By: Cariou Beijing, China.May 16, 1966. Sunny. After school in the afternoon, our teachers asked students to sign up to join the Red Guards[i] while class cadres were compelled to join. At the age of thirteen, I didn’t understand what…
By: Ramlal Agarwal It was heartening that Geetanjali Shree’s Hindi novel, “Ret Samadhi,” translated as “Tomb of Sand” by Daisy Rockwell, won the International Booker Prize in 2022. Tomb of Sand is an unconventional novel that does away with conventional…
By: James Aitchison How we long for control,for ordered lives,neatly wrapped days,tidy packages tied withpredictable string.But I see nothing tidyin Nature; no straight lines,nothing the same shape,the same size; nothingeasy, nothing smooth.And I love it! The road isforced to follow…
By: Carl “Papa” Palmer light around the edge of the blinds5:30 I hope 6:30 I guesseither way I need the bathroomhoping there’s time to get back in bedfor at least another hourbefore 7:30 alarm clock on the night tablenot wanting…
By: Carl “Papa” Palmer The first thing I notice every time I come to visit is the familiar aroma of this hallway smelling as if the same lavender laundry soap is used in every assisted living facility in Tacoma. I…