“So what does it feel like?” Nick asks me this from behind his computer. He’s wincing, I suppose in solidarity, but it feels more like pity. “It’s like when you sprain your ankle, or jam your finger,” I say, sighing, knowing that there is really no good way to explain it to him. “Like […]
Read more "In Between Hope"the easy way like a crow ’s nest, a rat’s nest, it flies into my pockets shiny and interesting until set in a blue bowl, washed coat, all my treasures make garbage in this typical world
Read more "The Collector"The rain came last night. It will be here until June, maybe July. We’ve had such a dry summer in Portland. I’ve enjoyed the unusually long season of sun and heat, but it made me anxious. (Or maybe I’m always anxious and the odd weather gave me a thing on which to fasten it.) How […]
Read more "Dried Yellow Tomatoes"There are some things that happen around midnight nowadays that I’m not particularly proud of. Since I left Tucson for Portland two months ago, and I am still waiting for my husband to transfer back up here, there is loneliness. There is worry. There is anxiety. I turn in early because I feel exhausted, but […]
Read more "Midnight Confessions: Kim Kardashian Hollywood Edition"My feelings toward the act of writing run hot and cold. The cold is existential dread. With interviews, it is quite the opposite. If I could spend half the day in conversation—walking around or sitting on a riverbank or sharing a meal—and read for the other half of the day, I would be the happiest camper. Other […]
Read more "Friends, Acquaintances, and Passing Strangers: Jason Ellis"I’ve been in Cyprus for three weeks now, meeting with officials, professionals, and activists about the peace process, their bicommunal work here, and my theoretical thesis project. I’ve been immersed in peace talks, and have met with incredibly hardworking and passionate people. Still, the environment does not speak peace, and it has been weighing on […]
Read more "Give Peace A Chance"In an effort to help clear up some things and rid ourselves of that devilish, imaginary gray area so we can better educate our youth–and our Rush Limbaughs–here’s a short, hopefully helpful, quiz.
Read more "Do You Know What Rape Is? Take the Quiz"Expect some magic Friday night at Femm-EDM, the all-women musical and artistic showcase at Dantes in Portland featuring HOPSCOTCH, Acoustic Minds, Laura Ivancie and DJ Tracy. Vocalist and producer HOPSCOTCH, in town for the final stop on her latest tour, has received well-deserved national attention for her sound: a blend of raw but dreamy vocals, synth, […]
Read more "Great Minds Think Musically"The 157th person to tell me I would never get a job in teaching was my mother’s friend’s sister who was visiting from New York. We met in line at the Safeway and engaged in the small talk that transpires between well-meaning 50-somethings and 20-somethings clinging to youthful naivety. “So you’re in graduate school. What […]
Read more "Men Swallow Live Boa Constrictors or How I Got My First Teaching Job"What could abortion without apology look like? Cassia questions the inclusion of rape in abortion legislation and considers the effects of exceptions embedded in restrictive laws.
Read more "States of (No) Exception and the Purchase on Choice"
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