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.

“Summer was our best season: it was sleeping on the back screened porch in cots, or trying to sleep in the tree house; summer was everything good to eat; it was a thousand colors in a parched landscape.”

Why is it great? I love how Lee has written this line: It tumbles out of Scout’s head exactly like the thoughts of a 6-year-old child, all “this and this and…
July 26, 2017
On identity: men who created it, women who lost it, a writer who escaped it

On identity: men who created it, women who lost it, a writer who escaped it

A weekly roundup of some favorite things, for your reading and listening pleasure
July 21, 2017

“And one day he made an error, and then struck out, and it sounded like all of Fenway was booing, and he ran to the bench with his head down, the red rising in his face, the shame in his belly, and the rage. Ted thought: These are the ones who cheered, the fans I waved my cap to? Well, never again.”

Why is it great? Yes, it’s more than one sentence. But in this one short stanza, Cramer has captured all the rage and sorrow and loneliness and drive of the…
July 19, 2017
5(ish) Questions: Steve Oney and "A Man's World" (both the song and his new book)

5(ish) Questions: Steve Oney and “A Man’s World” (both the song and his new book)

The writer talks about how ideas about masculinity have changed over his 40-year career, and how he eerily predicted the rise of Breitbart America
July 18, 2017
Storylines shot through with darkness and despair, but also flashes of loyalty and love

Storylines shot through with darkness and despair, but also flashes of loyalty and love

A feeling of loyalty and loss runs through this week’s posts. In Iraq, a local SWAT team tries to avenge their families — and save their city. In a Bruce…
July 14, 2017

“Well I chased him through them county roads / Till a sign said Canadian border five miles from here / I pulled over to the side of the highway and watched his taillights disappear.”

Why is it great? This is the first lyric to feature on “One Great Sentence,” and of course it had to be Springsteen. I chose this not because it’s my…
July 12, 2017
Here's some of the best literary journalism about the scourge that is gun violence

Here’s some of the best literary journalism about the scourge that is gun violence

A weekly roundup of some favorite things, for your reading and listening pleasure
June 30, 2017

“The fact was it felt good to be angry, to yell and curse, because if she wasn’t angry then she was mostly afraid: of nightmares, of being alone, of the shadows in the church parking lot across the street, of cars backfiring, of the sound of knocking coming now at the door.”

Why is it great? This week we’re spotlighting stellar literary journalism about America’s gun violence epidemic, and this stunning story by Eli Saslow takes an intimate, often uncomfortably close look at…
June 28, 2017
It's officially summer: Don't forget to take some great reads along to the beach

It’s officially summer: Don’t forget to take some great reads along to the beach

This week I celebrated the summer solstice watching a fiddle band atop a hill with sweeping views of the Maine coast and hillsides as the sun slowly lowered into a…
June 23, 2017

“We cross our bridges as we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and the presumption that once our eyes watered.”

Why is it great? Tom Stoppard is one of our greatest wordsmiths, wildly intelligent and witty, while still revealing the pathos of his characters. This line is a perfect example…
June 21, 2017