FROM THE PUBLISHER
Teeter-Totter Times
I AM SURE MANY OF US REMEMBER rushing to the school playground with one or two of our besties. Swings, slides, monkey bars and teeter-totters awaited, with the promise of an afternoon of unfettered joy.
The teeter-totter philosophy is a metaphorical framework for describing the dynamic balance of life, personal growth and relationships. Like the playground staple, this philosophy centers on the idea that life is never static— it requires constant adjustment, cooperation and acceptance of ups and downs. Such is life in the Ocean State: constant adjustment, motion, accommodation. We celebrate. We mourn. We move on. This tenet is aptly presented in this issue of Rhode Island Monthly. We celebrate the beauty of Rhode Island’ s Farm Coast and the integrity of our Bannister Award winners, while examining the harm and terror that thousands of our friends and neighbors have experienced— often in silence— due to domestic violence.
Editor-in-Chief Jamie Coelho and photographer Wolf Matthewson highlight the Farm Coast communities of Little Compton and Tiverton in“ Where the Land Meets the Sea,” shedding light on an often-overlooked treasure trove full of markets, farms, galleries, the sea’ s bounty at Sakonnet Point and more.
In“ System Failure,” Senior Editor Lauren Clem takes a deep dive into domestic violence, speaking to survivors, learning more about the victims and asking advocates and policymakers what more can be done to quell this public health epidemic.
And lastly, Lauren also presents the winners of the sixth annual Bannister Awards, created in conjunction with several team members and our colleagues at the Rhode Island Foundation, to recognize individuals who work tirelessly and often in anonymity to make Rhode Island a fair, welcoming and equitable place. That was the mission of the awards’ namesake, Christiana Carteaux Bannister. Born to Black and Indigenous parents in North Kingstown, she worked her whole life to create a Rhode Island that is better for all.
The teeter-totter’ s ebb and flow never stops. But thankfully, we Rhode Islanders are known for punching above our weight.
Perhaps folkie Arlo Guthrie said it best:“ You can’ t have a light without a dark to stick it in.”
To the Rhode ahead.— J. J. P.
ILLUSTRATION: CHERYL CHALMERS.
12 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY I OCTOBER 2026