Jennifer Acker's Blog, page 28
February 21, 2024
Ship Happens
ELLIOT RAPPAPORT
Each summer the cadets of Maine Maritime Academy put to sea with a crew of instructors aboard their eponymous training ship, State of Maine. Here, like medical students at a teaching hospital, they set about practicing the skills of their aspirational careers.
Each summer the cadets of Maine Maritime Academy put to sea with a crew of instructors aboard their eponymous training ship, State of Maine. Here, like medical students at a teaching hospital, they set about practicing the skills of their aspirational careers.
February 20, 2024
Immersion
DREW CALVERT
They spent as long as an hour parsing a single word, merasakan. It meant “to taste,” but it also meant to feel, to sense, to experience. There were English corollaries, but it wasn’t a perfect one to one. To “have a taste” was different than to “have taste,” they established.
They spent as long as an hour parsing a single word, merasakan. It meant “to taste,” but it also meant to feel, to sense, to experience. There were English corollaries, but it wasn’t a perfect one to one. To “have a taste” was different than to “have taste,” they established.
February 16, 2024
Excerpt from Who Is the City For?
BLAIR KAMIN
Private buildings, be they skyscrapers, flagship stores, or museums, do just as much as, if not more than, public ones to shape the public realm. At best, the public realm can serve as an equalizing force, a democratizing force. It can spread life’s pleasures and confer dignity, irrespective of a person’s race.
Private buildings, be they skyscrapers, flagship stores, or museums, do just as much as, if not more than, public ones to shape the public realm. At best, the public realm can serve as an equalizing force, a democratizing force. It can spread life’s pleasures and confer dignity, irrespective of a person’s race.
February 15, 2024
Sharp Shadows
ANNE PIERSON WIESE
On our kitchen wall at a certain time / of year appeared what we called the sharp / shadows. / A slant of western light found / its way through the brown moult of fire / escape hanging on to our Brooklyn rental / building for dear life and etched replicas / of everything
On our kitchen wall at a certain time / of year appeared what we called the sharp / shadows. / A slant of western light found / its way through the brown moult of fire / escape hanging on to our Brooklyn rental / building for dear life and etched replicas / of everything
February 14, 2024
Excerpt from The Healing Stage
LISA BIGGS
The theater artists who occupy the center of this book are such practitioners who are able to stand with people who have endured harm, and in many cases have perpetrated it as well, and who know themselves well enough to guide others toward change.
The theater artists who occupy the center of this book are such practitioners who are able to stand with people who have endured harm, and in many cases have perpetrated it as well, and who know themselves well enough to guide others toward change.
February 13, 2024
Fatigue Can Shatter A Person
ED YONG
Alexis Misko’s health has improved enough that, once a month, she can leave her house for a few hours. First, she needs to build up her energy by lying in a dark room for the better part of two days, doing little more than listening to audiobooks. Then she needs a driver, a quiet destination.
Alexis Misko’s health has improved enough that, once a month, she can leave her house for a few hours. First, she needs to build up her energy by lying in a dark room for the better part of two days, doing little more than listening to audiobooks. Then she needs a driver, a quiet destination.
February 12, 2024
2024 Festival of Debut Authors
Join The Common's team on March 27th at 7:00pm for our 2024 Festival of Debut Authors, an evening devoted to emerging talents! This virtual celebration will highlight poets and prose writers Felice Belle, Jordan Escobar, Irina Hrinoschi, amika elfendi, Nina Perrotta and Shanna Tan.
No One Wore Pearls Anymore: Jennifer Jean interviews Jennifer Martelli
JENNIFER JEAN interviews JENNIFER MARTELLI
This poem speaks to legacy: what am I passing onto the future, my children? I love the idea of emotions—especially trauma—living in the body: joints, bones, soft organs. The poem also speaks to regeneration, “one of my sisters will grow,” but also vulnerability, “sometimes I am my children, and those times are the most painful.”
This poem speaks to legacy: what am I passing onto the future, my children? I love the idea of emotions—especially trauma—living in the body: joints, bones, soft organs. The poem also speaks to regeneration, “one of my sisters will grow,” but also vulnerability, “sometimes I am my children, and those times are the most painful.”
February 7, 2024
Some Syllables, Slurred
ROSSANEE NURFARIDA
Seven years ago… / My grandmother was ninety, / but didn’t know what a coup d'etat was / on that night the people had / their voices stolen from them. / She said only, “If there’s nothing else to watch, / just turn the television off.”
Seven years ago… / My grandmother was ninety, / but didn’t know what a coup d'etat was / on that night the people had / their voices stolen from them. / She said only, “If there’s nothing else to watch, / just turn the television off.”
February 5, 2024
Review: American Gospel
Review by YELENA FURMAN
Narrated in alternating chapters from the points of view of Ruth, Peter, and Thomas, American Gospel is an homage to Baltimore and its residents, who like their city, are both flawed and resilient.
Narrated in alternating chapters from the points of view of Ruth, Peter, and Thomas, American Gospel is an homage to Baltimore and its residents, who like their city, are both flawed and resilient.
