Columnists

I love a good story, and I love words. The former is relatively self-explanatory. As for the latter, I enjoy how some words feel on my tongue. I like the sharp, hard consonants of the word “iconoclastic”; I revel in the billowy sound of “mellifluous,”...
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In a recent poetry workshop, when confronted with my belief that poetry is not a widespread art form in this country in this day and age, my professor responded that Republicans are the current masters of poetry. I don’t like to give Republicans credit for...
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Belonging I kept my teeth The ones in my mouth and the ones before that In a box From being pulled out The roots so impressive and the cavities so black Into a box Four decades And into another box, after the house went back...
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I have a theory that every pregnant woman adopts a mom idol. This is a woman, either a friend or family member, whom the “preggo” views as the ideal type of mom they themselves hope to become. This domesticated goddess is closely observed and studied...
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Mother’s Day. Yup, it’s all about me, kids. Time to show your appreciation for all those years I fed you, dressed you, carted you hither and yon, and sopped up whatever noxious bodily fluids you produced. Pay some overdue homage to the one who made your very existence possible....
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My mother, bless her soul, passed away five years ago on May 11th. On this Mother’s Day, I would like to pay tribute to her remarkable ability to get into situations that defied explanation. Mom was short and slightly absent-minded. Those two factors contributed to...
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I’ve done it. I’ve decided to brave the outside world and take my son to the mall. As if the anxiety of being caught miles away from the sanctuary of our home without some item of necessity wasn’t enough to keep me from walking through...
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There was a period of time in his life when Mark could only make it partway to work before he needed to take the exit ramp, turn around, and head back home. He’d slump back to the front door hating himself, because he knew it...
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I was born in July 1971. That’s what I tell people when they inquire about my age. It’d be easier to give them a number, but I prefer to watch their faces as they calculate, borrow from the decades column, and react. I teach at...
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