Issue 03 / 1995
3 / Emerging Women Writers
Showcasing a diverse array of female authors whose powerful narratives promise to shape the future of the creative nonfiction genre.
Featuring an assortment of unique essays, “Emerging Women Writers” showcases a diverse array of authors who are not yet well recognized in terms of publicity or credentials, but whose powerful narratives promise to shape the future of the creative nonfiction genre.
From a complicated birth to a conversation with a stranger in a swimming pool, magicians on stage to caring for disabled family members, these stories give a peek into the complex private worlds of their authors. With work from Jeanne Marie Laskas, Lauren Slater, Jane Bernstein, and more, this issue also features an encounter with Diane Ackerman.
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FROM THE EDITOR: Why “Emerging”?
The previous two issues were anchored in work by or about such writers John McPhee, Charles Simic and Adrienne Rich. This issue establishes our commitment to writers who not as recognized, but whose voices are powerful and significant.Magic
Legend has it that Colon, Michigan, doesn’t exist, except for four days each August, when the magicians appear. More than a thousand magicians from all over the world have been congregating here for the past 54 years, doubling the population of Colon, a town named after the punctuation mark.Three Spheres
A therapist is forced to revisit her past when assigned to treat a woman in an institution where she herself was once a patient.Blowing in the Wind
Starting at the Lincoln Wood trailhead, we cut off onto Bondcliff Trail. On day one, we hiked about six miles, much of it on the old railroad logging trail.Water
I see that old woman every now and then at the Y, the one who is not a lunch meat lover. She swims, as I do. She swims in a pair of black shorts and a black shirt.Maternity
Only the short fluorescent bar over the sink was lit; most of the room fell into brown shadows. The placenta in its pink tub had been carried away. The sterile instruments were gone, and the deep-blue cloths.Taking Care
My Uncle Ben is 90 years old—maybe. He isn’t exactly sure anymore, and no one is left to argue that his real age is 89 or 91, or tell those in the next generation the actual date of his birthday.Gott ist die Liebe/Er Liebt auch Mich
My mother welcomed my father and me at the door and led us through my grandmother’s house like a newly hired tour guide. She showed us into the kitchen, walked us through the living room and pointed out where the hospital bed had been.A Conversation with Diane Ackerman
When the man behind the concierge desk calls out my name, I look up to see a phone receiver being waved in my direction. “Kathleen, it’s Diane. I’ll be there, but I’m a little distance away.Interview with Diana Hume George
In “Blowing in the Wind,” Diana Hume George recounts her treacherous climb on a trail in the White Mountains of New Hampshire as a way of examining various paths her life has taken.Interview with Kathryn Rhett
Kathryn Rhett’s “Maternity” tells the story of the birth of her daughter, Cade, and her daughter’s life-threatening illness as a newborn. The essay itself had the most unobtrusive of births: Rhett began keeping notes about her daughter and the illness “before I forgot the facts and feelings,” she says.Interview with Jane Bernstein
Jane Bernstein's essay, "Taking Care," explores the emotional difficulties of living with someone with a serious disabilityInterview with Lauren Slater
Lauren Slater wrote “Three Spheres” with no revision.Interview with Maureen Stanton
Maureen Stanton’s “Water” began as notes scribbled on scraps of paper and filed in a folder.