In her essay in Pacific Standard, Rahawa Haile writes about identity, the anxiety of origins, and the search for a grounded life in unstable, isolating locales. Born to Eritrean parents, Haile grew up in Miami, Florida, speaking English and Tigrinya in a low land of built of hurricane deposits that felt doomed to rising sea levels. […]
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Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Searching for Truth in Florida Folklore
In the Oxford American, John O’Connor searches the Everglades for the facts within the folklore of sugar cane farmer and outlaw E.J. “Bloody” Watson.
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Haruki Murakami on the Weirdness of His Birthday as a Public Event
In the introduction to “Birthday Stories,” a 2004 anthology edited by Haruki Murakami, Murakami writes about the particular weirdness of having his birthday become a public event.
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In Praise of Polarizing Food
Canned sardines turn many Americans off to fresh sardines, which is a shame. In Tin House‘s 2009 Appetites Issue, Jeff Koehler shares the little fish’s pleasures, describing how eating canned sardines in his vagabond youth led him to savoring fresh sardines as an adult, which culminated in years of culinary experimentation in his adopted home of Barcelona. […]
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How Homelessness Looks in the Tech Boom
In the New Republic, Monica Potts profiles an elderly couple who lived in their van while searching for affordable housing, and portrays the hostilities and NIMBYism that Silicon Valley’s homeless face, as well as the social services available to them.
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The Evangelical Scientist Preaching Climate Change
She is conservative in her politics and her spirituality, sure, but she’s deeply concerned for the planet’s welfare and sees environmental protection as a Christian imperative.
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We’re Going On A Bear Hunt in New Jersey
Chris Pomorski joins avid hunter Tom Slaughter (yes, that’s his real name) on a bear hunt, visiting the woods and a check station for hunters to register their “harvests.”
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Researching Our Martian Heritage
In Nautilus, Tim Folger writes about how scientist are still debating whether organic and inorganic materials found on Martian meteorite ALH84001 contain evidence that life existed on Mars before it existed on Earth. If it did, then life could have spread to Earth from meteorites, which could make human beings ─ and other Earthly life ─ […]
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Kudzu, an Invasive Plant, Is Not Going to Devour the South
At Smithsonian Magazine, botanist Bill Finch slices through the mythos surrounding this meandering vine and its political and economic roots.
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‘Do You Want to Be Matched?’
A one-man matchmaking machine, catering to single Koreans and their concerned family members.