By U.S. State
By Country
Regina George is Not Stupid: And Other Thoughts on the Mean Girls Musical
by Catherine Kramer | May 13, 2018 | New York
In the movie, a skipping CD results in a boom box getting kicked in someone’s face. In the Broadway production, the song stops because of a wardrobe-malfunction-turned-social-media-scandal.
Mirrors and Windows
by Abby Zwart | May 12, 2018 | Placeless
Because literature really is the better part of life.
Religious Not Crazy
by Elaine Schnabel | May 11, 2018 | Placeless
The musty smell of those stairwells matters to me in a way that the bare truth of Evangelical forms of craziness never could.
Crocuses
by Jenna Griffin | May 10, 2018 | Romania
Still, I’ve never felt the same level of attachment in any of these places that I’ve felt in Romania. When I step off of the plane in that country, it feels like I’ve come home.
Beginning
by Bart Tocci | May 9, 2018 | Placeless
I don’t know a lot about war, but I know that you can’t jump into a battle if you are unprepared to finish. It’s the same with writing and working and everything that matter—if it matters, you finish.
Manly Tears
by Paul Menn | May 8, 2018 | Placeless
I didn’t out and out start crying, but I teared up as I lifted her to my shoulder. And I held her so close. And I had never been happier as a dad.
Spring in Brooklyn (for the Twentysomethings)
by Caroline (Higgins) Nyczak | May 7, 2018 | New York
We believe in the solstice spirit
the holy Prospect Park
the fellowship of friends
the prayers of all people
the rotation of the earth
and the light everlasting.
Blackberries: A Love Song
by Josh deLacy | May 6, 2018 | Washington
Blackberry ice cream is as holy as library reading logs or PVC swordfights.
Mutual Respect in the Streets
by India Daniels | May 5, 2018 | Chicago
One Monday morning a couple weeks ago, a man did something I should have been prepared for.
Your Dirty Computer
by Caitlin Gent | May 4, 2018 | Placeless
Dirty Computer is more than a sixty-minute summer sex jam: it’s a celebration, a “fuck you,” and a challenge.
Year Three
by Meg Schmidt | May 3, 2018 | Placeless
Now we’re nearing the end of year three, and I’m happy to say that while we haven’t quite stopped having conflicts about the small things, we’ve at least stopped feeling ashamed about them.
On Grand Rapids’ Not-So-Rapid Bus—And Why I Love It
by Carolyn Muyskens | May 2, 2018 | Grand Rapids, Michigan
Riding the bus requires a release of control. The person using a wheelchair has the priority now; whatever my plans were, they can wait. We’re both riding the same bus, and we’ll get there when we get there.
The Billion-Dollar Business of Donated Clothes
by Katerina Parsons | May 1, 2018 | Honduras
I have a sinking suspicion that most issues work this way—they deeper we go, the more tangled we find ourselves, looking in vain for an exit.
Silver, and Gold, and Dross
by Kyric Koning | Apr 30, 2018 | Placeless
“Golden Boy.” As gold is king among metals, so was he a paragon among humanity. Like a sun, he beamed a perfect smile, seemingly always happy. People basked in his radiance.
Teenagers
by Matt Coldagelli | Apr 29, 2018 | Placeless
Teenagers, though, go right for the emotional jugular, draining self-esteem and confidence dry and leaving a husk of a defeated therapist.
What Lies Beneath: The Importance of Asking Why
by Jerel Domer | Apr 29, 2018 | Placeless
The reason why people stop at what instead of asking why of the other is our tendency to oversimplify things, often out of sheer intellectual and moral laziness.
A Toast to “Things”
by Brad Zwiers | Apr 27, 2018 | Holland, Michigan
Here’s to people and their things. Here’s to not liking sports and to nose piercings, to back tattoos and bro tanks, to longboards, to reading the newspaper each morning with a cup of coffee.
I Wish I Had Said Something
by Nick Meekhof | Apr 26, 2018 | Grand Rapids, Michigan
He’s just one guy, he won’t be around forever, and he’ll probably never run into a black person for the rest of his life. No harm, no foul, right?
Later Than Expected, but Right on Time
by Jack VA | Apr 25, 2018 | Placeless
The repetitions of my life—days, stories, conversations, sounds, meals, images, kisses, hugs, dreams—are like interlocking houndsteeth, but somehow unbound by form, unbridled by geometry.
Common Scents
by Lauren (Boersma) Harris | Apr 24, 2018 | Placeless
Cutting open a Bisquick bag will always smell of thin Duke University t-shirts, thoughtful eyebrows, and hour-long explanations of the electoral college.
“Natural History Psychedelia”: Alexis Rockman’s “Great Lakes Cycle”
by Julia LaPlaca | Apr 23, 2018 | Grand Rapids, Michigan
These works are about as subtle as a trainwreck, but they are surprisingly fun, despite their depressingly urgent call to take environmental responsibility.
A Body Kind of Knowing
by Paula Manni | Apr 22, 2018 | Placeless
Grasp, carry, touch, step, tug, swallow.
Them’s the Beans
by Mary Margaret Healy | Apr 19, 2018 | Placeless
There are also in-game currencies and prizes, but the real celebration is that “Chicken Dinner,” which, I cannot stress enough, bears no resemblance to any kind of meal.
Looking At, Shooting At, and the Weirdness of Annihilation
by Ben DeVries | Apr 18, 2018 | Placeless
We’re used to standing apart from the places we occupy, fillers and subduers of the earth that we are.
Falling Calendars
by Andrew Knot | Apr 16, 2018 | Placeless
To believe in something other than what is materially in front of you is awkward. It likely means that what you expect tomorrow is impossible today.
How I Accidentally Became a Woooo! Girl
by Cassie Westrate | Apr 15, 2018 | Placeless
But one day at work, I was proofing an email and realized I sounded really excited about a new art exhibition. Too excited.
Social Strata
by Will Montei | Apr 14, 2018 | Washington
Though I’ve never defined myself by a job title, I came to the realization that without my previous one, I had little to define myself with at all.
I Figured Out Which of My Favorite Actors Are Actually Friends So That You Don’t Have To
by Catherine Kramer | Apr 13, 2018 | Placeless
Do they actually mean it, or are they just playing with the emotions of their fans, trying to up their follower and like count?
Seen & Heard: Festival of Faith and Writing
by Abby Zwart | Apr 12, 2018 | Grand Rapids, Michigan
It’s a FFW live blog from your local friendly post calvin editor! This post will be updated throughout the weekend. Stay tuned for wise words and cheesy English major feelings.
Living Bookishly: An Intertextual Exploration
by Elaine Schnabel | Apr 11, 2018 | Placeless
When I enter a library or a bookstore, I get a sense of the divine mystery, the excitement of majesty and wonder.
