In the early 90s, I was hired to act in Film Directing classes for two summers at the Maine Photographic and Film Institute, now called the Maine Media Workshops and College. It still takes place in the seaside town of Rockport. It is up on a hill overlooking postcard...
Love Allen yearned and survived, carrying the American zeitgeist in her skin. It began just after the last day of school. Because she loved her two children beyond reason or sensibility, she let them have the first week free and clear—no chores, no bedtimes, no...
It just wasn’t the right time. Maybe that’s what people always say. Or maybe they’ve learned not to say that. Because it does sound awful, doesn’t it? It just wasn’t the right time—when there’s a vulnerable new life budding inside you. I knew I couldn’t keep it. I was...
I became a mother when Riley was born. I became a poet when he died. His death and writing poetry are intertwined like the malformed vessels of his AVM and his brain—rooted, inseparable as a banyan and its host tree. If Riley hadn’t died, I would not be writing...
I have spent the last few weeks struggling to put my thoughts and emotions into words. As a writer, I want to use my words to stand with my Black brothers and sisters as we fight against the systemic racism we face daily. But to be honest, I’m at a loss as to where to...
Nana, my mother’s mother, was the maven of molasses creams, maple syrup, piggy-back rides, pickled beets, knits and purls, boiled jelly, tomatoes, and trilliums. In other words, she tilled the land, fed the family, created textiles, designed garden beds, and...
It was snowing when Bess woke and turned off the alarm. She could see large flakes falling in the dim early light. She slipped from the covers and, shivering, pulled on a robe, collected her clothes and opened the bedroom door. It squawked just as it had a few hours...
The plane ascends. Women disrobe, crossing into Turkey’s airspace. Their hair cascades like waterfalls. I lift my skirt to let my legs breathe. So much sin is compressed between my teeth & my toes! I stride over the pavement. The wind runs through...
Alice Bloch is the author of Mother-Daughter Banquet: A Memoir, the winner of our 2018 memoir contest. Her prolific writing career includes the memoir Lifetime Guarantee, the novel The Law of Return, and publication in several anthologies. She also wrote a column for...
