There aren’t too many of my co-workers who will admit it, but I have the most coveted job at The Austin Chronicle: I supervise the “Postmarks” section.
We have a few letter writers who are regulars — in some ways, they are also among our star writers. The Chronicle has had several regulars come and then fade away over the past two decades. Since I took over “Postmarks” in 1996, we have had three constants: Amy Babich, Kurt Standiford, and Paul Aviña. Babich is a passionate advocate for bicycling and mass transit, and she likes to think big. Standiford is our favorite right-wing Christian homophobe. Aviña is redefining xenophobia — given his druthers, every major position in this city would be held by someone from his neighborhood. Less prolific, but dear to our hearts, is Alice Kennedy Spooner. She sends us a Beckettian stream-of-consciousness masterpiece about once a year.
We decided, after such long relationships, that it’s time to get to know them all better, and they are interviewed below.
This article appears in 20th Anniversary.