the space between

Maya Ying Lin, who has the last word in the July/August issue of New Moon, says she “feels like [she] exists on the boundaries.” In fact, she wrote a book called Boundaries and people wanted it to fit only one category. She described a lot of her projects and detailed her philosophy about her work through words and pictures. It was partly because of the categories and the dividing that she faces in her life that she titled the book Boundaries. This fascination carries over to her work. She writes that boundaries “[are] opposites. [They are] contradictions. Everyone looks at boundaries as a division and what I’m after is the boundary line — the space between two things.”

Maya Lin is saying that people and ideas are forced to divide and she is interested in the line that does the dividing. Because she often feels like she is a walking electric fence, she uses that line to start shaping her work. My name is Theodora Ranelli. I am an editorial intern for New Moon this summer, Maya Lin is one of my heroes, and I do a lot of work with boundary lines. I can echo Maya Lin because I often feel like I am a boundary line. Much of my work is about dealing with lines and fences and I am with New Moon because I think I can help this magazine reach across established divisions.



I moved to Duluth, Minnesota from Laramie, Wyoming in August 2003. I found out about the magazine after attending a Turn Beauty Inside Out event and running into the assistant managing editor on the bus. I interned here the summer of 2004 and am back for one more stint before I leave for COLLEGE! I am headed to The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA.

I am with New Moon for many reasons, but here are a few of them:

1. I am a writer and always playing with words. I have started to experiment with self-publishing and zine-making (I must be crazy, but I am trying to get the second issue of my zine out before I leave for Olympia). Because of this, I am always excited to support independent media. I’m also happy because New Moon was a big idea that turned into an even bigger reality, and I am hoping to do the same with my work.

2. I am an avid reader. Although my book list is varied, I enjoy reading and recommending Young Adult literature that “blips my radar screen.” I think it’s often hard for people to wade through Young Adult books and find ones that they enjoy, so I will be posting book reviews on this very blog. Keep checking back for more book reviews.

3. A high priority for me is making sure that New Moon Magazine is a safe environment for anyone who feels like they should belong. I understand how it feels to have people not listen to me or assume they know what I think. I hope New Moon can be a place where people can really listen and speak, even if they do not think someone will understand.

Well, I’ll probably be in and out to post book reviews and such. It's a fine, fine, line, so keep loving to the best of your abilities. Thanks for reading. We do appreciate it.