By U.S. State
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Love the Liminal
by Elaine Schnabel | Aug 11, 2013 | Placeless
Liminal games are where you build momentum, where habits form, where mindsets are made.
Who Did We Think We Were?
by David Greendonner | Aug 10, 2013 | Placeless
When the new soles arrived I unboxed, unlaced, and tried them on. I took a few steps and looked in the mirror. Something was off.
How’s My Driving?
by Bart Tocci | Aug 9, 2013 | Chicago
When you see a rental moving truck on the road, pass it like your life depends on it. Because your life probably depends on it.
Superlative Syndrome
by Caroline (Higgins) Nyczak | Aug 7, 2013 | Canada
So I let baby calves with rough tongues suck on my fingers. I stopped caring about whether or not I was getting dust on my white shorts or cow manure on my shoes.
More Tracks Than Necessary
by Josh deLacy | Aug 6, 2013 | Placeless
I try to understand things. People, ideas, life. I enjoy listening and learning and knowing, and especially knowing about people.
Roots
by Alissa Anderson | Aug 5, 2013 | Indiana
The years after college are, from what I’ve seen, uprooted ones. College is a liminal space, to be sure, but after graduation, defining one’s place can be even harder.
Raised by Grace in Athol, ID
by Lander Hultin | Aug 4, 2013 | Idaho
This reunion I had only one such conversation with my grandma, but it impressed me even more deeply. She shared with me the story of her faith, which is also the story of her life,
Witnessing and Keeping Track
by Sabrina Lee | Aug 3, 2013 | Italy
Our memories mark everything we touch because we filter our new experiences through our old. However, unlike a fingerprint, our memories are more easily changed.
Kveikur’s Allure
by Jacob Schepers | Aug 2, 2013 | Placeless
Sigur Rós instantiates Walter Pater’s conviction that “All art constantly aspires towards the condition of music.” Short and sweet, but that’s what I think it all boils down to.
The Birds of the Air
by Amy (Allen) Frieson | Aug 1, 2013 | Massachusetts, New York
Home is a sense of belonging and inclusion, but it’s also a sense of boundaries. There must be things that are not-home.
The Fun of It
by Jonathan Hiskes | Jul 31, 2013 | Placeless
Painters love to paint. Musicians love to play music. Writers love to have written. When I first heard this aphorism I wanted to throw my hands up in silent alleluia!
The Fine Form of Rule Breaking
by Bekah (Williamson) Medendorp | Jul 30, 2013 | Placeless
I’ve been a Williamson my whole life. If there is one thing I’ve learned it’s that my family intentionally doesn’t follow rules. At times, I wonder if we even have a choice, or if we came into this world pre-wired for rebellion.
Facing Your Future
by Joella Ranaivoson | Jul 29, 2013 | Grand Rapids, Oregon
People won’t look at you when you’re homeless; they refuse to make eye contact, as though you didn’t exist. How diminishing to a person’s sense of worth.
The Motley Marketeer
by Stephen Mulder | Jul 28, 2013 | Grand Rapids, Michigan
It was the summer of 2012, and I had not had a great two years, employment-wise. Since graduating in 2010 I had been stringing together part-time gigs and freelance work with, at best, mixed success. The previous year my primary income came from cleaning schools 20...
Power Crazy
by Brad Zwiers | Jul 27, 2013 | Placeless
Lately, my brother Drew and I talk a lot on two subjects: the NBA and hip-hop. We analyze the Pistons’ draft day maneuvers over text message: -WHAT? HOW COULD THEY NOT DRAFT TREY BURKE??- -Caldwell-Pope? Just what we need, another athletic wing player.- Or we discuss...
Sean Connery on writing
by Griffin Jackson | Jul 26, 2013 | Placeless
“But I have nothing to write about,” you say. I say, “Are you familiar with any people, places or things? If yes, you have something to write about, so close your cakehole and write.”
