Category: Non-Fiction

#101: Nonfiction by William Tang

THE OMEN Lu Buwei, Lord Wen Xin, ex-prime minister of the realm, and birthfather of the king rested on a large silk cushion in the ornate pavilion. His eyes glanced unseeing over his surroundings. The pavilion sat on the small island in the middle of a large gourd-shaped lily pond. His chosen site afforded a […]

#96: Nonfiction by Cynthia Yancey

ALMA Back at my grandmother Mimi’s house, after my mother’s terribly premature death, my brother, Ashbel, and I whiled away the hours, months, and years until a giant-spirited young woman met my father one fine fall day when I was four years old. Alma, my soul, came in the full vibrancy of her eighteen years. […]

#95: Nonfiction by Barbara Thompson

SITTING WITH MY BOYS “Where did you get that tan?” “In a cemetery.” The question is commonplace after returning from the tropics; the answer was anything but. I threw life’s caution to the trade winds and flew to Oahu to conduct research for my current work in progress, an historical epic entitled AIR, of six […]

#93: Nonfiction by Andy Betz

THE SINGLE HAZARD OF TEACHING MIDDLE SCHOOL I can confidently say, I am as fully prepared for any hazard associated with the rigors of teaching. Until last Thursday. Either I was caught off guard (that would be a lie) or I mistook the ingenuity of those in close proximity to me (much nearer to the truth). Last […]

#92: Nonfiction by Valarie Anderson

SHROUDED It’s been weeks and we’ve been shrouded in smoke from the Oregon fires.  Silenced—caught perpetually in a clouded sunset. Sounds have diminished and the world has turned gray. Weeks ago, I watched the Greenridge fire from my front porch; apprehensive as I spotted bright flares of newly ignited trees go up in smoke. The smoke roiled […]

#81: Nonfiction by Beth Browne

SLOW AS SNAIL The path to the beach is gravelly limestone and someone has placed two by fours sideways to hold the ground in a sort of terraced steps.  Bright yellow and orange Indian paintbrush flowers line the path with a chaos of color and there is one volunteer papaya with infant fruit and a mass of sea […]

#79: Nonfiction by Deborah La Garbanza

ROILING “Roiling,” Paul said with a frown on his face. “Every book I read these days has that word in it.” He sat up from the futon. “Why do you think that is?” I asked. He shook his head. He was reading a novel by David Leavitt, a gay author we both disliked. I reeled […]

#66: Nonfiction by Lindsey Schaffer

REFLECTIONS The day I was born my mother gave birth to the same child twice. At least, that is how I live the first few years of life, indistinguishable from my sister. We have the same toys, the same friends, the same faces. I can’t pinpoint exactly when I seek to distinguish myself, but I […]

#63: Nonfiction by Olaf Kroneman

A RUMBLE FOR HUMANITY Your heroes can compromise you. Muhammad Ali put me at risk. The first time I encountered Ali, then Cassius Clay, was on television. I was ten years old and saw this young black guy dressed in a tuxedo and top hat, brandishing a walking stick and reciting poetry. He was scheduled to […]