Baldwin’s City of New Jersey

To mark his 100th birthday, we celebrate him with an essay inspired by James Baldwin's year in New Jersey.

From Harlem’s Native Son to New Jersey’s Invisible Man

Writer L. Lo Sontag digs for the moment when Baldwin had his mental break(through) in a fine dining establishment in Trenton, and redefined blackness for the rest of his life.

Getting Dense with Ayanna Dozier

With someone as prolific as artist-writer Ayanna Dozier, there’s no one way to experience the captivating works she created for Issue 1.

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Transitivity

As Lune Ames writes, the trans-ness of Marsha P Johnson beckons us to reach across, over and beyond genders, streets and categories.

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The Rules Behind "Rules and Regulations"

Dense cofounders Lune Ames and Petia Morozov discuss what’s behind Issue 1’s “Rules & Regulations,” and why every design process needs them.

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Getting Dense with Nelson Chan

If there’s anyone you should explore the randomness of New Jersey with, make it photographer, publisher and punk aficionado Nelson Chan.

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How History Books Get It Wrong

Scholar Anita Bakshi is taking on what's problematic about the way NJ’s Indigenous history is presented by changing how it's accessed.

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The Autobahn, Jersey Style

Co-founder Petia Morozov serves up a plateful of unlikely connections between the Autobahn and the NJ Turnpike, in the “World of Tomorrow.”

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Where Are All the Black Car Designers?

Designer Dalal Elsheikh talks with editor Gretchen Von Koenig about surveillance futures, automotive spaces and how we need to do better.

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Road Trip to Escape, USA

Artist Julie Langsam opens up about the open road, the dark side of sunsets, why Texas reminds her of NJ, and her favorite road trip films.

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Bold stories, strange tangents, and surprising conversations about New Jersey.

Photo of Dense Issue 1, placed on a table in a diner booth in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Plaza Diner

Stories that explore the dreams, discoveries, confrontations, and epiphanies about place, from the frontlines of America's most densely populated state.