Broken
In response to the Weekly Photo Challenge: Broken.
Review: We Need New Names
What it is: We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo is a story about Darling, a young Zimbabwean girl who has the opportunity to leave behind her poor, corrupt country to try to make a new life in the USA. It’s a tale of growing up, but Darling also has to acclimate to a new culture while…
I Remember #3
I remember the photo I should’ve taken–two teenage girls in plaid skirts chatting and leaning on a police barricade as if it was no big deal. I remember the bizarrely empty 2am bus. I remember not expecting forgiveness. I remember not being forgiven. I remember sitting with her on the back patio, hating every single sound she spoke and…
Enveloped
When the swamp and the fog envelop a house…
Review: Blues People
What it is: Blues People by Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones) details the history of blues, jazz, and other African-derived musical genres. He describes how culture and music affect each other, and the history of race relations in the United States via the interaction between African-influenced and European-influenced music. What I liked about it: Baraka does an excellent job of…
The Prompt Box
As soon as I could write independently, I was creating characters and developing plotlines and establishing settings. In seventh grade we learned how to write academic essays, including writing theses and citing quotations MLA-style and analyzing their significance. Suddenly writing was tedious, unrewarding work. I had to follow a formula, not my own inspiration. Creative writing…
Dumpster Diving or: How I Learned to Stop Buying and Love the Trash
A floor lamp. A Magic Bullet blender. Handfuls of hangers. Two storage ottomans. Unopened bulk packages of trail mix and granola bars, ziplock bags, and dish detergent. Towels and a bathrobe. A popcorn machine. Costume ladybug wings. Four fans of different sizes. Slightly sticky but gently used Tupperware, pots, and mixing bowls. This is just…
Review: I Am No One You Know
What it is: I Am No One You Know by Joyce Carol Oates is a collection of nineteen short stories surrounding the lives of women and girls encountering a whole range of human experiences from love to grief to danger. She reveals new understanding of humanity through mystery and intrigue. What I liked about it: If you’ve never…
Forces of Nature
Forces of nature at the Oregon coast.
April Showers Bring…?
“April showers bring May flowers,” goes the saying, but it took me eighteen years to discover that on my own. See, in Portland, March showers bring April showers which bring May showers. The only difference between winter and spring is the number of daylight hours and a ten degree temperature difference. It’s rainy starting in…
Victim to Charm 