All of the essays published in 1966 contain an element of research, whether through intentional first-person experience, historical research, or the reading of secondary sources. Sometimes the author’s use of research is subtle; sometimes it is the very heart of the piece.

We’ve asked our writers to talk about their research for their essays in our debut issue. First up, Madeleine Mysko on her piece, “Eudowood.”

In my old file cabinet, I keep the “Eudowood” folder—handwritten notes and photocopied pages, evidence that I did the research, mostly at the public library and the Baltimore County Historical Society. It’s an undisciplined folder, and yet I like holding it in my hands. For me—poet, writer of fiction—that folder is like a bundle of keepsakes, reminders that I really did follow those bifurcating paths in search of the history. I realize now that the research actually became the ground over which I moved as I wrote. Yes, I was still firmly in the realm of nonfiction, but at the same time, so was the mystery of Eudowood.