Today would've been Matthew Power's 40th birthday. The GQ contributor and friend of GQ staffers past and present died this March while reporting a story along the Nile River in Uganda. Matt was curious, adventurous, and always empathetic—he worked tirelessly to understand his subjects and bring them alive on the page. You can read Matt's stories about drone pilots, urban explorers, and theart world here on GQ.com.
In the days after Matt died, dozens of tributes to him sprang up online, coming in from all around the world. Even for those of us who knew Matt well, who knew what a constant and generous friend he was, what was especially remarkable were the number of young journalists Matt had taken the time to coach and mentor: beginning writers who'd gotten a fan letter from Matt at a moment when they were considering giving up, established journalists who owed at least part of their success to a chance Matthew Power had encouraged them to take on themselves.
more here.