Christian McMahon so rightly reminds us that everyone has “a right to exist safely in public spaces.”
Krista Stevens
Letters to Donald Trump
Barbara Zitwer, Colm Tóibín, Elham Manea, Linda Coverdale, Kyung-sook Shin, and Anne Landsman share their stories of immigration to protest Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban as an abomination in a country built and fuelled by people from away.
The NBA’s Secret Addiction
On how the lowly peanut butter and jelly sandwich fuelled the 2007-08 Boston Celtics to an NBA title, becoming the sweet and salty stuff of superstitious sport legend that has since spread like an addiction across the league.
In Japan, an archery quest leads to unexpected lessons
Leigh Ann Henion was drawn to archery by her grandfather’s passion for it. She travels to Japan to improve her archery skills by learning Kyudo — a form of archery that is one of Japan’s oldest martial arts. In her short, yet intense course, sensei Kazuhisa Miyasaka helps her realize that achievement with the bow […]
Am I in an Abusive Relationship? ‘I knew if I had to ask I already knew the answer.’
Katherine Laidlaw recalls an abusive relationship in which her boyfriend threatened her with a boxcutter.
I’m Trans, Disabled, And Tired Of Fighting To Get Into Bathrooms
Christian McMahon remembers growing up transgender and disabled and implores us to remember that acknowledging someone’s humanity is a lot more than simply allowing them to use the washroom they prefer. Acknowledging his unearned privilege as “a small white man with a disability,” he reminds us that everyone deserves the basic human “right to exist […]
How a Story Becomes a ‘Hopeful Thing’: George Saunders on His Writing Process
At the Guardian, the author recounts how it takes “hundreds of drafts” and “thousands of incremental adjustments” to form a story into a “hopeful thing.”
How Jazz Singer Baby Esther Jones Became Betty Boop
Gabrielle Bellot explores the original inspiration for Betty Boop—a black jazz singer with an iconic style and voice.
A Place of Absorption
Katherine Laidlaw recalls an abusive relationship in which her boyfriend threatened her with a boxcutter. In examining why she stayed as long as she did, she observes how the emotional scars affect her thinking and perception in what should be a new, exciting relationship — to the point where “Everything now — a flicker of […]
27 Years and 1,000 Break-Ins: North Pond Hermit — Book Edition
An excerpt from The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit — Michael Finkel’s book on Christopher Knight, the hermit who survived by committing 1,000 break-ins over nearly three decades.
