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A fifth-grade bully, a blossoming romance, a late-night crash
By Our ReadersSeptember 2022We divided ourselves up until the teams were formed correctly, evenly. In other words, until the white kids were satisfied. No one had declared them the leaders, but, like most enduring traditions, the rule had become quietly understood, rooted in our fledgling muscles and minds.
By Emilio CarreroAugust 2022In 1986 I was the Horse Girl of St. Margaret’s, the tallest girl in sixth grade, with dark-brown hair I tossed like a mane.
By Erin AlmondAugust 2022The red hair and freckles, puffy cheeks / and constant perspiration amplified / his otherness. No one spoke to him. / But why do I see his face so clearly now, / the fear and loneliness in his eyes? / The faces of all the others I’ve forgotten.
By John BrehmAugust 2022We have memorized America, / how it was born and who we have been and where. / In ceremonies and silence we say the words, / telling the stories, singing the old songs. / We like the places they take us. Mostly we do.
By Miller WilliamsAugust 2022Kayla and I were not friends, so when she called me out of the blue, on a blistering July morning, to ask if I wanted to join her and her dad on the lake for the day, it was like NASA calling to invite me to the moon.
By Becky MandelbaumJuly 2022In terms of security and a sense that you can count on a certain career path in life if you do your part — that’s over for most people. You’re on your own.
By Staci KleinmaierJune 2022In grad school I had a writing teacher who’d completely cream my essays. / Cross-outs and tracked changes. He took me at my word / when I said I wanted to get better.
By Emily SernakerApril 2022Every morning the public school chooses a student to lead us in patriotic worship over the intercom. I stand before my classroom flag and count my heartbeats. At recess I draw stars and stars.
By Yasmine AmeliApril 2022It’s not as though I was going on dates, gorging / on the daily bread of sex, before the governor told us all / to stay home.
By Jane HilberryJuly 2021Personal, political, provocative writing delivered to your doorstep every month—without a single ad.
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