by BlogEditor | Jun 26, 2020 | Creative Nonfiction, The Keeping Room
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...
by Kim Brown | Jun 19, 2020 | Blog, News & Events, Women and the World
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...
by BlogEditor | Jun 19, 2020 | Creative Nonfiction, The Keeping Room
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...
by BlogEditor | Jun 2, 2020 | Fiction, The Keeping Room
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...
by BlogEditor | Sep 16, 2019 | The Keeping Room, Uncategorized
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...
by Kim Brown | Aug 12, 2019 | Author Profiles, Staff Blog
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...
by Kim Brown | Jul 31, 2019 | Staff Blog
It’s no secret that our staff loves books. Reading is our superpower. We read submissions for Minerva Rising and tons of books and journals for our own personal edification. Here’s what we’ve been reading over the summer: Brooke —...
by BlogEditor | Jul 17, 2019 | Blog, The Keeping Room
By Holly Day I feel the wings flutter under my skin as I tell them about my childhood, about how things were before I had children of my own. I hint at the type of insect I was make it more beautiful—I was a butterfly, a damselfly a fluorescent leaf-hopper, something...
by BlogEditor | Jul 13, 2019 | Blog, The Keeping Room
By Marti Rhode All I want now is a pair of turquoise cowgirl boots. You know what kind, the ones with doily stitching around the top, and pointed, cowgirl toes. I want one of those twirling skirts with white rick-rack trim, and fringe, somewhere. ...
by BlogEditor | Jul 10, 2019 | Blog, The Keeping Room
By Gail Peck This new place on the second floor I call my tree house. I can’t get used to saying apartment. There are trees all around and a twenty-five-foot balcony. Still, I miss the private backyard we had, especially the Japanese Maples we planted and could...
