Owen Bergstein author page
1 puzzle by Owen Bergstein
with Constructor comments
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Hi xwordinfo readers! It's... honestly terrifying to be making my debut today. I am a high school junior, and I've been waiting for this moment for years. I got into making crosswords in fourth grade, put it down, then got back into it in earnest when I started high school. The summer before freshman year, I spent hours reading every single constructor note on this entire site and perusing all of the pages. To finally have one of my own is... uncanny. (To celebrate, I finally am releasing a blog I've been working on for months! You can find it at dissonantgrids.blogspot.com)
Now for the actual puzzle: this grid is so, so meaningful to me. I watched Edith Windsor's heart-wrenching documentary for the first time in eighth grade, and can't recommend it enough. I try to put ample queer representation in every puzzle; an original draft of this one had the center stair-stack read: LESBIAN BAR GAY MARRIAGE COTTAGECORE. But even though that's gone, I recommend you all research United States v. Windsor. The queer rights struggle didn't end with Obergefell!
Ultimately, I made this puzzle in a really, truly, dark era in my life, an era that crosswords (including this one) helped pull me out of. Thank you to the New York Times for accepting this puzzle. Thank you to all of my editors and collaborators everywhere for working with me. Thank you to everyone who answered weird, out-of-the-blue emails and DMs from a crossword-obsessed teen, and who offered grace and love and support. Thank you to everyone who offered advice or mentorship; especially Jeff Chen, Claire Rimkus, Spencer Leach, Will & Shannon, and Kelsey Dixon. This is starting to sound like an Oscar acceptance speech, so I guess I'll end it by saying what they all do: "wow, this thing really is heavy." <3