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On my way home from school / with a gang of friends / I would see him outside / one of the bars or diners / near the Journal Square station: / my uncle, rasping the price / of a shine to the passing crowd
By John BargowskiJune 2022June 2022To earn one’s bread by the sweat of one’s brow has always been the lot of mankind. At least, ever since Eden’s slothful couple was served with an eviction notice. The scriptural precept was never doubted, not out loud. No matter how demeaning the task, no matter how it dulls the senses and breaks the spirit, one must work. Or else.
Studs Terkel
In terms of security and a sense that you can count on a certain career path in life if you do your part — that’s over for most people. You’re on your own.
By Staci KleinmaierJune 2022My mother didn’t raise a thief, but by the time you round forty, you’re pretty much raising yourself. I scooped the package from its hiding place, then waved my free hand at the doorbell camera.
By Daniel Davis-WilliamsJune 2022We were warned not to complain — / plenty more temps they could call. / Warned, too, to avoid the break room / with its jailhouse camera / swiveling right outside the boss’s office, / his speakers playing only country.
By Michael MeyerhoferJune 2022Life has always been as hard as the soles of my father’s feet. Like the callused hand my face melts into. He holds it like the cantaloupe before a fruit salad. Like life before America. Before it’s sliced, devoured, consumed.
By Melida RodasJune 2022How could she tell her son that although she bathes, puts on clothes, laughs at Colbert, and has conversations with people, people don’t know. They don’t have a clue they’re talking to a bunch of scattered molecules trying to imitate a human being.
By Daniela KuperMay 2022No one would admit that they’d stolen my phone, so Manager threatened to call a juju priest to settle the issue spiritually.
By Blessing J. ChristopherJanuary 2022A new feature in the magazine, A Thousand Words features photography so rich with narrative that it tells a story all on its own.
January 2022Being in remission is like air: you only appreciate it when it’s gone. After four years of not appreciating it, I’m back on Vancouver Island, where I work at the university as a cafeteria dishwasher.
By Jason JobinDecember 2021Personal, political, provocative writing delivered to your doorstep every month—without a single ad.
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