Author

Kari Howard

@karihow

I'm the woman who left a dream job as Column One editor at the Los Angeles Times because I wanted to move to Maine. Go figure how happiness works. Former editor of Nieman Storyboard. I love music almost as much as (and sometimes more than) beautiful storytelling, so expect to see that here too.

"Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn't show." (Haunted by this.)

“Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn’t show.” (Haunted by this.)

The final half of this week’s One Great Sentence has stayed with me: “Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn’t show.” It’s about the winter landscape, but couldn’t it also apply…
December 15, 2017

“I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape — the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it; the whole story doesn’t show.”

Why is it great? A few weeks ago I went to an exhibit of Andrew Wyeth’s paintings in Seattle (a strange experience for someone who lives half an hour from…
December 13, 2017
What does poetry have to do with journalism? Quite a bit, actually. Read on.

What does poetry have to do with journalism? Quite a bit, actually. Read on.

It was Poetry Week on Storyboard, which is pushing the envelope a bit for a site that explores the art and craft of narrative nonfiction. But I would argue that…
December 8, 2017

“Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.”

Why is it great? This gorgeous definition of poetry could easily apply to literary journalism. Some of the best stories aren’t about something we’ve never heard of, but illuminates something…
December 6, 2017
The power of historical nonfiction: "Let me tell you what happened right on this spot a long time ago"

The power of historical nonfiction: “Let me tell you what happened right on this spot a long time ago”

A weekly roundup of some favorite things, for your reading and listening pleasure
December 1, 2017

“NOVEMBER, noun. The eleventh twelfth of a weariness.”

Why is it great? I’ve never read Bierce’s satirical dictionary, but after coming across this sentence, it’s on the list.  With just a few words, he conjures up the dreariness…
November 29, 2017
We look under the storytelling hood, with great tips on pitching *and* writing

We look under the storytelling hood, with great tips on pitching *and* writing

We really looked under the hood of literary journalism this week, with wonderful tips on how to pitch and write your stories. In the second installment of our series “The…
November 17, 2017
"Won’t it be a fine day when anthology specifically focused on women journalists won’t make any sense?”

“Won’t it be a fine day when anthology specifically focused on women journalists won’t make any sense?”

This week we spotlighted talented women on Storyboard — be they writers, performers or proto-feminists of the 18th century. I love this quote from Adrian LaBlanc, one of the women included…
November 10, 2017
5(ish) Questions: Holly Gleason and "Woman Walk the Line: How the Women of Country Music Changed Our Lives"

5(ish) Questions: Holly Gleason and “Woman Walk the Line: How the Women of Country Music Changed Our Lives”

We all know music has the power to change us. I sometimes indulge in a “Sliding Doors” reverie, wondering what path my life might have taken if I hadn’t heard…
November 9, 2017

“Taught from their infancy that beauty is woman’s sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.”

Why is it great? Take a look at the publication date: 1792. That’s more than two centuries ago, and two things are remarkable about this fact. 1) That Wollstonecraft, the…
November 8, 2017