Gary Fincke: The Chernobyl Swallows
In April, near the anniversary Of catastrophe, barn swallows returned, Flying inside the exclusion zone to Nest in the radioactive ruins. Like disciples, the swaddled scientists Marveled. The work crews, … Continue reading
George Yancy: Deaf philosophy is opening up new worlds, challenging us all to see hearing disabilities not as a loss but as a gain.
There is a body of scholarship in Deaf studies about Deaf Gain, which flips the tables on the disability-as-loss narrative.
Joan E. Bauer | After a Sign in Joshua Tree: Tortoise Crossing
…this spring
at the crossroads of the Mojave & Colorado Deserts,
I found a magic scarf.
Jessica Bagwell: Study of an Olive Tree
Slick, ovalescent, stone
fruit, slung between leaves,
poised on the branch–waiting,
for warm hands
to pluck.
Video: Rhiannon Giddens | Songs that bring history to life
Rhiannon Giddens pours the emotional weight of American history into her music. Listen as she performs traditional folk ballads — including “Waterboy,” “Up Above My Head,” and “Lonesome Road” by … Continue reading
Bhikshuni Nanduttara: It’s Not Fair
I spent most of my teenage years running from one bed to another. Any sign of warmth would do.
Jeffrey D. Sachs: How the CIA Destabilizes the World
The extent of the continuing mayhem resulting from CIA operations gone awry is astounding.
Patricia A. Nugent: Healing Japan
I dreamed Peggy invited me to go to Japan with her. That’s all I remember, her asking me. I don’t know how I responded.
Tony Gloeggler: Some of the Things
Bean once told me, he never
hit a woman, as if it was a big
accomplishment.
Baron Wormser: Disunited Delusions
Donald Trump, as an unrestrained American ego, seems like an allegorical figure of the sort that Melville had a fondness for—the Confidence Man, par excellence.
Elizabeth Romero: O’Brien’s Funeral Parlor
The family, humble and resigned as a canvas jacket:
Their faces full of a still, impassive sorrow
Helene Johnson: Invocation
Let me be buried in the rainIn a deep, dripping wood,Under the warm wet breast of EarthWhere once a gnarled tree stood.And paint a picture on my tombWith dirt and … Continue reading
Video: Dick Allen reads If You Visit Our Country & Sleepy Old Towns
Born in Troy, New York, on August 8, 1939, Dick Allen is the author of eight poetry collections, including Present Vanishing (Sarabande Books, 2008). He received fellowships from the National Endowment for the … Continue reading
Stan Cox: As Climate Chaos Accelerates, Governments Avert Their Eyes
The Earth’s not just steadily warming; it’s heating up at an ever-faster pace.
