Jennifer Acker's Blog, page 61
April 22, 2022
Podcast: Romeo Oriogun on “The Sea Dreams of Us”
ROMEO ORIOGUN
Romeo Oriogun speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his poem “The Sea Dreams of Us,” which appears in The Common’s fall issue. In this conversation, Romeo talks about his life as a poet in exile from Nigeria.
Romeo Oriogun speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his poem “The Sea Dreams of Us,” which appears in The Common’s fall issue. In this conversation, Romeo talks about his life as a poet in exile from Nigeria.
April 20, 2022
Ugly Trees
HEATHER E. GOODMAN
We have a really ugly sugar maple in our front yard. Yard is a euphemism for dirt and weeds. Dirt is a euphemism for clay and rocks. Weeds is a euphemism for invasive species and exhaustion. But we love this ugly tree.
We have a really ugly sugar maple in our front yard. Yard is a euphemism for dirt and weeds. Dirt is a euphemism for clay and rocks. Weeds is a euphemism for invasive species and exhaustion. But we love this ugly tree.
April 19, 2022
The Bridge of Sorrows: An Excerpt From Thin Places
KERRI NÍ DOCHARTAIGH
Time, as we know, like the sea, is a force and a creature all of its own. We can stop neither of them. We stand on the sand, watching as the days become years, as the line made by the tide disappears, as the hungry waves devour the borderline that once defined the land.
Time, as we know, like the sea, is a force and a creature all of its own. We can stop neither of them. We stand on the sand, watching as the days become years, as the line made by the tide disappears, as the hungry waves devour the borderline that once defined the land.
April 18, 2022
Issue 23 Virtual Launch Party
Amherst College's award-winning literary magazine The Common celebrates the release of Issue 23 with authors from around the world. We welcome fiction writer Fernando Flores, poet Tina Cane, Palestinian writer Eyad Barghuthy, and Arabic translator Nashwa Gowanlock for brief readings and conversation.
April 15, 2022
Long Shadows
MELODY NIXON
The Russian military has just bombed an art school in Mariupol that housed 400 civilians, including children, killing many of them. There are reports of civilians being loaded onto buses and sent to “distant cities” in Russia against their will—the echo of history jars my spine...
The Russian military has just bombed an art school in Mariupol that housed 400 civilians, including children, killing many of them. There are reports of civilians being loaded onto buses and sent to “distant cities” in Russia against their will—the echo of history jars my spine...
April 14, 2022
Exotic Pets
CAL SHOOK
The shade had always been down, the room always dark, and Ellis had assumed without consciously thinking it that the apartment was vacant. But tonight there was a warm light on. There was a music stand dead center in the window, and after a moment there was also a musician.
The shade had always been down, the room always dark, and Ellis had assumed without consciously thinking it that the apartment was vacant. But tonight there was a warm light on. There was a music stand dead center in the window, and after a moment there was also a musician.
April 11, 2022
The Healing Nature of Truth: An Interview with Brionne Janae
BRIONNE JANAE
I want the title to ask what it means to be a peacemaker—is there a way to be a peacemaker that isn’t just appeasing people, but takes a more active peacemaking role?
I want the title to ask what it means to be a peacemaker—is there a way to be a peacemaker that isn’t just appeasing people, but takes a more active peacemaking role?
April 7, 2022
Translation: Victoria’s Secret
ANDREA CHAPELA
I always thought the best place to start any writing anything is in the bathroom because when I’m sitting there contemplating the wall and looking for shapes in the tiles that appear and disappear with each visit that’s when my deepest thoughts and best story ideas come to me...
I always thought the best place to start any writing anything is in the bathroom because when I’m sitting there contemplating the wall and looking for shapes in the tiles that appear and disappear with each visit that’s when my deepest thoughts and best story ideas come to me...
“The Old Man of Kusumpur” Wins O. Henry Prize 2022
We are thrilled to announce that "The Old Man of Kusumpur,” written by Amar Mitra and translated by Anish Gupta, has been selected for the O. Henry Prize for 2022.
April 6, 2022
After Darkness, a Neighbor Turns the Lights On
HANNAH JANSEN
Not so much that the darkness disappears / but that after linked, round globes appear / on a humdrum weeknight under the trees, / I start noticing them everywhere, / glowing in their various iterations
Not so much that the darkness disappears / but that after linked, round globes appear / on a humdrum weeknight under the trees, / I start noticing them everywhere, / glowing in their various iterations
