In this, Liu’s fourth book of poems, the evidence is the minutiae and banalities that comprise everyday lives; each moment is made extraordinary in its realness, both brutal and beautiful. “Sometimes blood. / Or bruise or death you... Read More

Today, everyone wants more—more comfort and, definitely, more money. The family in this story has found a way to get it with a thick rope dangling from the sky with a tiny note attached to it that simply reads, “Pull for more.” At... Read More

Janna’s favorite day of the week is Saturday, the day she spends with Granddaddy and the other “kings” of the neighborhood barbershop. When her mother breaks the news that her grandfather’s heart has “gone to sleep,” Janna... Read More

The story of the explorer La Salle shows that dreams are not always achieved in a lifetime. One man’s “failure” may actually pave the way for someone else’s success. As a young Frenchman, La Salle became a Jesuit because he... Read More

“Society has defined a human being as someone who can bear the major responsibilities required for a self-directed life; I was not a human being. I didn’t feel I could control anything except my mouthstick and my mind.” Paralyzed... Read More

Chicago Illinois 1971. Imagine the largest charity hospital in the United States. There is no air conditioning with the exception of the intensive care units and the burn units. Beds are lined up in huge wards with curtains separating... Read More

“The hottest place in hell is reserved for those who in time of moral crisis remained neutral.” This favorite quotation of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., sometimes attributed to the Italian poet, Dante, aptly describes... Read More

In the twenty-first century, American women recognize creative freedom as an inherent right according to US law. Yet in previous centuries, religious and cultural restrictions prevented the public expression of visual, written, and... Read More