The Big Smoke America is now six years old and has published almost 2,500 original articles and essays. Here are the Top 10 (+14 more) from 2021.

The Big Smoke America launched on November 9th, 2015. We have now weathered two of the wackiest election cycles in American history, bookended by the election of [minority] President Trump and the storming of our nation’s Capitol by our own citizens, an attempt to disrupt and overturn a valid election result. We are slowly repairing the damage done over these recent years.

It’s been one shameful event after another, but we navigate these times to the best of our abilities and work towards a better way of life for all. COVID continues to sit front and center of everything, soon starting its third year, and America has mismanaged that in the worst ways: America is 4% of the world’s population but has 20% of the world’s COVID cases AND deaths, exceeding 800,000.

We have published almost 2,500 articles and essays tackling a range of topics and contributing to a number of debates and discussions. Each year, we review the traffic through both our website and social media and find our most popular articles. The issues discussed heavily in 2021 was everything you might imagine, as the ongoing garbage fire that started in 2020 continued to rage along.

Here are the Top 10 most widely read and shared articles in 2021 listed from # 1 – 10.

1. Jason Arment

Poetry and Sex Work: An Interview with Dylan Krieger

Poetry and Sex Work: An Interview with Dylan Krieger

Also widely read by Jason Arment in 2021: Nothing Else Was As They Told Us: An Interview with Kacy Tellessen

2. Sean Davis

Dispatches From the Apocalypse: Behind Enemy Lines (August 21, 2021)

Dispatches From the Apocalypse: Behind Enemy Lines (August 21, 2021)

Also widely read by Sean Davis in 2021: The Last Leg of a Critical Race: An Agony in Eight Fits

3. Andrew P Street

Oh Morrissey, So Much To Answer For

Oh Morrissey, So Much To Answer For

4. Nancy Townsley

My High School Friend Is Gone, but Won’t Be Forgotten

My High School Friend Is Gone, but Won’t Be Forgotten

Also widely read by Nancy Townsley in 2021: The Present Moment Is a Gift to Unwrap and Embrace

5. Chad M. Christensen

Boy With Shovel: The Wasp (and the Avocado Jungle of Death)

Boy With Shovel: The Wasp (and the Avocado Jungle of Death)

Also widely read by Chad M. Christensen in 2021: Boy With Shovel: Who’s Afraid of Terence McKenna?

6. Russell Thorburn

The Richard Brautigan Papers

The Richard Brautigan Papers

Also widely read by Russell Thorburn in 2021: Kerouac and Lucien Carr Go to the Movies

7. Adam Strong

Popping the Yolk

Popping the Yolk

Also widely read by Adam Strong in 2021: That One Friend: The Golem

8. Dhananjay Kumar Singh

What COVID Life Has Been Like for Me in India

What COVID Life Has Been Like for Me in India

Also widely read by Dhananjay Kumar Singh in 2021: What Does Yoga Mean to Me?

9. Ben Tanzer

What’s Your Why? Or a Failure to Make Work, Work.

What’s Your Why? Or a Failure to Make Work, Work.

Also widely read by Ben Tanzer in 2021: The Sound of Metal and the Failure of a Narrative Wrapped in a Failure of Sound

10. Kimberly Sheridan

Tattoo Ink: Daredevil (The First Time)

Tattoo Ink: Daredevil (The First Time)

Also widely read by Kimberly Sheridan in 2021: Tattoo Ink: (Supposed to Be) The Alternative to Elitism

The following 2021 essays and articles ranked # 11 – 24:

11. Jesse Valencia – The Top 10 Things You Need To Know To Understand David Lynch (2021)

12. Joseph Edwin Haeger – An Interview With Jeff Chon, Author of Hashtag Good Guy With a Gun

13. Corie Skolnick – Communiqués From Geezerville: Decoding the Word “Active” in Active 55+ Community

14. S.M. Park – Risen Apes: Down Any Street

15. James Jay Edwards – Equal Standard Doesn’t Quite Live Up to Its Powerful Potential

16. Benjamin Vogt – Masking, Vaxxing, Manipulating, and Grieving

17. F.I. Goldhaber – National Day of Mourning

18. Chris Dupuy – Dog Days

19. Linda Rand – Pandemic Diaries: Nervous Breakdown

20. John Michael – Life Is a Sweet, Tender Bruise LX: Contemplating How I Really Want To Live

21. Travis Laurence Naught – A TED-dy Talk: What Is Sex to You?

22. John S. Blake – Sleep Now in the Fire: Out of Shock, Out of Shame

23. Tom Richards – It’s Burning, That’s Why You Need to Read This. A Look at Believers: Making a Life at the End of the World

24. Nathan Tompkins – To Billie Stanton: Happy Mother’s Day

Thank you for your loyal readership. We will continue to shake up and transform America for the better. Please stay tuned, new articles and essays are published daily.

If you are interested in writing for The Big Smoke America, please review our guidelines page.