dear readers,

obviously, we are just under the wire here. sincerest apologies, but gratitude for your patience. this is the biggest issue of maps for teeth that we’ve ever published, and we know it’s not just because of your trust in us as readers and artists. that’s definitely a factor, and one we are so honored by, so thank you very much for reading. another reason this issue is so big must be because of the hellish year that was 2016. we all have a lot to say. everything we’ve been resisting with our art boiled over & we know now more than ever that we must continue resisting. we must continue doing the work we know & the work we have yet to know. our identities are microcosms of the world around us, as well as variables that interact with the world around us. they are important, never let anyone tell you otherwise. we hope you feel as much fire reading this magazine as we did putting it together. when it’s hard to recall the gold light that occasionally parted the last 12 months of clouds, i turn to this work & i’m reminded that the light never goes out even if we can’t see it. some of it lives in the artists in this issue and it’s the most inexhaustible resource we all have. these writings are my highlights of the year, and i’m bringing them with me into 2017, like a torch in the night.

best wishes to you for this new year. we look forward to learning & working with you. more details to come.

Jess Rizkallah & the pizza pi press team:
Cassandra de Alba, Emmanuel Oppong-Yeboah,
Tiffany Mallery,  Melissa Lozada-Oliva, Josh Cornillon