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News & Notes
Profiles
Profiles
Like Flying a Kite
Mark Gozonsky on Hope, Children, and Letting Out the String
I struck up a bit of jovial correspondence in early 2020 with Mark Gozonsky, just before we published our second essay of his. Several members of our staff were planning to attend the Association of Writers & Writing Programs conference in San Antonio, Texas, that year, and Gozonsky invited us to play Wiffle ball. But the pandemic had other plans for us that spring. So, when we all got sent home in mid-March, I spent many hours out in my yard relieving stress by hitting gumballs from our sweet gum tree over our house with a Wiffle ball bat I found in the bushes. In those early months of lockdown, my backyard batting average got pretty good, and Mark and I shared a few videos with each other of our respective hitting techniques. Then I was diagnosed with golfer’s elbow and spent several months in physical therapy, ending my Wiffle ball career.
Profiles
Heart and Home
A Conversation with Poet Reese Menefee
When I read Reese Menefee’s latest poem, “Hymn”—equally powerful, but very different in style and subject—I began to wonder what makes this writer tick. I had the chance to ask Reese about the origins of her poems when we talked over Zoom just before the December holidays. During our chat she also told me about finding her way home through her writing and the unlikely way she ended up in an MFA program.
Profiles
Giving till It Hurts
Elizabeth Miki Brina on Money and Parents
In her essay “The Work We Do,” which appears in our December issue, Elizabeth Miki Brina describes how her mother, an immigrant from Okinawa who came to the US at the age of twenty-six, happily paid for many of her daughter’s expenses even after Elizabeth was well into adulthood. It’s a subject sure to irk anyone who had to pay their own way from a young age. I talked to Elizabeth about money and parents and the fraught nature of writing about both.
Profiles
In Sync
Ismael Fernandez on the Joy and Passion of Dance and Photography
Through his images, Brooklyn-based photographer Ismael Fernandez strives to reveal the everyday beauty that may often go unnoticed. His photo essay in The Sun’s November issue—“Blues in Black and White”—does just that. The images illuminate the soulful ambience and spirited connection at events combining dancing and live blues music in New York City. I was curious to learn more about Ismael’s passion for both photography and dance.
Profiles
Coping Mechanism
Peter Stenson on Writing, Parenting, and Phish
The Sun publishing Peter Stenson’s story (“Bone Frag”) was a good opportunity for me to catch up with him, which we did over Zoom a few months ago. He was older and wiser, sure, but in many ways still the Peter I had known and liked so well back in Colorado. We talked about where our lives had gone since grad school, where they were headed, and even touched on some of our questionable-to-others musical tastes.
Profiles
Memories on Trial
An Interview with Erin McReynolds
In her mid-twenties Erin McReynolds lost her mother, who was murdered by the man she was living with. In her essay in this month’s issue, “And These Too Are Defensive Wounds,” Erin struggles with her feelings toward the man who is currently serving a prison sentence for killing her mother, and who is now up for parole. Her initial impulse is not to perpetuate the suffering caused by the murder, but would supporting his bid for freedom really be the right thing to do?
Profiles
Loosening the Strings
Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum on Craft, Curiosity, and Letting Go
Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum’s story “Clean Breaks,” which appears in our August issue, is her first publication in The Sun. When Kirsten and I spoke by video call, she was in an eight-by-eight-foot room in her yard that her husband built for her. She referred to the space as a sanctuary, a place where she can teach and write without interruption. The idea of closeting oneself away for solitude reminded me of Sonja, the main character in “Clean Breaks,” who, after experiencing a traumatic event, leaves her home and nursing career behind to live alone on a sailboat. Kirsten and I discussed the inspiration for this story as well as her writing process for her forthcoming novel, Elita.
Profiles
Where the Hunger Leads
Kate Osterloh on Building a New Life
The Sun has published three short stories by Kate Osterloh. Her writing is warm and rich, and her characters feel real and complex. But after reading each of her pieces, I found myself increasingly curious about Kate’s life and experiences. I knew little about her, except that she is a former US foreign diplomat, which only made her seem more mythical. I was thrilled when Kate agreed to talk with me about her essay in our July 2024 issue, “New Life,” which recounts how she created a fresh start for herself, moved west, and became a mother. In conversation she was inviting and compassionate, and we talked for an hour, but we could have easily continued for another.
Profiles
Practicing Friendship
Sy Safransky and Sparrow
Sy Safransky and I visited longtime Sun contributor Sparrow in his double-wide in Phoenicia, New York, the place he’s called home for about twenty-five years. We had been forbidden to show up before 12:01 PM because Sparrow has a practice of not speaking until noon. Having spent time with them, I can tell you Sy and Sparrow are like long-lost brothers: both Jews from New York with an interest in Eastern mysticism, who read more than anyone I know and live according to their principles, consequences be damned.
Profiles
What’s So Funny?
Andrew Gleason on Alternative Comedy
When Andrew Gleason began working at The Sun, I was immediately perturbed. In almost thirty years at the magazine I had never worked with another Andrew. A colleague suggested the newcomer could be known as Funny Andrew. That’s how I learned that Gleason did stand-up. While editing his essay in this month’s issue, “Occupation: Fool,” I learned a lot about my coworker’s past, but I wanted to find out more about his present.
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