Jennifer Acker's Blog, page 29
February 1, 2024
Translation: Master of the House
AHMET HAMDI TANIPAR
The bed is quite wide. I lie on one side; it lies on the other. It, that is to say, my illness. I have lain in wide beds before. I had bed companions back then too: My hopes, dreams, worries, daily pains, and sorrows all took turns accompanying me at nights.
The bed is quite wide. I lie on one side; it lies on the other. It, that is to say, my illness. I have lain in wide beds before. I had bed companions back then too: My hopes, dreams, worries, daily pains, and sorrows all took turns accompanying me at nights.
January 31, 2024
The Other Side of the Moon
JESUS SIERRA
The day of the moon landing, George and I planned to hunt for rocks. Jorge was his actual name, but he preferred to go by George, like The Beatles guitar man. We were going to look for samples just like the astronauts would. I sprang out of bed and cranked the window open.
The day of the moon landing, George and I planned to hunt for rocks. Jorge was his actual name, but he preferred to go by George, like The Beatles guitar man. We were going to look for samples just like the astronauts would. I sprang out of bed and cranked the window open.
January 30, 2024
The Most-Read Pieces of 2023
As our new year of publishing and programming picks up speed, we at The Common wanted to reflect on the pieces that made last year such a great one! We published over 200 pieces online and in print in 2023. Below, you can browse a list of the six most-read pieces of 2023 to see which stories, essays, and poems left an impact on readers.
The Marker
JIM WEBER
Must be fifty acres aflame, the fire jumping everything around it like a bloodthirsty mob. Frank steps out of the cruiser into a roar of sound that is everything and nothing: snap and pop of the blaze, hurricane rush of wind, waterfall cascades of the fire hoses.
Must be fifty acres aflame, the fire jumping everything around it like a bloodthirsty mob. Frank steps out of the cruiser into a roar of sound that is everything and nothing: snap and pop of the blaze, hurricane rush of wind, waterfall cascades of the fire hoses.
January 26, 2024
The Common to Receive $15,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
The Common literary journal is pleased to announce its eighth award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The Arts Projects grant approved for 2024 is The Common’s largest NEA award to date and will support the journal in publishing and promoting place-based writing, fostering international connections, and expanding the audiences of emerging writers.
Podcast: Leo Ríos on “Lencho”
LEO RÍOS
Leo Ríos speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his his story “Lencho,” which appears in The Common’s fall 2023 issue.
Leo Ríos speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his his story “Lencho,” which appears in The Common’s fall 2023 issue.
January 25, 2024
January 2024 Poetry Feature: Four Poems by Vinod Kumar Shukla
VINOD KUMAR SHUKLA
To get out of bed in the morning, / I don’t depend on anyone / except on my sleep. / If I’m fast asleep / and it’s time to get out of bed, / I find myself opening my eyes. / When I want to stay awake, sleep won’t come. / If I stay awake all night / sleep won’t come all night.
To get out of bed in the morning, / I don’t depend on anyone / except on my sleep. / If I’m fast asleep / and it’s time to get out of bed, / I find myself opening my eyes. / When I want to stay awake, sleep won’t come. / If I stay awake all night / sleep won’t come all night.
January 24, 2024
An Ode to I-5
JANICE LOBO SAPIGAO
I’ve driven up and down California via the Interstate-5 freeway countless times. There are many ways to find a way through its veins, but I am mostly familiar with the drive between the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles or San Diego.
I’ve driven up and down California via the Interstate-5 freeway countless times. There are many ways to find a way through its veins, but I am mostly familiar with the drive between the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles or San Diego.
January 22, 2024
Review: Happy by Celina Baljeet Basra
Review by MELISSA HOLBROOK PIERSON
Everything about Happy Singh Soni, the titular hero of Celina Baljeet Basra’s stinging first novel, is unlikely. He is the son of Punjabi cabbage farmers, but he fancies himself a screenwriter and prospective movie actor in the mold of Nouvelle Vague darling Sami Frey.
Everything about Happy Singh Soni, the titular hero of Celina Baljeet Basra’s stinging first novel, is unlikely. He is the son of Punjabi cabbage farmers, but he fancies himself a screenwriter and prospective movie actor in the mold of Nouvelle Vague darling Sami Frey.
January 11, 2024
January 2024 Poetry Feature: Part I
ADRIENNE SU
Every woman / is expected to become. / Always being touched, // always creating, / I cherished being wanted / and necessary, // was glad to possess / a body that could nourish / more than its own mind. // Yet I couldn’t sleep / though I ached for sleep; something / in me had not dimmed.
Every woman / is expected to become. / Always being touched, // always creating, / I cherished being wanted / and necessary, // was glad to possess / a body that could nourish / more than its own mind. // Yet I couldn’t sleep / though I ached for sleep; something / in me had not dimmed.
