“Parrot Isn’t Hungry”: On Family, Food, Fasting, and Ramadan
Living many states away from her parents and much of her extended family during the holy month of Ramadan, writer Gulnaz Saiyed remembers the food and flavors of home.
Missing Hope: A Trio of Miscarriages, and What Happened After
“I have been afraid most days of my life, which is what anxiety is, and the months of this pregnancy have been the most anxious of my life.”
Talent Isn’t Enough When You’re a Fat Ballerina
“What does it mean when your body is your art? Can a thicker brush not make just as beautiful strokes?”
Children of ‘The Cloud’ and Major Tom: Growing Up in the ’80s Under the German Sky
On the 70-year-long presence of American air bases in Germany, and how it has shaped the memory and sense of place of several generations of Germans.
The Space Between Us and the Ground Below Us, or: Why I Traveled to Japan
Gaijin find traveling in Japan both daunting and welcoming. Try traveling there black and gay, and yet, for some people, it’s America that feels more foreign.
My Editor Was Black
Debut author Naima Coster writes about her experience working with African American editor Morgan Parker on her first novel, Halsey Street, and also touches on the whiteness of publishing, and literary self-determination.
Why My Family Takes a Thanksgiving Vow of Silence
A personal essay in which Nina Coomes recalls her family’s tradition of extreme unplugging — no reading, talking, using digital devices — while taking silent retreats at a Catholic seminary each Thanksgiving.
What Miyazaki’s Heroines Taught Me About My Mixed-Race Identity
On the wonder and strangeness of occupying a perpetually in-between space.
Talking to My Daughter About Charlottesville
Black UVA alum Taylor Harris writes about explaining the racist violence on the Charlottesville campus to her 6-year-old daughter, who hadn’t yet personally encountered racism or ever learned about racist violence. Only a day before the “Unite the Right” protest that led to white supremacists beating Dre Harris and killing Heather Heyer, her daughter and husband had been right there, buying ice cream. Harris wrestles with informing her daughter, because she doesn’t want to rob her of her innocence.
True Love Will Find You: My Afternoon in Daniel Johnston’s Dining Room
During his punk band’s first tour, a high school musician visits the home of underground artist Daniel Johnson, one of his musical heroes, and someone who also suffers from manic depression. The experience is the realization of a dream, and it gave the author perspective that stayed with him for years.
