Karissa Chen tries to reconstruct the moment her grandfather, at 19, left Shanghai for Taiwan on a supposed vacation—a decision that would alter his life forever.
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Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction
Thank You, Jon Gnagy: An Appreciation of a Predecessor to Bob Ross
Ned Stuckey-French reflects on the host of Learn to Draw, the “middlebrow” instructional art show he loved as a kid.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
Pee and Fury: Testing the Limits of Bladder Control
Scary late-night noises in a hotel hallway force Nina Sharma to question her ability to sleep through fear — and the frequent, raging urge to relieve herself.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
Writing the Monsignor
Mary O’Connell recalls her college efforts to write about a scandalized priest from her youth.
Posted inArts & Culture, History, Story
Percy Ross Wants to Give You Money!
He was was a self-made, blue-collar millionaire in Reagan’s America. But when Percy Ross decided to give away his fortune, he made things simple: all you had to do was ask for it.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
Thank You, Jon Gnagy: An Appreciation of a Predecessor to Bob Ross
Ned Stuckey-French reflects on the host of Learn to Draw, the “middlebrow” instructional art show he loved as a kid.
Posted inFirst Chapters, Nonfiction, Story, Unapologetic Women
My Parents Said I Bruised Easily
An excerpt from “Estranged: Leaving Family and Finding Home,” by Jessica Berger Gross.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
Drinking Chai to Savannah: Reflections on Identity, Inclusion and Power in the South
On a girls’ road trip to Savannah with six of her immigrant friends, Anjali Enjeti recalls a traumatic racist incident she experienced as a teen—an interaction that framed her understanding of her otherness, in Georgia, and America.
Posted inNonfiction
Longreads Best of 2016: Essays & Criticism
We asked a few writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here, the best in essays and criticism.
