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