Columns
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Poetics of Space: A Conversation with D.S. Waldman
“I was always, across these various modes of expression, chasing or trying to harness this underlying current of poetry—that thing in paintings or buildings or concertos or in (some) really good prose that makes me, even if temporarily, wholeheartedly invested…
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Rich Text and the Tunnel Vision of Love: An Interview with Seán Hewitt
“It’s not a book in which plot is the central driver. What I was most interested in is how falling in love spurs James into increasing levels of hope or longing, or agony in some cases. It was a very…
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Cold Snap
In the time between emptying, the baby’s mother curled atop the spare mattress in the baby’s would-be room. The couple had bought two mattresses from a motel’s going-out-of-business sale—a king for the master bedroom, a full for the spare. They’d…
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Casino
You hit the jackpot and I was angry at you. Lucky, lucky you. I forgot about your mother’s tumor, the fingertip edging the light switch of her pituitary gland.
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Neighborly
I met Leeanner and Ed six years prior when I bought my house in east Austin. I had saved up the down payment working tech jobs I hated, and I was excited to nest. I told myself it was a…
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We Never Needed Each Other
“I have wondered if my mother’s unhappiness is rooted in having three daughters, which in a traditional Chinese family meant my parents tried unsuccessfully three times for a son. I have also wondered if my mother’s unhappiness, evidenced by her…
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Desire is the engine of magic: An Interview with Silvia Moreno-Garcia
I wanted to write something inspired by the witchcraft folklore I learned about from my family growing up back in Mexico. But I also lived in Massachusetts for a little while and wanted something related to that locale, which is…
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Two Poems
Forgive yourself. If it’s hard, start small: throwaway thing you said in passing that’s kept you sheet-thrashing all night. Stack of coupons you let expire; waves uncaught when you came in early despite offshore wind.
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“Full Throttle from the First Sentence:” A Conversation with Ivonne Lamazares
“Many of us go through similar experiences, where the foundations of our lives and family dynamics collapse. These situations force us to come face to face with the instability of self-narratives, family structures, and personal identities. I’m enormously curious about…
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Grief Makes Nothing Happen
We all recognize certain types of loss. If we’re fortunate, we take bereavement leave from our jobs, perform the pre-made grieving rituals. But we also know these aren’t the only losses, nor are they always the worst ones. Surely you…
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Clutching to Community Over Contemporary Culture
The ways in which the group will support one another …defines how friendship can stand in direct rebellion to societal status quo
