A draught of vintage that hath been cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth

Trying to describe The Sun using conventional terms and definitions really won't work, because it defies what one would normally expect from a magazine. When I go looking for a magazine, I expect to find a lot of articles that are informative about something in particular, and generally follow a theme. In some senses, The Sun follows these guidelines, however, in so many more ways it just defies them completely.

The big difference between The Sun and your conventional magazine is that this one doesn't dedicate itself to one form of expression. The typical issue will contain many different forms of expression, from straight out prose, to an interview, to a piece of poetry, to some pieces of beautiful photography. I must give some massive amounts of credit to the editor's of The Sun because they are able to take pieces of different forms and bring them together quite well to form a hauntingly beautiful magazine.

The pieces of the Magazine

The interview...
However, though there are so many different things in each issue, there are a few constant things. One of these is the interview at the beginning of every issue (which is perhaps my favorite part of the magazine). This interview is usually with someone who expresses ideas and ideals which are very different from mainstream culture. For instance, the interview this month is with former Attorney General Ramsey Clark (Attorney General under President Johnson) who now represents "unpopular" clients in the name of social justice. Some of his more recent clients have been the Branch Dividians in Waco and Leonard Peltier. For someone who was once part of the government, he expresses views on our foreign policy that are just a bit different from what your average American thinks/believes. Likewise, last month's interview was with Martin Prechtel, an exiled Shaman from a Central American village (he grew up in Arizona).

Reader's Write..
Another section that you are going to find in every issue is the Reader's Write section where, as the name suggests, the readers of the magazine submit pieces that they had written that were based upon a theme. The editors then go through the submissions and pick the best ones and publish them in the magazine. The ability of some of the writers in this section is amazing, and I find it hard to believe that they are not professional writers.

A bevy of literary booty...
The rest of the magazine could be considered "filler" if you so chose to use that word. However, the problem is that these parts are so strong that you really can't consider them filler. There are pieces of poetry by various poets, there are usually sections of photography showcased as well. You will invariably find much entertainment interspersed among the various articles and pieces of prose, you honestly never know what you are going to come across on the next page (well, unless you actually look at the table of contents, but that would just be too easy now wouldn't it).

Conclusions...
This magazine is just filled with literary and artistic bits of greatness. Every page is filled with something that you want to spend some time reading and digesting. One thing I'll warn you of is that this is not a magazine to be taken lightly... to want to read a few little snippets that highlight what is going on and then think you'll be able to move on. You are going to be giving time to it in two senses. First, you will give it by reading the articles themselves, and then you will give it time when the thoughts are coursing through your brain and you can't stop them.
Lastly, I will leave you with a couple bold disclaimers. This magazine is very artistic, so if you're one of those that wants to push anything artistic out of your life, then this is not the magazine for you. Also, this magazine if very literary, so if you're not going to be appreciating things for the literary merit that they have, then you probably won't be interested in this magazine. Finally, the views of this magazine tend to fall on the liberal side of things. In some circles, it would be known as a "hippy rag" or something to that effect. However, even the most staunch opponent of the views expressed would have to be impressed with the amount of work that goes into each issue.

Finally... if I haven't said it before or enough, this magazine is beautiful. Not only in the fact that I like it alot, but in the fact that it is presented wonderfully and aesthetically. From the moment that you look at it to the point where you put it down, you will have a hard time disagreeing with the fact that it is beautiful.