John Samuel Tieman: On Love and Sacrifice
What I hate about Trump, and folks like Trump, is this. He doesn’t debate immigration policy. He hates Mexicans. He doesn’t debate theology. He hates Muslims. He doesn’t hate poverty. … Continue reading
Patricia A. Nugent: Trump May Do Some Good
“I really have to say that Donald Trump has done something that’s been very good for me.” I stare at her, unable to eke out a sound. Ellen and I … Continue reading
Annie Dillard: The Writing Life
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour, and that one, is what we are doing. A schedule defends … Continue reading
Video: Traffic Stop
. Directed by Gina Kamentsky and Julie Zammarchi, this short animated film shows a night in the life of Alex Landau, an African-American man who was raised by his adoptive … Continue reading
Doug Anderson: The Men Who Fought the War
The Vietnam War lives in kind of a fog just off our left shoulder. It hovers there, will not go away, demands to be seen. But we don’t look. It … Continue reading
Frida Berrigan: “Pow, Pow, Yous Are Dead!”
Children, Toy Guns, and the Real Thing It was a beautiful evening and the kids — Madeline, two; Seamus, almost four; and Rosena, nine — were running across a well-tended … Continue reading
Ruth Clark: Here in Hereford — The Admirable Nature of Aspen and Creosote
There’s a large creosote bush colony in the desert that has survived for 12,000 years by cloning itself. It does this under brutal conditions. Not that it is unique. There’s … Continue reading
Michael Simms: Why Gardening is Good for Us
Last year, Eva and I hired a contractor to remove the asphalt from our backyard which for years had been used as a woodlot and a basketball court. The soil … Continue reading
Judi Mitchell: How to be Wise
[At Vox Populi we specialize in exposing problems and proposing solutions, but our friend Judi Mitchell points out that it may be more important to be wise than to be right. … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: My War as a Clarinetist
“One time, the band played a welcoming ceremony for these grunts – and I mean they walked right out of the bush and into “Stars and Stripes Forever.” John Samuel … Continue reading
John Samuel Tieman: God is in her Hand
When I was a young teacher, I used to baffle my students by asking them to prove that their hands exist. And while my youth was in many ways both … Continue reading
Wislawa Szymborska: Cosmic Solitude
I admit that I find the question of life beyond Earth quite interesting, but still I’d prefer not to have it settled too quickly and definitively. For example, I’m cheered, … Continue reading
Ruth Clark: Here in Hereford — Neighborhood Tales
Soon Gene and I will have been here 20 years. When we came, the electricity failed regularly during the monsoon season, irregularly at other times; thus there would be no … Continue reading
Tiffany Watt Smith: In Search of Obscure Words for Even Rarer Feelings
Learning new words for feelings can help us sort out our shifting, melting emotional skies and attend to the subtle forms and flavors of our experiences. And if you happen … Continue reading
