He screamed, and I mean really screamed, to no one and to every one of us who was peeking at him out our windows: “What are we even doing out here!!??”
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This Week in Books: Pain and Power
“And it will hurt, but we won’t be the ones doing all of the feeling, finally.” -Harmony Holiday
Teaching Writing and Breaking Rules
Rules can ruin the kind of exciting language that makes literature rewarding, but some rules also enhance writing. It’s challenging to find the middle ground.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Masha Gessen, Molly Osberg, T. S. Mendola, Alexander Chee, and George Murray.
Nashville contra Jaws, 1975
In their time, “Jaws” and “Nashville” were regarded as Watergate films, and both were in production as the Watergate disaster played its final act.
To Be, or Not to Be
A personal essay in which Russian emigre Masha Gessen ruminates on the culture’s tendency to privilege those who’ve suffered for a lack of choice — in becoming refugees, in picking their gender — and the choices (her own, and those of her parents and ancestors) that have impacted her life.
If Only There Were Someone Who Would Listen
Dror Burstein’s “Muck” sets a difficult course through themes of power, pita bread, and invasion, mixing up the biblical past and the just-as-lamentable present.
The High Cost of Becoming a Writer as a Single Mom
Stephanie Land endured poverty, loneliness, and more to pursue her dream of being a writer.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Amanda Mull, Allegra Hobbs, Andrew O’Hagan, Andrew Kay, and Joe Veix.

