Skipper First they unearth a dinner fork, twisted and filthy. Then a tiny perfume bottle, followed by a glass salt shaker, caked with dirt and corrosion. Each item, duly turned over to us, we receive with bemusement: what next? The work crew is repairing the…
Out of Step When I cut the straps off my patent leather Mary Janes, I wasn’t trying to cause trouble. I just couldn’t stand them anymore. The girls in my class wore loafers; some wore stockings already. My mother and my sisters, who took…
Unlike our friends in fiction and poetry, nonfiction can feel a bit diffuse in the publishing world at times. There aren’t many presses dedicated to our genre, and those that do publish us tend to scatter us among other genres, or by subject (rare…
Lesser Than I am five. I clasp the sleeve of my father’s coat tightly as we weave our way around the small, round tables on my first day of kindergarten. At a table towards the back, there’s a name tag with block letters…
Asked by David Trinidad Editor’s note: This is the first in what will be a series of twenty-question interviews conducted by David Trinidad. What is your first memory? My memory is very visual, very dependent on sight, and I remember even abstract things, like…
Exercise Presidential In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson created the Presidential Physical Fitness Award, a test designed to prioritize exercise in elementary schools. Studies had shown that America’s children were getting flabby and complacent, and so the test included sit-ups, pull-ups, a softball throw, a…
New Orleans’s Warehouse and Central Business District are the hottest spots for summer celebratory events, including the NOLA Downtown Music and Arts Festival, which celebrated its twenty-third year his August. This end of the summer cultural, musical, and artistic event is presented by the…