Ahoy!

Thanks for checking out my quarterly newsletter, This Mortal Portal! It might be no big deal to you, but it means a lot to me.

What to expect

Who

I'm Vic King.

• husband of Joanna
• dad of Z, L, and E
• son of AJ & C
• brother of J, M, and G
• chaplain at Helping Up Mission
• maker of things digital & physical at King Haus
• follower of Jesus
• friend, neighbor, acquaintance (of you?)
• fellow mortal (we at least have this in common)

What

I don't draw hard lines between the "personal" and the "professional," and this newsletter is a blend of both.

The content will vary, but expect:

• a short piece of original writing
• life updates, both the happy times and the hard times
• introductions to the most engaging book, article, and podcast I've encountered this quarter
• strange memes, GIFs, and philosophical cartoons

If I link to something or recommend it, that doesn't mean I love it or agree with it. Ever read something you disagreed with, but it made you smarter? And that's just the ideas. There may be strong language. There will be Oxford commas.

Where

Some folks think place doesn't matter for an email newsletter, but it does. Place always matters. Ask Wendell Berry.

I write from my home in Baltimore City, Maryland, USA. I grew up on a Mennonite farm on the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland, so that's a factor too. I've also lived in Prague, Vermont, Massachussetts, and NYC.

When

Quarterly means four times for each trip we take around the sun. I'm not going to promise an exact date, but the first day of each season is my target.

Why

Why an email newsletter:

• intimacy (your inbox versus your feed)
• openness (versus closed networks)
• flexibility (versus 'post type' strictures)
• deliverability (versus algorithms), etc

Why write at all: Because words matter, people matter, and words connect people.

Look, here we are! You're reading words I wrote, and we might just be a little closer because of it. And if you subscribe and write back, we can complete the circle...

Who am I talking to?

You. And you should know: I get an email notification whenever someone signs up. (You can sign up using the Subscribe links in the menu of this site, and in the bottom right corner.)

So if you've signed up, chances are that I'm reading that notification, wondering who you are.

If I know you by your name, it's straightforward. If I don't recognize your name, I'm probably tingling with curiosity. And either way, I'd love to hear from you:

1. Who am I talking to?
2. What are you up to these days?
3. And what provoked you to sign up for my quarterly?

You can send me an email here. I look forward to hearing from you. And you can look forward to hearing from me at the turn of each season.

Peace,

Vic

PS. The subject line of this email is a palindrome (reads the same backward and forward). Here are four more of my favorites:

• Lived on decaf; faced no devil.
• Are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era?
• Meet animals; laminate 'em.
• T. Eliot, top bard, notes putrid tang emanating, is sad. I'd assign it a name: gnat dirt upset on drab pot-toilet.