An Effort in Self-Discovery
by Bethany Tap | Jul 25, 2013 | North Carolina
I want to practice my art, and if living on the edge of poverty is the price I have to pay, so be it. It has taken time for me to come to this conclusion, but a little post-Calvin life experience has helped me to realize the importance of writing in my life.
Sister Suffragette
by Lauren (Boersma) Harris | Jul 24, 2013 | Placeless
For years, I have identified myself as a “feminist.” And, for years, I have had to deal with the personal aggression that comes as a side effect of my passion about the subject.
Some Garlic Sizzling in Oil
by Jenn Langefeld | Jul 23, 2013 | Placeless
I need to find a farmers’ market for writers, where I can pick up armfuls of raw paper, measure out markers and pens. Bring home the overflowing crates and get to work. I’ll chop the paragraphs and dice adjectives (pick out the stray adverbs that fell in).
Gener(aliz)ations
by Robert Zandstra | Jul 22, 2013 | Placeless
Much changed (say, musically,) between the release of The Who’s smart and catchy “My Generation” in 1965, when my parents were in college, and Limp Bizkit’s unlistenable song of the same title in 2000, when I was in high school.
Love It or Hate It
by Libby Stille | Jul 21, 2013 | Minnesota, New York
First of all, opinions of cities should not be based on luck or the weather, I admit. I should really give some of them a second chance. Second, I see the shades of gray in places I’ve stayed for a few weeks or more. In these cities, I know not only the good and the bad, but also the mediocre.
Winner
by Calah Schlabach | Jul 20, 2013 | New Mexico
This past Saturday, I was humbled. I did what I think was my fourteenth triathlon. I won the overall female award by quite a margin—would have beat all the men, too, if I hadn’t brought my boyfriend, Matt, along. But there was a much more impressive performance at this race.
Community Spaces and Social Graces
by Mary Margaret Healy | Jul 19, 2013 | Placeless
The internet has none of this. There is no way, on the internet, to look into the face of your fellow conversation participant and be forced to acknowledge his or her humanity.
Practice Time
by Matt & Laura Hubers | Jul 18, 2013 | Placeless
My husband and I bought a piano recently. I’ve played for twenty years now (few things make me start feeling old like I do when I can say that), and now that we have a house for it to live in, it’s time for me to get my fingers back to the dexterity they once had. I...
Joe Pilates
by Geneva Langeland | Jul 17, 2013 | Placeless
Now, you might be thinking, here’s another fitness nut gearing up to write glib posts about the joys of physical exercise. I am not that nut.
Looking Beyond Bavaria
by Andrew Knot | Jul 16, 2013 | Germany
Rudi is a Catholic priest. He looks like Bavaria, if Bavaria were a person. What I mean by that is this: if the self-proclaimed Free State of Bavaria could pick a person, any person, to act as its mascot and all-purpose representative, it would be Rudi.
Newlyweds
by Sarah (VanderMolen) Sundt | Jul 15, 2013 | Placeless
With marriage has come the inevitable marriage-y questions, which—don’t get me wrong—are fun to answer because it means I get to talk about myself. But I do feel like my answers are underwhelming.
Talking to the Fairies
by Will Montei | Jul 14, 2013 | Placeless
It’s a rather pithy thing to say these days — “living intentionally” — devoid of overt meaning and explanation. But I try to remind myself of this anyways, truly trying to grasp what it would mean to live intentionally in this very moment.
Musings of a SunTran Patriot
by Melissa Dykhuis | Jul 13, 2013 | Arizona
“Excuse me...” I was waiting in the shade of a mesquite tree, squinting past the short cars on the busy street in hopes of seeing the tall, flat face of the SunTran bus behind them. I turned to see who had spoken; a middle-aged Hispanic man was approaching me from the...
The Familiar
by Abby Zwart | Jul 12, 2013 | Grand Rapids
’ve decided to ignore it and make peace with the familiar. It comes down to personal preference, I guess, but do we really need an adventure every other day of our lives? That sounds exhausting.
