back to school – Michigan Quarterly Review

back to school

francine j. harris head shot

what you’d find buried in the dirt under charles f. kettering sr. high school (detroit, michigan)

broken teeth. lost retainers. crumpled letters written to counselors

and discarded for illegible handwriting. phone lists of

abortion clinics. deflated valentine’s day balloons with

trampled white ribbon. sales ads on bassinette sets.

what you’d find buried in the dirt under charles f. kettering sr. high school (detroit, michigan) Read More »

broken teeth. lost retainers. crumpled letters written to counselors

and discarded for illegible handwriting. phone lists of

abortion clinics. deflated valentine’s day balloons with

trampled white ribbon. sales ads on bassinette sets.

Writing Exercises 101, 201, and 301

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Oh, the energy of autumnal days! Summer has its blisses, winter its purities; spring lays out romance and adventure, but these short weeks, the light falling like a voice into the distance—they grip me like nothing else. These are the days of the private pleasures of the mind opened into conversation, days in which I thrill at blank pages, new music, appointments fulfilled in the noise of crowds, and my breathe materialized in the cooling air. It’s a time of study and practice. It’s a time of education.

Writing Exercises 101, 201, and 301 Read More »

Oh, the energy of autumnal days! Summer has its blisses, winter its purities; spring lays out romance and adventure, but these short weeks, the light falling like a voice into the distance—they grip me like nothing else. These are the days of the private pleasures of the mind opened into conversation, days in which I thrill at blank pages, new music, appointments fulfilled in the noise of crowds, and my breathe materialized in the cooling air. It’s a time of study and practice. It’s a time of education.

Don’t Take Your Guns to Town, Son

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When I told people in New York that I was moving to Texas, the conversation pretty much always went the same way: “To Austin, I assume?” (Yes.) “Oh, well, Austin isn’t Texas. I hear people love Austin.” In fact, Austin is in Texas, as evidenced by the very name of the university at which I now work, and the fact that the capital of the state is here. From the iconic bell tower on campus, one can look upon the domed and columned capital building down below, the largest state capital in the United States (no surprise there).

Don’t Take Your Guns to Town, Son Read More »

When I told people in New York that I was moving to Texas, the conversation pretty much always went the same way: “To Austin, I assume?” (Yes.) “Oh, well, Austin isn’t Texas. I hear people love Austin.” In fact, Austin is in Texas, as evidenced by the very name of the university at which I now work, and the fact that the capital of the state is here. From the iconic bell tower on campus, one can look upon the domed and columned capital building down below, the largest state capital in the United States (no surprise there).

Back-to-School Subscription Special!

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Join the MQR community as a new subscriber between September 3 and October 15, 2013, and save at least 40% off our regular subscription rates. Whether you have never subscribed, or you have merely strayed from the fold, we’d love nothing more than to share with you the great writing we publish every season. Stories, poems, nonfiction, and reviews by established and emerging writers. To that end, we define new subscribers as anyone who has not been an MQR subscriber for the past three or more years. For details, please visit our Subscriptions Page on the website.

Back-to-School Subscription Special! Read More »

Join the MQR community as a new subscriber between September 3 and October 15, 2013, and save at least 40% off our regular subscription rates. Whether you have never subscribed, or you have merely strayed from the fold, we’d love nothing more than to share with you the great writing we publish every season. Stories, poems, nonfiction, and reviews by established and emerging writers. To that end, we define new subscribers as anyone who has not been an MQR subscriber for the past three or more years. For details, please visit our Subscriptions Page on the website.

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