Summer 2018
Nostalgia, History, Legacy
A Note from the Editors
Nostalgia. History. Legacy. These are the themes of Hidden Compass’ Summer 2018 collection of stories. In this issue, our articles tap into threads of time and memory.
One of these threads goes back millennia. The indigenous communities that Editorial Director Sabine Bergmann encounters in the Bolivian Andes have a connection with the land that spans more than 8,000 years. In our Human and Naturefeature story, The Point of the Wilderness, these communities face a difficult choice, as their ancestral lifestyles crash up against twenty-first century challenges.
Our Portraitphoto feature also taps a connection with the landscapes of the South American continent. In Reveries of Patagonia, Garrett Martin and his film crew find that the heritage of the land — its mountains, volcanoes, and rivers — embodies the spirit of the region they have come to explore. It is a legacy that the people of Chile are fighting to defend.
The struggle to preserve a legacy crops up in our Chasing Demons department, as well. In The Raven-Feeder’s Island, Keith Skinner visits a Scottish outpost at the mercy of the elements, where a ferocious Viking warrior tried to leave his mark for the generations that came after.
In our other pieces, we find that the threads of the past must sometimes be cut short. In our Quest department, Allison Smith wanders the streets of the Ex-Lovers Market in Hanoi, Vietnam, where objects of old relationships are sold, memories come back to haunt us, and we discover the importance of Remembering to Forget.
In our Time Travelpiece, The Disneyland of Socialism’s Demise, Krishan Coupland also explores the physical remnants of memory, as he makes his way through an abandoned theme park haunted by the nostalgia of East Germany.
As always, we extend our deepest gratitude to our readers, who share our dream of powerful storytelling, and to our contributors, who send us stories worth sharing.
Yours in wanderlust,
Sabine Bergmann and Sivani Babu, Hidden Compass Co-Founders
Liz Shemaria, Hidden Compass Editor-at-Large