John Cheever: In Town for Lunch
In town for lunch. The air-conditioning, the smell of perfume and gin, the attentions of the headwaiter, the real and unreal sense of haste, importance, and freedom that clings to … Continue reading
Djelloul Marbrook: Poetry as a haunting ley-line system in the service of human evolution
A ley line is a fairy path to the Irish, a dragon line to the Chinese, a djinnway to Arabs, a spirit line to the Incas, a songline to the … Continue reading
Dawn Potter: Speaking of Sorrow
My son is seventeen years old, and he has a broken heart. Of course I also had a broken heart when I was seventeen, but what does that matter? My … Continue reading
Doug Anderson: On Having
After my mother died in 2001, I found myself un-layering years of accumulated expectations. One of those expectations, and what I haven’t achieved, was to have a middle-class life, get … Continue reading
Djelloul Marbrook: About the contest industry and bat-shit craziness
A presumption of dandelions Another damned winner to celebrate while we poison dandelions and hardly know how to honor daffodils. Never mind the Lenten rose breaking through the snow, we … Continue reading
Patricia A. Nugent: Forgive Me, Mr. President
Maybe it’s that pesky Sixth Commandment: Thou shalt not kill. Or verse 5:53 of the Koran: Who so kills a soul, unless it be for murder or for wreaking corruption … Continue reading
Per Espen Stoknes: The Great Grief — How To Cope with Losing Our World
Climate scientists overwhelmingly say that we will face unprecedented warming in the coming decades. Those same scientists, just like you or I, struggle with the emotions that are evoked by … Continue reading