BESIDE is meeting our revolutionary moment with questions, essays and stories about people
who are transforming their own lives and the world around them.
The team at BESIDE is pleased to reveal the details of our newest issue, Our Transformations, available for pre-sale immediately and in stores June 3rd. The issues marks five years of publishing the most thought-provoking essays at the nexus of nature and culture, and strongly reaffirms our original mandate to uphold a space for deeply nuanced questioning and reflection.
The past few years have done much to reveal the vulnerabilities and failures in our existing social construct. We have been given a fresh opportunity to rethink our systems, our habits, our living environments and our relationship with other beings. To bring love back into the heart of our choices, accepting that this will reveal our paradoxes. To draw inspiration from nature, in order to be better inhabitants of the earth.
In this anniversary issue, BESIDE presents the stories of people who have decided to transform themselves—or the world around them—by drawing upon ideas that are sometimes new, sometimes age-old. Because while the past months have revealed our vulnerabilities, they have also shown us that we are capable of taking action.
This edition of BESIDE includes portraits of Ontario chef Matty Matheson and Mi’kmaw water protectors Grassroots Grandmothers; interviews with New York Times journalist Jenna Wortham, television host Vanessa Pilon and fermentation specialists David Zilber and Sandor Ellix Katz; essays by anthropologist Serge Bouchard and poet Alexis Pauline Gumbs.
“The medicine we need is already inside of us, and we just need help locating it. ”
—Jenna Wortham
IN THIS ISSUE
- A conversation between David Zilber and Sandor Ellix Katz about fermentation and social justice.
- An essay by journalist Eugénie Emond on the ambitions of the intergenerational household.
- A report by Amelia Nierenberg on how the pandemic has jump-started outdoor education.
- A portrait of a community organization that’s trying to end the tyranny of manicured lawns in favour of wild gardens, by Gabrielle Anctil.
- A report by journalist Laurence Butet-Roch on community bonds and the emergence of a parallel economy that’s rooted in local participation.
- A personal essay by author Michel Lemelin on finding refuge and affirming fluidity under the open sky.
- A report by Kate Black on the life-changing culture of care for marginalized workers at an Edmonton waste sorting center.
In our anniversary issue, BESIDE also presents a dossier by award-winning journalist Linda Besner: “Eat, Love, Experiment,” which considers our plural and paradoxical relationship to animals.
About the magazine
BESIDE is an independent magazine at the crossroads of nature and culture. We feature personal essays, stories from the field, and ideas—new and old—for better ways to live in the world. Through nuanced journalism and striking visuals, we hope to nourish greater solidarity with all living beings.
About BESIDE
Founded in Montréal in 2016, BESIDE was born of the desire to create a media brand situated at the crossroads of nature and culture, far from the frenzy of hot takes and polarizing discourses. Its small team of passionate creatives quickly expanded to include collaborators from across North America—architects, artists, journalists, and photographers—driven to create a world that supports all living beings.
Five years later, BESIDE boasts nearly 100,000 copies sold, a bilingual digital platform, collaborations with international media such as Radio-Canada and gestalten, numerous prizes, a collection of objects with Fabrique 1840 and a BESIDE Habitat, in the wilds of Lanaudière in Québec.
BESIDE Magazine
Art Direction Grand Prix
Gold-medal winner
National Magazine Awards, 2019