It is often frowned upon in art school to say your work is bad before you present it. They say “you are setting yourself up for disappointment and you should appreciate whatever you create.” While I agree with that statement, I also don’t. Before…
When You Learn the Alphabetis Texas native and Columbia College Chicago alum Kendra Allen’s debut essay collection. I met with Kendra Allen at a coffee shop, near her alma mater in the South Loop. The following exchange was edited for length and clarity. Ruby…
Errand In the self-checkout lane, the man ahead of us couldn’t scan his milk and eggs. He smelled like smoke. The clerk tried to fix the jam, but he exploded, that fucking machine! She repeated the insult under her breath as she hurried past. She was shorter than me…
Three Essays The Day Kylie Jenner Became the Youngest Self-Made Billionaire “Hi. I’m calling back from Student Counseling Services. Is this Rachel?” I turned the volume up on my phone because two men next to me on the train were talking loudly…
The Tasting Menu Reads Like a Novel I haven’t read many books this past year, but I’ve read countless menus. I’ve learned something about storytelling through eating. Eating from a tasting menu at a fine dining restaurant is like reading a novel: it’s…
Funeral for a Tree Actually, two of them got the chop that day. They were joined at the hip, a ropy, ossified root hidden beneath the soil where no one could see just what they were up to until the chainsaw execution was…
Beyond Measure Rachel Z. Arndt Sarabande, $15.95 190 pages It might be fitting, given Beyond Measure’s subject matter, to critique it by ascribing a point value (ignoring for a moment that Punctuate. doesn’t employ a Pitchfork-style rating system). For Rachel Z. Arndt’s debut essay…