The Most Read Saturday Essays of 2025

Perfect Duluth Day’s “Saturday Essay” series has now run for ten years. The second half of that decade has seen Jim Richardson dominate the annual list of most-read compositions. Since 2020, Google Analytics stats show Richardon’s essays have landed in 21 of the 25 top-five slots. Long live Lake Superior Aquaman!

That being stated, it is important to also note the goal is the essay series to feature a variety of voices, whether they reach the top of the clicking charts and win the popularity contest or not. So before digging into the 2025 countdown, here’s the standard paragraph that spells out for the uninitiated how the “Saturday Essay” feature works:

PDD publishes an essay on most Saturdays. Yours truly, Paul Lundgren, is the editor. A small group of writers are featured somewhat regularly, but anyone is welcome and encouraged to submit a piece for consideration. Of the 384 essays published so far, 50 different writers have been featured. We’re always looking to expand that roster, so anyone who has an original piece of literary excellence that seems to fit (or appropriately defy) the established format should email paul @ perfectduluthday.com for consideration.

And now, the countdown …

#1: Jim Richardson’s “Minnesota Land Surveyor’s Deathbed Confession, 1907”
… in which a deputy surveyor reveals how he out-distanced his most-hated competitor.
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#2: Jim Richardson’s “Adrift in the Duluth Triangle”
… in which a barfly survives depression in 2019.
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#3: Jocelyn Pihlaja’s “Gang of Thieves”
… in which a seemingly impenetrable chain lock is no match for vigilantes.
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#4: Jim Richardson’s “The Grateful Dead vs. The Velvet Underground”
… in which the West Coast jam band and East Coast avant-garde rock band are compared.
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#5: Jim Richardson’s “The FBI Paid for My Co-op Membership: Minnesota Food War 1975”
… in which a former co-op volunteer becomes a confidential FBI informant.
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That’s the goods. Read or reread and enjoy. We’ll be back with new works of literary splendor in 2026 — the 11th year of the Saturday Essay series.