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

How the profile of a sweet sport led to news scoops and a dark mystery, and how the mystery drove a narrative
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

A former farmer turns to writing to uncover the global crisis of farmer suicides – and plants the seeds of a response
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

Photojournalist Rahima Gambo invited schoolgirls to collaborate with her to create images reflecting intimate moments of joy and playfulness that challenge our perceptions of victimhood and war
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