Author Archives: first person productions

By Marlene Samuels This is the second post of a two-part series. Read Part 1 here. My high school was infamous for mean girls from wealthy families and an archaic gender-biased curriculum. Senior boys crafted items from wood—bookshelves, coffee tables, … Continue reading →

By Marlene Samuels This is the first post of a two-part series. Read the second post here. During my senior year of high school in 1968, Home Economics was a mandatory, one-semester sewing and cooking class all girls were supposed … Continue reading →

Today I share Renee Lajcak’s essay, read by the author. Renee writes both for the page and for performance, adjusting her style for each. “For spoken word, I use shorter sentences, more repetition. On the page, you can be more … Continue reading →

By Carol J. Wechsler Blatter Pain, before your arrival, I was spoiled. Not spoiled like a spoiled child, but like a naive adult who had almost always enjoyed good health. Suddenly and without permission, you came into my life accompanied … Continue reading →

By Faith Ellestad It was 1970. We had been married for just a few months and had recently moved into our first real apartment.  It was on the second floor of a vintage two-flat on South Broom Street. The smell … Continue reading →

By Sue Oakes There was an old TV show called Mystery Science Theater.  The opening scene was a view from the back of a movie theater.  The movie theater is dark against the bright movie screen, revealing silhouettes of a … Continue reading →

By Gina Chirichella  My favorite winter activity has always been ice skating. Actually, at this stage of my life, it’s one of the few outdoor winter activities that I still partake in. Now that the kids are grown, I no … Continue reading →

By Iryna Mroz When I was about nine years old, I made a shocking discovery: pigs can swim. Not that anyone had bothered to tell me this crucial piece of information before I risked my life for them. We lived … Continue reading →