Category Archives: Guest writer

By Brenda Miller Note, this post is an example of a hermit crab essay, a format Brenda teaches in which a writer adopts an existing form to contain their writing. These forms can be a number of things including emails, … Continue reading →

By Sheila Bender “Did you see the Harrycoos out to our left as we passed?” “No,” we told the taxi driver taking us from our ferry landing on the Isle of Skye to Kyle Lochalsh on the mainland in the … Continue reading →

By Donna Roger In the mid-1980s, I began working in a large reputable company, starting my career in the administrative assistant field. During its heyday, this company employed over 10,000 employees, and it was actively hiring to support its rapid … Continue reading →

By Ez Siegler Ah!  The much-maligned dandelion!  So spikey sleek in its youthful yellow attire, dotting, or, more often filling whole landscapes with their community.  The energy and frolic of an early spring bloom of all those yellow buttons certainly … Continue reading →

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 →