Hello everyone,

With this, our first newsletter, I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to accumulate/quiet before jumping in to today’s good news about s w i f t s.

accumulate/quiet is a literary organization founded by Jeremy Michael Reed in 2025.

Our name comes from the understanding that within every creative project and artistic life there are moments to accumulate, research, write, and gather, as well as moments to quiet, let a project sit, rest, and let yourself recharge.

We aim to create space and support for both accumulation and quiet for writers, editors, and artists through a variety of projects, including the publication of new literary work.

You can think of accumulate/quiet as the umbrella for all the projects we’re working on that we can’t wait to share with you. Most of the time, it’s Jeremy behind the scenes (hi!), but we’re also looking forward to having some of Jeremy’s students and others serve as interns or in other roles as we grow. This newsletter will keep you up to date (very periodically) with everything we’re doing.

I wanted to take a quick moment to talk about something that’s been on my mind as I’ve been getting these projects off the ground.

I’ve been thinking through several of these projects for the last few years, through moving to yet another state, starting a job, the COVID era, becoming a parent, and they’ve come to fruition in this moment for a few practical reasons: I was able to be on sabbatical this past fall, my daughter’s old enough to be in preschool during the days now, and more.

But I also want to acknowledge that it has happened at a hell of a time to be alive in the United States right now, where I am based and where most of our writers and artists are based. There have been times over the last few months where I’ve questioned starting a project like this now, putting time and energy into an online magazine or other projects that can, in the face of everything happening, feel ephemeral and, at times, inconsequential.

But I keep coming back to the thought that this is one of the things I can do. Reading, writing, and creating art are central to the life I want us all to have, both in the difficult now and in whatever future we can create together. The wisdom, creativity, emotion, thought, and connection that come from art are not only brightening and sustaining but necessary.

Every few months I seem to find my way back to this article by Toni Morrison written in the wake of the 2004 U.S. presidential election. In addition to so many other parts of the essay, I come back to this reminder Morrison wrote for us and for herself:

“I know the world is bruised and bleeding, and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence.”

It reminds me that there are things we can do to maintain, foster, and grow our own and others’ abilities to imagine, think deeply, question, hold multiple perspectives in our minds at the same time, and listen to each other well. There are a million small ways everyday that we can refuse to let imagination and thought be buried, discounted, or ignored. That they are small does not undo them.

-Jeremy

On to today’s great news: We’re incredibly excited to announce a/q’s first project, s w i f t s: a literary magazine, and its first issue - which is now live!

Like our namesake, the journal prioritizes pieces that are adept in multiple ways at the same time: speed and strength, quick movements and longevity of flight, drag and thrust. For each issue, we aim to choose a select few pieces worth reading in their entirety, and we’re thrilled to say each of these authors’ works are more than worth that kind of attention.

We couldn’t be happier to have the work of Molly Akin, Lindsey D. Alexander, Jack B. Bedell, Amorak Huey, Brynn Martin, and Donna Vorreyer for our first issue. Please go and spend time with their work!

And if you have work of your own that you’re submitting, please consider sending it our way. Here’s all the information you need to know.

We’ve accepted some pieces for issue two already, and we’re always looking for more good work!

Until next time, thanks for being here, for writing and creating, and for engaging with art however you can.

-a/q hq