Articles

“She’s just telling what’s real out there that she sees.”

Why it’s so great: Tyler is a novelist, not a journalist. But the work of writing is the work of writing. In this New York Times profile by Charles McGrath  –…
July 11, 2018
Jacqui Banaszynski
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

American flag, somewhere over Lake Superior off the shore of Bayfield, WisconsinWhat makes it great? Forgive the indulgence of the great-granddaughter of immigrants, and the decidedly American nature of this…
July 4, 2018
Jacqui Banaszynski
Shadows cast on the love of a game

Shadows cast on the love of a game

The story started in one direction and ended up going in a jarringly different one. But when the time came to write a feature on the Auburn Tigers softball team,…
July 3, 2018
Greg Bowers
"You can't hit or write your way out of a shadow."

“You can’t hit or write your way out of a shadow.”

Maryland Capital Gazette editor Rob HiassenWhy is this so great? Before we get to that, let me say I wish I had not had reason to stumble across it. The…
June 29, 2018
Jacqui Banaszynski
Learning to see beyond first sight

Learning to see beyond first sight

Editor’s note: We are trying out a new feature. Call it writing practice (with a nod to Natalie Goldberg’s “Writing Down the Bones,” where I first encountered the term). Or…
June 28, 2018
Jacqui Banaszynski
"They have to do everything the men did, except backwards and with ideals."

“They have to do everything the men did, except backwards and with ideals.”

WHY IS THIS SO GREAT? Or … is it? This might cause eyerolls as a “great sentence” pick. It’s not what most would call high literature, and likely will be…
June 20, 2018
Jacqui Banaszynski
Feeding the world – and feeling despair

Feeding the world – and feeling despair

Editor’s note: The tragic news last week of suicides by creative celebrities Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain captured headlines and emotions. But despair does not discriminate. Storyboard contributor Julia Shipley…
June 12, 2018
Julia Shipley
"A singing bagpipe joined the wind in the pines."

“A singing bagpipe joined the wind in the pines.”

Why is it so great? I have come to love bagpipes, perhaps because they conjur special moments in my life, perhaps because they are rooted in my maternal heritage. But…
June 11, 2018
Jacqui Banaszynski
Beyond Boko Haram: Pictures from Nigeria

Beyond Boko Haram: Pictures from Nigeria

Nigeria is a country rich in stories and in storytelling. Nigerians have long traditions of sharing their testimonies through literature and visual communication. The work of writers like Chinua Achebe…
June 7, 2018
Laura Beltrán Villamizar

“…you can’t write about this stuff and be boring. That would be a sin against God.”

Why is it great? I read Allison’s “Bastard Out of Carolina” when it was first published, about the time I was covering a range of social justice issues – gender,…
June 6, 2018
Jacqui Banaszynski