Yes, it's that time of year again. The moment that you, dear reader, have long been waiting for all year, with bated breath and bitten lower lip: the vote for the Best of Inthefray 2002.

Following the timeless tradition of our magazine, we will again be holding a general election for the top articles in each of our four channels. You--and you alone--will decide what qualifies as the year's most provocative, intelligent, and sophisticated content. If none of these adjectives apply, you will just choose the lesser of the various evils. (Did we mention this was an election?)

Besides for a lifetime subscription to Inthefray.com, the winners of this election will receive the adulation and awe of readers around the world--and possibly some form of deity status a few centuries hence, when the cult of Inthefray.com is firmly established and homeowners start putting up lawn ornaments in our contributors' names.

Last year, some of the winning stories beat out their competition by mere fractions of votes. (This was possible because some people split their votes--not because of any accounting irregularities on the part of, say, the Editor.) So, every vote counts. We know that the responsibility is rather daunting. Nevertheless, we are confident that you--being an abundantly thoughtful, intelligent, and erudite reader--can rise to the occasion.

All the votes are due by Monday, December 16. The results will be published the following Monday.

Voting is easy and can be safely done at home. Just follow these steps:

1) Send a message to editors@inthefray.com with the subject line "Vote." In the message text, list your picks for each of the four channels. Every person has one vote in each of these four categories. You may split your vote between two (or three or four) articles in a particular category, if you can't decide which is the very best.

Please note that on December 9 we will send out a preliminary list of the top vote-getters in the four categories. This will be distributed through our Newsletter and posted online, and it's meant to help readers who haven't had time to read all the articles (shame on you) make up their minds. In other words, you will know what other people think are the "best" articles and that should help you to decide whether your own particular favorite is the cream of the crop, the star on the tree, the egg in the nog.

In the meantime, feel free to send us an incomplete ballot if you can't figure out picks for all four channels. You can always e-mail us later to add to, or revise, your ballot once the preliminary tallies are in. (Don't be alarmed; adjusting votes is a common practice in many totalitarian states.)

2) [Optional] Please tell us what you thought about each article you chose. Why did you like it? What could have been improved? Also, at the very end of the message, give us your general thoughts about the magazine (criticism very welcome, but please don't be too hard on our sensitive President's feelings). We'll publish readers' comments along with the winning articles. If you don't want your comments published, just let us know; the main thing is that we'd like to get your feedback.

3) Finally, sign your ballot with your full name. If you don't want your name or e-mail address to be included with any published comments, let us know. Of course, the ballot itself will be strictly confidential, and will not be read by anyone except the Editor and President.

That's it! E-mail us if you have any questions.

Please, dear reader, help us celebrate this joyous season of giving, and the wondrous miracle of dotcom fiscal stability. Give us your two cents about our magazine. If you have more change in your pocket, send that our way, too. Just do it by December 16, so our hard-working editorial staff can stop counting ballots and go back to weaving Kwanzaa gifts and drinking green egg nog.

Happy Hanukkah,

Victor Tan Chen
Editor, Inthefray.com
Boston

p.s. Below is a listing of all the pieces that have appeared from January 2002 to December 2002. Links are included to each article. Enjoy!

Inthefray 2002

IDENTIFY

Back in the Latter-day
Nauvoo, Illinois, is a glimpse of Mormonism's past--and future
By Ben Helphand
January 7, 2002

Freedom, deferred
PART ONE. Ibn Kenyatta is a writer and artist--and a perpetual prisoner. February 7, 2002
PART TWO. The right of refusal. March 7, 2002
By Marguerite Kearns

Bolton Hill 21217
Progressive parents face the public school dilemma in Baltimore
By Nicole Leistikow
April 2, 2002

When suburban goes urban
A look at Silicon Valley's Sunnyvale, a suburban community in search of a sense of place
By Nick Hoff
September 22, 2002

Rice harvest
Finding roots in rural China
By Harry Mok
November 25, 2002

More than black or white
Losing the leadership of Chang-Lin Tien
By Harry Mok
December 3, 2002

IMAGINE

The ITF Bookshelf: Moby-Dick
Our pick of dime-store paperbacks and old-school classics
By Jia-Rui Chong
January 22, 2002

The black, the bourgeois, and the beautiful
Are bestselling authors Eric Jerome Dickey and E. Lynn Harris just meddlers, or have they got something to say?
By Saba Bireda
January 9, 2002

Parlor jazz
Every week, Marjorie Eliot welcomes the city into her Harlem living room
By Alexis Clark
February 19, 2002

Into the mines of Middle Earth
Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring is a complex vision of a fantasy classic
By Etienne Benson
February 4, 2002

Testing my "A-dar"
Trying to pick out who is what
By Harry Mok
March 4, 2002

When propaganda tries to have a heart
John Q. attempts to put a human face on its message
By Etienne Benson
March 18, 2002

Poems
By ibn Kenyatta
April 2, 2002

Sa-I-Gu
A poem
By Ishle Yi Park
June 19, 2002

Stepping to the beat of a different drummer
What is David Henry Hwang doing reviving Flower Drum Song on Broadway?
By Jia-Rui Chong
June 26, 2002

