Welcome to the New Looking Closer Journal

2025 Update: Well, here it is: The original post of the Looking Closer with Jeffrey Overstreet blog. You've found it. I can find archival posts that have earlier publication dates, but that's because they were originally published on the Looking Closer review website, a branch off of a church arts website I was running. The blog was established adjacent to that as a separate entity.

These few lines were the first post of the blog that would reach far and wide, opening up new avenues of writing, publishing, travel, and teaching for me. Since then, I've started the engines on a lot of journals and creative endeavors that have died early deaths. But the blog stayed alive through the early 2000s and, a few years in, began to flourish, thanks to the support of readers like you. The website you’re visiting now is the latest manifestation of that. Some of you have been reading from the start, and you’re still here. And I remain grateful for your companionship, as we’ve all learned so much along the journey.