Thank you

Cicero, IL

Memories of Malasada

I followed my parents’ lead for the spoken and unspoken commands of mass. My leather shoes pinched my toes with every movement, my velvet...

The Long Run

“Clean air, clean water, open spaces – these should once again be the birthright of every American.” ~ President Richard M. Nixon (R), 1970...

Dinner Party

“Dinner at 7?” Kristin texts and out of habit I find the thumbs-up emoji and hit send. But then it’s 6:50 and Acadia calls...

The Art of Letting Go

I followed our moving van over Boston's Tobin Bridge from Gloucester, Massachusetts. I was newly divorced; my four-year-old boy was belted into his car...

Some Girls Have All the Luck, Some Girls Have All the Pain

The week I read Emily May’s essay collection Some Girls, I visit the Wayne Thiebaud exhibit “Art Comes From Art” at the Legion of...

Navalny, Poetry, and Truth

On the morning I heard that the Russian political activist, Alexei Navalny, had died in a Siberian prison, I was mournful but not surprised. “So...

Without a Trace: A Life with Oil

1. My father was an oil man whose career coincided with the rise of oil and the beginning of its decline. I grew up in...

Mărțișor

Olesea Sirbu was a big girl, fata mare, and had been for years. She was fata mare because at 23, she was about to...

The Essentials

Happy Friday

Night Flight to L.A.

Twinning

The Wind || A Dream

 The WindThe wind blew fierce last night.Tree branches banged on the roof.Rain sprayed heavy against the windows.I had merely built my house there.This afternoon,the...

Thank you

Cicero, IL

Night

Carrying Coal

Pangyrus 12 cover
ON SALE NOW

Advice

Notes From a Veteran Querier

If you’ve written a book and want to publish through a traditional publisher, you’ll need a literary agent and to get one, you’ll need...

Further Reading