A Collection of Stories About Not Choosing Motherhood
These folks have given their decisions a lot of thought—choosing not to parent at all is as big a decision as choosing to have a baby, or two, or five. It isn’t flippant, or silly, or selfish, as you’ll read in these essays and interviews.
The Rise of ‘Mama’
“Like most cultural shifts in language, the rise of white, upper-middle class women who call themselves ‘mama’ seemed to happen slowly, and then all at once.” Elissa Strauss explores how the use of “mama” helped rebrand motherhood for the modern mother.
The Man Who Became Big Bird
An interview with Caroll Spinney, who, at 81, has worked at “Sesame Street” as the puppeteer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch for 45 years.
The Skin I’m In: Stories By Writers of Color
I wanted to share these stories about love and music and beauty and family. These stories are also about hair, about plastic surgery, about skin color, about contending with the harmful standards imposed by white privilege. They’re all written by writers of color, whose stories don’t always get the air time they deserve.
Slavery and Freedom in New York City
The story of slavery in New York, the messy path to abolition, and a shameful history with which America has yet to come to terms.
Racing Thoughts: Our College Pick
A new Longreads college pick featuring Boston University’s The Daily Free Press.
Celebrating Singlehood and Reclaiming the Word ‘Spinster’
An interview with Kate Bolick about the single women in history who helped her understand how she could live on her own terms.
The 2015 Pulitzer Prize Winners
Congrats to all the winners and nominees! See some of the winning stories here.
Rest in Peace: Stories About Death Care
This week: five stories about laying the dead to rest.
Tennessee Williams on His Women, His Writer’s Block, and Whether It All Mattered
Tennessee Williams tasked James Grissom with seeking out each of the women (and few men) who had inspired his work—Maureen Stapleton, Lillian Gish, Marlon Brando and others—so that he could ask them a question: had Tennessee Williams, or his work, ever mattered?