Contributors: September 2013

Angela Flynn, Paige Pfleger, Rachel Premack, Jenny Risher
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Angela Flynn

As her first year of graduate school at New York University came to an end, Angela Flynn knew she wanted to return home for the summer and write about metro Detroit. Working as an editorial intern at Hour Detroit allowed her to share some of these unique stories. When she wrote about a Detroiter who directs Shakespeare plays for children battling cancer (page 73), she was reassured of the generous spirit of the city. “These are the types of stories I want people to think of when they hear the word ‘Detroit.'”

Paige Pfleger

Going into her junior year at the University of Michigan, Pfleger has always been passionate about the arts, which is reflected in her feature about CCS professor and furniture maker Alan Kaniarz (page 74). “I think it’s really important to draw attention to the positive things happening in Detroit,” says Pfleger, who grew up in Indian Village and worked as a summer intern for Hour Detroit. “The arts movement is a cornerstone of the city’s revitalization.” Pfleger has enjoyed journalism since high school and believes that writing and storytelling are invaluable tools, not only for self-expression but also for fostering community.

Rachel Premack

Profiling an Armenian folk musician (page 82) as her first foray into magazine writing was new territory for Rachel Premack, a science reporter for the student newspaper at the University of Michigan. But Premack found more in common with the kanun player than expected. “Ara Topouzian told me villagers and peasants produced folk music, so it wasn’t highly esteemed and was unlikely to be recorded,” Premack says. “He’s preserving a chapter of history that’s typically omitted: the daily life of the common man.” A second-year history major, Premack finds these accounts striking and intends to preserve such stories in her future career — albeit with a pen, not an exotic musical instrument.

Jenny Risher

Mount Clemens native Jenny Risher studied at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies and the Parsons School of Design in New York. Her first photo assignment for Hour Detroit was in 1997, when she was “right out of CCS.” This issue, she photographed fall fashion (page 96). “It was fun to work on a military inspired fashion shoot. I used light and fog to help translate the cold, grey muted pallet. A fun personal connection: We photographed at Stage 3 studios in Warren — the same location where my father built the M1A1 Abrams tank by Detroit Arsenal. Life has a funny way of completing circles.” Risher is the author of Heart Soul Detroit, a book featuring the portraits and words of 50 iconic Detroiters.