“Whether you want to impress your in-laws, boost your SAT scores, or deliver more effective presentations at work, it’s worth familiarizing yourself with words that instantly reflect your intelligence.” Jamie Leigh with a plethora of great reasons for reading great literature.
“My younger brother, Gus, doesn’t go to class reunions. He doesn’t meet up with friends at the local bar or exchange pictures on social networks. In fact, he rarely sees his friends. But when he does, there’s always a casket.” A personal essay on the drug crisis in Scott County, Indiana, by Meryl Diaz.
You don’t see the cats and/dog behind you, silently called from sleep /by your coming. Oh, my handsome magnet,/don’t you see what you attract? A new poem by Sandra Kolankiewicz.
Part satire, part cautionary tale, Margaret Atwood’s new novel, The Heart Goes Last, is an exploration of our worst cultural tendencies as North Americans: a desire for safety and comfort over freedom, a willingness to ignore the violence inherent in capitalism, and a blindness to how our fetishes exploit the poor and less fortunate. Like…
“The rooms held unlikely collections of objects. A pink fainting couch next to a massive granite coffee table. Flouncy floor lamps in one room; modern chrome and leather chairs in the next.” Tangy, creamy fiction from Freda Love Smith.
“Marco did not swim in the lakes, not even the large ones. He was not afraid of teeth nibbling at his feet, or a tentacle from some prehistoric beast wrapping itself around his thigh. He was not a true believer like his sister.” New fiction from Andrew F. Sullivan .
“Caroline could probably have asked for a postponement of her jury duty, but then she’d just have to do it later. Better get it over and done. Her Eric would’ve said it was a responsibility owed to our American community, a sign of our aspiration to justice and truth. In her head she heard The Sex Pistols.” New fiction from Cezarija Abartis.
“Our spies tell us the Mercian army has ordered a shit ton of those Sword Point presentation markers that erase with a little water, which indicates a serious strategy is unfolding and soon. We hope to be ahead of the eight ball, and so with this note I have attached a presentation with visuals on our strategy.” New fiction from Elizabeth Green.
“Neither I nor the world understood the depth of ICP’s mythical allegory in the year 2000. I only knew the attraction I felt toward the rap duo from Detroit had blossomed like a long-dormant case of shingles.” Missy Wilkinson on her secret life in and out of the Dark Carnival.
“There is a secret in early adulthood no one tells you, which is that your asshole becomes a problem. I am telling you this because I am your father, and I love you.” Michael Wheaton has advice for his son.