Personal Essays

Rewriting the "hero's journey" to fit a feminine narrative

Rewriting the “hero’s journey” to fit a feminine narrative

A writer on a hunt to understand classic story structure ponders politics, movies and her grandmother's life, and searches for a journey of their own
August 19, 2020
Madeline Bodin
When the bounds of conventional journalism are too tight

When the bounds of conventional journalism are too tight

I’ll go great lengths not to affect a story during the reporting process. Journalists are supposed to be the observer, not the actor, right? Our job is to witness and…
July 31, 2020
Brendan Meyer
How protest songs echo — and sometimes lead — the stories of our times

How protest songs echo — and sometimes lead — the stories of our times

On a warm spring night in 1974, I was an Ohio University student reporter amid a riot. Not a riot against repression or inequality or injustice or the Vietnam War,…
July 29, 2020
Dale Keiger
A displaced writer picks up a camera — and falls back in love with learning

A displaced writer picks up a camera — and falls back in love with learning

We’re all reinventing ourselves in this suddenly sideways world. So here’s my reinvention story, and the theme that goes with it: Do it for love.The micro of what I did…
May 19, 2020
Roy Wenzl
Journalism lives at the check-out counter

Journalism lives at the check-out counter

The job I moved back to New Hampshire for was not Shift Supervisor at the local branch of a national drug store chain. Back in February, I folded up five…
May 15, 2020
Hilary Niles
A poet's distanced farewell to his students is an anthem for the times

A poet’s distanced farewell to his students is an anthem for the times

EDITOR’S NOTE: Gerald P. Costanzo moved his poetry class online March 10 because of coronavirus. As the semester ended, he wanted to leave his students with “something more substantial than…
May 12, 2020
Gerald P. Costanzo