2020 was a disaster. Here, for the record, is what the Quad Cities survived.

Listen to these moving and eloquent essays and poems, stories and artwork, read by the writers as they report on the disasters of 2020. We saw our careers change or disappear. Everything went online. We watched loved ones pass away and saw babies born that we couldn’t hold. We tried to school children, care for clients, and launch books. We watched public deaths, protests, and attacks. We contemplated murder hornets and eclipses. We cleaned up after a flood and then a derecho. For some of us, isolation was a chance to breathe, take long walks, and read. For others, it was a long descent into darkness. Some of us grappled with life-threatening illness. Some of us found new peace. Yet we made it through.

With humor, precision, and ruthless clarity, the artists in this collection present a stunning mosaic of the ruptures, beauties, gifts, and costs of this utterly unprecedented year. Each piece is a glimpse into what was happening inside our personal pockets of isolation and virtual realities. Each piece is a celebration. Join us in relishing our resilience and savoring our lessons as we reflect on what the year brought and took. Whatever else you can say about 2020, it was a very interesting time.