The Man Who Lives in 6C
By Brian Mosher, When I first arrived in town in 1955, The Golden Albatross was run by Cassini, a fat Chinese man. No one was sure why he had an Italian name. You could ask him, but he wouldn’t tell you. The food at the Golden Albatross was neither Chinese nor Italian. It was also […]
I Loved Milan Kundera in Part Because His Pain was Familiar (Column)
By Leah Eichler, Milan Kundera died this week at age 94 and the free flow of obituaries reminded me of how enamoured I was with dissident writers when I was young. Other girls had Judd Nelson, I had Solzhenitsyn. There was something about the bad boy writer that really appealed to me. Dark, brooding, artistic, […]
Once Upon a Tour in Grimmsland
By Mark Gallini, “Get up! Get up you lazy one,” her mother sings, or rather recites. “It’s time to go to Grandma’s.” She leans over her daughter, who feigns a cherubic sleep. Finally her mother shouts. “Red Riding Hood, get out of bed and get over to your grandmother’s right now.” Red Riding Hood opens […]
The Lottery Taught Us That the World Can Be a Scary Place (Column)
By Leah Eichler, Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery first appeared in print in The New Yorker in the June 26, 1948 issue and according to legend, generated more letters to the editor than the magazine had ever experienced before (and possibly, since.) The Lottery is arguably the most widely known work of short fiction in American […]
The Blooding
By Scott Pieschel, “Excited for your blooding tomorrow?” Shadows from the weakening flames in the hearth danced across my older brother, Tommy’s, face. He sat in the wingback chair opposite mine and watched me expectantly, as if waiting for a smile, a bounce of excitement. “Is there a lot?” I asked. “Of what?” “Blood.” I […]
Episode 3: Still a Classic? Jane Eyre
In our third episode, Leah and Susan reread Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. We both read the book in college and both of us were surprised at how political the book was, tackling issues from economic disparity to religion to sexism. From today’s perspective, we focused on female rage and how in many ways, not […]
A Watchmaker
By Derek Alan Jones The work was nearly done. As he turned the crown to wind the spring, each click of the ratchet wheel was audibly crisp and firm. After one full rotation and a quarter of another, the balance started to oscillate, and the movement came to life. The man placed two fingers on […]
The Titan and the Audacity of an Instagrammable Life (Column)
By Leah Eichler, It’s been almost a week since the wreckage from the Titan, the doomed submersible bent on giving its wealthy passengers a close-up view of the Titanic, was found, confirming that all five on board were dead. Since then, many of us have lamented the loss of life as well as the waste […]
What Would Jane Do? My Sister Talks to Dogs — A Lot
Dear Jane, My sister finds something wrong with everything, complaining constantly. She also expects me to visit her at home and tolerate her dogs barking at me. She never goes anywhere without her dogs and talks to them in a high-pitched whine. She is angry with me approximately half the time. I recommend to her that […]
A Story In The Style Of Hemingway
By Stephen James, “Write me a story in the style of Hemingway.” I watch the middle-aged man in the tailored suit with disdain as he states commands to the soulless, unblinking Ernest. “And don’t make it too long. Novella length is acceptable, but no more than two-hundred pages. Oh, and the setting needs to be […]