Keep Them Rakes Comin'!

The people in this photo were impressed by The Rake’s depth and breadth of subject matter. Some of them are Twin Citians on vacation; two spend their time now between Tucson and Puerto Vallarta (the Rake began publishing after they left Minnesota, and they have enjoyed their copies so much they are passing them on … Read more

A Clip Job

I don’t save many magazine articles anymore (I filled up too many file cabinets that way while working as an Utne Reader editor), but I intend to save Jeannine Ouellette’s very fine feature on the death of the American imagination from the November 2007 Rake. This is the kind of sweeping, thorough thought piece that … Read more

Brain Drain

Jeannine Ouellette’s puzzling article [“The Death & Life of American Imagination”] seems to cite the regimentation of children’s lives and the role of technology as a threat to the development of imagination. As a girl in the ’50s and ’60s, I faced far more restrictions to my imagination and free play than any kid today. … Read more

Death of the Imagination: Exhibit A

I was going to comment on the recent article on American Imagination ["The Death & Life of American Imagination"], but I just couldn’t think of anything to say. Author(s) and Location: Jeff Miletich, Columbia Heights Letter Type: Letter of the Month

The Greatest Threat to the Imagination

Jeannine Ouellette‘s puzzling article seems to cite the regimentation of children’s lives and the role of technology as a threat to the development of imagination. As a girl in the ’50s and ’60s, I faced far more restrictions to my imagination and free play than any kid today. But the greatest threat to imagination goes … Read more

The Death and Life of American Imagination

In February 1953, a violent North Sea storm crashed through the Dutch levee system, killing 1,835 people and leaving a hundred thousand others homeless. In the aftermath, the country responded by building the Delta Works, the world’s most sophisticated system of flood defenses. According to John McQuaid, a reporter for Mother Jones on assignment in … Read more