Jennifer Acker's Blog, page 121
February 18, 2019
From The Study of Animal Languages
LINDSAY STERN
All my life I’ve been waiting,” says my father-in-law, through the stall door. We have stopped at a rest area along the interstate, halfway between our homes. I would meet him back in the car, if only he would stop waxing poetic.
“Frank?” I face the mirror, smoothing the hair over my thinning spot. “I’ll be—”
“First for school to end,” he interrupts.
All my life I’ve been waiting,” says my father-in-law, through the stall door. We have stopped at a rest area along the interstate, halfway between our homes. I would meet him back in the car, if only he would stop waxing poetic.
“Frank?” I face the mirror, smoothing the hair over my thinning spot. “I’ll be—”
“First for school to end,” he interrupts.
February 15, 2019
LitFest Friday Reads: February 2019
STAFF PICKS
TC staff and interns are busily reading in anticipation of LitFest, so we're recommending new work by the National Book Award finalists, Pulitzer Prize winners, and NYT's bestsellers who will be visiting us in Amherst soon.
TC staff and interns are busily reading in anticipation of LitFest, so we're recommending new work by the National Book Award finalists, Pulitzer Prize winners, and NYT's bestsellers who will be visiting us in Amherst soon.
February 13, 2019
Stingray
Kasia van Schaik
Everyone wears white here. Girls with white dogs in their arms rush towards the water. Women smear white ointments across the backs of their knees. Swimmers crouch over white caps.
Everyone wears white here. Girls with white dogs in their arms rush towards the water. Women smear white ointments across the backs of their knees. Swimmers crouch over white caps.
February 12, 2019
From Where the Dead Sit Talking
BRANDON HOBSON
I have been unhappy for many years now. I have seen in the faces of young people walking down the street a resemblance to people who died during my childhood...
I have been unhappy for many years now. I have seen in the faces of young people walking down the street a resemblance to people who died during my childhood...
February 4, 2019
Multiple Geographies: an Interview with Helen Benedict
HELEN BENEDICT
War has always been seen as a man’s story, dating back to the earliest oral battle ballads from cultures around the world. Yet today, more women and children die in the world’s wars than men.
War has always been seen as a man’s story, dating back to the earliest oral battle ballads from cultures around the world. Yet today, more women and children die in the world’s wars than men.
February 1, 2019
Seeking Warmth, Among Other Things
ELIZABETH WITTE
Even in the raw of winter, the succulent house will be hot and dry. The air in the palm house will be thick. These alternating glass houses of desert, forest, floral exotica—carnivorous pitcher plants and living stones—will be a refuge when New England is in February...
Even in the raw of winter, the succulent house will be hot and dry. The air in the palm house will be thick. These alternating glass houses of desert, forest, floral exotica—carnivorous pitcher plants and living stones—will be a refuge when New England is in February...
The Man Who Was Killed
LUAY HAMZA ABBAS
There once was a man who left his home every morning at about six or six-thirty after shaving his face. He sprinkled heavy golden droplets of cologne onto his palm and then patted his cheeks. His cheeks tingled, and he experienced the subtle scent of lemon.
There once was a man who left his home every morning at about six or six-thirty after shaving his face. He sprinkled heavy golden droplets of cologne onto his palm and then patted his cheeks. His cheeks tingled, and he experienced the subtle scent of lemon.
January 31, 2019
Ask a Local: Mara Pastor, Ponce, Puerto Rico
MARA PASTOR
Beyond the coastal part of the city, there’s a grand expanse of territory situated between majestic mountains that form part of the central ridge, where there are abundant rivers, such as the Inabón and the Portugués as well as beautiful lakes like Lake Cerillos. From the mountains, the view of the Caribbean and its luxuriant vegetation is enthralling.
Beyond the coastal part of the city, there’s a grand expanse of territory situated between majestic mountains that form part of the central ridge, where there are abundant rivers, such as the Inabón and the Portugués as well as beautiful lakes like Lake Cerillos. From the mountains, the view of the Caribbean and its luxuriant vegetation is enthralling.
January 30, 2019
The Camera Obscura at Castelo São Jorge
KRISTINA FAUST
Cats disdain from sills./ Women in widows’/ black wobble past, and/ bells ring for reasons/ other than plain time.
Cats disdain from sills./ Women in widows’/ black wobble past, and/ bells ring for reasons/ other than plain time.
January 25, 2019
January 2019 Poetry Feature
MATTHEW GELLMAN
It was like a woman throwing off / her shawl at the end of an evening. / The way it dressed itself in moonlight. / The way it planted itself on the sill. / Settling against the glass, its head shook… / And each of its green muscles ticked / even closer to the end of its slenderest life.
It was like a woman throwing off / her shawl at the end of an evening. / The way it dressed itself in moonlight. / The way it planted itself on the sill. / Settling against the glass, its head shook… / And each of its green muscles ticked / even closer to the end of its slenderest life.
