In This Issue

For some, the circumpolar North starts 50 degrees above the equator. This means that London, England is in the circumpolar region but St John’s, Newfoundland isn’t. Others say the circumpolar world starts at the 55th parallel, right at the southern tip of Greenland. This sounds more reasonable. Or there’s the 60th parallel. But that still excludes St. Petersburg, Russia and Juneau, Alaska which doesn’t sound right.

Here at Arctica, we believe in geographical leeway. We want to give latitude some latitude. Defining circumpolar is not so much about plotting a line on a map as deciphering what it feels like to be here. Or to imagine you are here. We’re showing the world what we believe circumpolar means. Tell us what it means for you. One way to tell us is by entering our Writing Space contest.

The editorial team, Arctica Magazine

The Barrens

Katharine O'Flynn Fiction

Arctic fox
James Critchell-Bullock wrote the date in his diary. “December 24, 1924.” Underlined it, then, in a spate of sharply slanted copperplate, poured forth his woes:
“Discomforts! Such discomforts!

Excavation

By Jennifer Kingsley Non Fiction

V
Chips of multi-coloured flint, razor sharp, and the cold point of a harpoon head, expertly crafted. Ashes from willow twigs and muskox bone inside a shallow box of shale. A sewing needle last held 4,000 years ago. Rocks outline the boundary—a winter dwelling, a tent.