A little bit of ritual smoke, no fire
John Woo's latest movie Windtalkers needs some spark, desperately
By Etienne Benson
July 24, 2002

Supermarket poems
Poetry
By Angie Chuang
September 2, 2002

Let the rhythm soothe you
Transforming a neighborhood through art, love, and mindful drumming
By Jia-Rui Chong
October 22, 2002

Waiting in Delhi
Dealing with delay gets entertaining if you're reading Ha Jin
Written by Nicole Leistikow
November 25, 2002

INTERACT

War in a time of ignorance
PART ONE. Remembrances of another war to make the world safe for democracy. December 17, 2001
PART TWO. Two lessons learned. January 7, 2002
By Bob Keeler

For rape victim, vocalizing attack helps heal wounds
Dear rapist: I wish you all the pain I still live with
By Sharon Franck
January 22, 2002

My survivor's guilt
Safe and sorry in New York
By Anthony Lin
February 4, 2002

Black like me
On being post-South Asian
By Zachariah Mampilly
February 19, 2002

Guarded intimacy
A prisoner, a patient, a lover
By Safiya Bandele
March 9, 2002

An American in London
Notes from an invisible woman
By Irene Hahn
April 3, 2002

Fighting for the cause
An uproar over an offensive headline makes a reporter wonder why she works for The Man
By Sharon Pian Chan
April 15, 2002

The death of the integration dream
A former South Central resident looks back on ten years of ... nothing
By Tamura Howard
May 13, 2002

Waiting for the flames
If police brutality isn't stopped, the next uprising will just be a traffic stop away
By Keith Rushing
May 13, 2002

Turning the melting pot to simmer
Riots in the midst of a move made this couple glad to go
By David Helphand
May 20, 2002

Searching for the soul of Los Angeles
A recent migrant to the City of Angels reflects on her new home
By Nancy Snow
May 20, 2002

Coming to terms with history
Why stereotypes are never just innocent fun
By Harry Mok
June 26, 2002

Testing my faith blindly
Scenes from a hospital on Madison Avenue
By Marques Harper
July 24, 2002

One nation, indivisible?
Are we pledging allegiance to God or country?
By Derek Araujo
September 2, 2002

Kith and kinship
A friend to many, and to me, Philippe Wamba was one of the brightest hopes of his beloved Africa
By Zachariah Mampilly
September 18, 2002

Requiem for a mustache
Goodbye, faithful companion--and hello, you pretty thing
By Hari Sreenivasan
October 31, 2002

When dreams take a detour
A former journalist reflects on his new life on the 'Rez'
Written by Curtis L. Esquibel
November 25, 2002

IMAGE

The High Line
Remnants of New York's once mighty elevated railway system
By Jonathan Flaum
January 2, 2002

Neontest
Testing the waters of wide open apertures and neon lights in New York City
By Jonathan Flaum
February 10, 2002

Dislocation
Expressive possibilities in lifeless environs
By Peter Light
March 9, 2002

City beaches
Sandy stretches of expansiveness and isolation in Far Rockaway and Coney Island, New York
By Brad Farwell
April 8, 2002

The riots revisited
A city reborn, a city forgotten--and a city that has never healed
Photographed by Sheila Masson and assembled by Dustin Ross
May 2, 2002

dead spaces
Artistic expression in dead environments
By Brad Farwell
July 3, 2002

The legend of a train jumper
A tribute
By Tony Jenkins
August 12, 2002

Homes for the displaced
Rebuilding a country devastated by civil war, one house at a time
By Laura Pohl
September 6, 2002

Kids in color
PART ONE OF TWO. Nurturing the adults of tomorrow
By Lia Chang
November 15, 2002

E-MAIL YOUR BALLOT > editors@inthefray.com

Mailbag

The silent minority

Regarding "The power of black and brown," by Keith Rushing (Interact, June 2001)

I was reading your article on Hispanics becoming the largest minority group in the United States. It's true that the census doesn't see them as a race, but in a way they kind of are. Truth be told, there is no Latino from Mexico, Puerto Rico, or anywhere else in Latin America (besides Argentina) who is purely white, or purely anything for that matter. And yes, I agree that there was always a sort of alliance between blacks and Puerto Ricans, but politicians (especially Republicans) don't make it that way so that the two groups, who are in the same social position, can't speak with one voice.

Albert St. Jean
Orlando, Florida
Kidtwistus@aol.com

The writer is of Haitian descent.

Whose 'public' school?

Regarding "Bolton Hill 21217," by Nicole Leistikow (Identify, April 2002)

If people in the community are so concerned about the perception of Midtown Academy as a "semi-private school", some changes need to be made. If it is, indeed, a public school, the parents and students should not be given carte blanche. Students should not be able to get away with anything because their parents run various committees. The people in charge need to take a serious look at how the school is viewed overall in the community and take steps to ensure they are working toward their mission and vision statements.

Anonymous

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