Jennifer Acker's Blog, page 132
July 12, 2018
Excerpt from The Occasional Virgin
HANAN AL-SHAYKH
Translated by CATHERINE COBHAM. The sea had depressed Huda ever since she was a schoolgirl, bent eagerly over a drawing of a Phoenician princess walking with her prince beside the sea, while their dog played with a shell.
Translated by CATHERINE COBHAM. The sea had depressed Huda ever since she was a schoolgirl, bent eagerly over a drawing of a Phoenician princess walking with her prince beside the sea, while their dog played with a shell.
July 10, 2018
Review: Leave No Trace
HANNAH GERSEN
In fairy tales, the forest is a dark, dangerous place, populated by wolves and other menacing creatures, but for Thomasin and her father, Will, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the forest is a respite, a place of quiet and calm.
In fairy tales, the forest is a dark, dangerous place, populated by wolves and other menacing creatures, but for Thomasin and her father, Will, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the forest is a respite, a place of quiet and calm.
July 6, 2018
Welcome to the Future
VAL WANG
Most of the other diners were Chinese; Buddhism was trendy among the well-to-do of the city. I imagined the tower block in the suburbs now housing the displaced granny this courtyard house had been seized from.
Most of the other diners were Chinese; Buddhism was trendy among the well-to-do of the city. I imagined the tower block in the suburbs now housing the displaced granny this courtyard house had been seized from.
July 5, 2018
You’re the Sweetest One
LASHONDA KATRICE BARNETT
They often called a hearse as backup to transport accident victims, including those who survived. He left out that whites always rode in the ambulance; the hearse was for coloreds. Harvell said it was his first time getting such a call; probably they called white funeral homes first.
They often called a hearse as backup to transport accident victims, including those who survived. He left out that whites always rode in the ambulance; the hearse was for coloreds. Harvell said it was his first time getting such a call; probably they called white funeral homes first.
July 4, 2018
Dream Ladders
MATTHEW SCHULTZ
What we are dealing with, then, is not one ladder but two. One sits on a balcony, and the other lives in dreams. One was left behind, and the other was consciously placed to appear as though it had been left behind. One is unmoved, and the other is immovable.
What we are dealing with, then, is not one ladder but two. One sits on a balcony, and the other lives in dreams. One was left behind, and the other was consciously placed to appear as though it had been left behind. One is unmoved, and the other is immovable.
June 29, 2018
June 2018 Poetry Feature
NATHALIE HANDAL
Because some words together / can frighten loneliness / like the lagoon moving aside / for the sea / Because you’ve chosen / the most crowded voices to hide in / Because you’ve chosen / the oldest wound to haunt you / Because I can’t show you / myself entirely
Because some words together / can frighten loneliness / like the lagoon moving aside / for the sea / Because you’ve chosen / the most crowded voices to hide in / Because you’ve chosen / the oldest wound to haunt you / Because I can’t show you / myself entirely
June 28, 2018
Ask a Local: Elizabyth A. Hiscox, Gunnison, Colorado
ELIZABYTH A. HISCOX
Not twenty degrees, negative twenty. It happens every year and many choose to avoid or flee the area in February.
Not twenty degrees, negative twenty. It happens every year and many choose to avoid or flee the area in February.
June 22, 2018
Review: Here Comes the Sun
NICOLE DENNIS-BENN
Nicole Dennis-Benn’s debut novel Here Comes the Sun opens with the stirring words, “God Nuh Like Ugly.” The melding of Jamaican Patois and English establishes an immediate authenticity, as does the disturbing discovery that ugly is synonymous with the blackness of one’s skin.
Nicole Dennis-Benn’s debut novel Here Comes the Sun opens with the stirring words, “God Nuh Like Ugly.” The melding of Jamaican Patois and English establishes an immediate authenticity, as does the disturbing discovery that ugly is synonymous with the blackness of one’s skin.
June 20, 2018
January’s Child
RANDOLPH THOMAS
When winter set in, they came/ to see us with their baby,/ a beautiful child about a year old/ who was learning to walk/ and stepped proudly/ across our living room,/ waved her fists and hands/ and shook her straw colored hair./ They were in their late thirties
When winter set in, they came/ to see us with their baby,/ a beautiful child about a year old/ who was learning to walk/ and stepped proudly/ across our living room,/ waved her fists and hands/ and shook her straw colored hair./ They were in their late thirties
Non-Native
CATE LYCURGUS
Sandy showed us how. She placed the shovel’s tip a few inches from a tuft’s base. Angled the handle back a bit, just enough to loosen the grass before she lowered, hand-pulling.
Sandy showed us how. She placed the shovel’s tip a few inches from a tuft’s base. Angled the handle back a bit, just enough to loosen the grass before she lowered, hand-pulling.
