Articles

The Last Best Hope

Kimber’s story about Tom Martin, a devoted detective, has a strong sense of direction—even though his piece is based on interview. We thought this piece a good example of writing…

The Growing Season

Born to an unwed mother, Frank Beazley was given up to an orphanage as a newborn. His difficult life rolled out from there. We appreciated the historical detail the series…

A Life in the Balance

We have to admit that the topic of this story, its high drama, made us a bit wary. Still, the series is well worth reading because it is an engrossing…

What’s Left Behind

This piece is a good example of how to write about emotional topics without mawkishness or sentimentality. A woman has lost her husband; she must now face the challenges of…

Homestead to Homes

By clicking the link below, you’ll find four selections from Shaw’s intermittent series about the transformation of a Minnesota farm into a high-end subdivision. Shaw follows the project from the…

Slow Death

This is a effective example of how narrative can flesh out, give dignity to, people who feel they are, as a central character says in this story, “just a number…

The Bread of Life

This is a lyrical short memoir that manages to be touching without being overly sentimental. We found the mix of direct scene and reflection effective.We offer one suggestion. Imagine what…

I Saw It All. Then I Saw Nothing.

We admired the plainness of this story’s language. It is as if the horror of the event stripped Henninger’s voice of all pretense. He gives a blow-by-blow account, with summation…

Free Wheelin’

This short piece entertains while providing an appropriately complex portrayal of a man who has suffered but whose spirit, or will anyway, seems irrepressible. We particularly liked the opening line…

Steve Miller Ate a Scone, Sheila Moody Did Paperwork, Edmund Glazer Boarded a Plane

We first read this reconstruction during the year following the 9/11 attacks. We found it difficult to read for its level of detail, its emotional content. Rereading it, we admire…