premise is that a lot of news writing is boring and sterile. On top of this, much of our “news” is shared and experienced in a different way: person to person, amongst friends, out in the community. Our collective conversations on the corner are often the richest and full of life. This column is an invitation to anyone to share glimpses of life in Detroit, and an attempt to capture the “realness” of Detroit in the magazine.

Poetry/Fiction

Opening space to highlight Detroit poets and artists of all ages—as well as the organizations and communities that have formed around them.

Investigative

Critical Moment devotes space to in-depth investigations of the power structures around us—in government, corporations, and in the foundation world. We’ve developed a hub online and in the print publication for information sharing about the evolution of Detroit public schools. We’ve also developed a series on the Detroit Works Project, which offers new information to Detroiters about the program’s goals and vision, its key players, its decision making structure of the program, and the role of community-based groups in engaging it.

The goal of these stories is to share knowledge with the community and offer something new to ongoing stories through research-based storytelling and interviews with residents, activists, officials, and anyone who can share their own specialized knowledge. Often, we invite people with that specialized experience to share their perspectives on various subjects.

News/Analysis

More traditional style stories that inform readers about the latest happenings in the city. Often adding our own analysis and that of community-based groups in relation to big news events that the mainstream covers. Example: a story about the much-discussed Woodward Light Rail, including an analysis of its impacts on communities of color, and its implications for development in the city. Or a story about the Motor City Pride celebration downtown, with an analysis of the racial dimensions of the event and its connection (or lack thereof) to a community organizing ethos.

Community Organizations

Stories that highlight the work, campaigns, voices, and visions of Detroit-based grassroots organizations. For example: Our story about the Allied Media Projects and Food Justice Task Force, and their work to build alternative economies and sustainability in the city.