Stories tagged essay

The Boy from Thuringia

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“The Boy from Thuringia” is part of a series of stories collectively called The History of Adoption. In it, a middle-aged man sets out rather obsessively to write a comprehensive history of the adopted child. In his attempts to finally begin this im

This is Home

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In a perfect world, national boundaries would not exist. Different cultures and traditions would still be there, but they would all coexist and people would borrow from each other with abandon. A real melting pot of a world. People would be able to come and go as they…

My White Christmas, 2010

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Now my sister's husband Matt is a Yankee, which I have never held against him one bit. And one of the first and foremost topics that Yankees know about is snow.

Last Words

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I met Barry Hannah once in my life. I’d come to Oxford, MS, to meet an entirely different writer whom I thought then and think now very highly of. I’d also come to escape from another slew of regrets. Oxford is a great city to run away to.

Mothering in Real Time

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"If Hillary can forgive Bill, why can't you forgive Dad?" my seven-year-old son wails one night as I put him to bed.

What is truth? Throwing stones in a wilderness of mirrors

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In some ways, the Roman Empire was the Wall Street of its day.

What is truth? Throwing stones in a wilderness of mirrors

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In some ways, the Roman Empire was the Wall Street of its day.

Trial Cycle

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I know, because I’m one of too many.

Discovering Gattorno

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When she opened the door of the place for me that first time I saw a painting on the opposite wall that immediately grabbed my attention. I mean it spoke to me. Loudly. It looked like something by Goya, Di Chirico or Dali. I was transfixed.

Always a Story

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“Yesterday,” she begins, with a touch of drama, “I had a spiritual experience with a bird.”

Open Orchidae

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But Jana insisted to see this miracle, this antidote for the mundanity of existence.

Turning Thirty

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It was a year of red, white, and blue bell bottoms, chokers, and mini-skirts. It was not a decade of pink stretch pants, pink sweatshirts, and pink snowsuits.

The Weight of a Gun

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The first time I ever held a gun, I was three years old...

On Mistakes [revision / including the original]

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My window to the pole star?

On Voices

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power in its purest form