Issue No.

46

Pencil forgives

New essay · Reading pile · Ilkley

A sharpened pencil, shavings and an eraser on a sheet of cream lined paper

Dear reader,

This one is about pencils. Plus the reading pile and a note on the festival in Ilkley.

Clara

Get the next letter on Sunday.

Subscribe

From the archive

Earlier letters

Every issue

A sharpened pencil, shavings and an eraser on a sheet of cream lined paper

No.

46

Pencil forgives

On first drafts, sharp knives and the HB.

A green portable typewriter on an oak desk by a rainy window, with a cup of tea

No.

45

A fortnight without the laptop

What happened when I wrote only by hand for two weeks.

A moorland footpath beside a drystone wall leading to a wooden stile in the mist

No.

44

The aimless walk

Turning left or right depending on the wind.

Honored by and spoken at

  • Black Lives Matter Dreamers & Disruptors Award, 2026

  • Women's Foundation of Minnesota Rest Up Award, 2023

  • North American School for Organizers

  • Black Digital Renaissance

  • Black Lives Matter Dreamers & Disruptors Award, 2026

  • Women's Foundation of Minnesota Rest Up Award, 2023

  • North American School for Organizers

  • Black Digital Renaissance

The newsletter

Essays on building care that lasts.

Mutual aid, movement accountability and the Community Welfare System, sent to 4,300+ readers on Substack. Free to read, with paid essays for those who can support the work.

Subscribe on Substack

Read the essays

Zedé Harut

Strategist, writer and creator of the Community Welfare System. Building parallel systems of care in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Read

Essays

Consulting Services

Books

About Me

Elsewhere

Email Zedé

Instagram

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Zedé

Zedé

© 2026 Zedé Harut. All rights reserved.

© 2026 Zedé Harut. All rights reserved.

Privacy

Contact