All in one week: The anniversary of Kristallnacht. A wave of hate crimes in the U.S., in the wake of a fraught election. And the death of Leonard Cohen, who wrote this song, “Dance Me to the End of Love.” [box] Dance Me to the End of Love Guitar: Rob; vocals + viola: June; written by …
Originally appeared in ImageUpdate, a publication of IMAGE Journal. Living in the Aftermath Among the Living by Jonathan Rabb Before the concentration camps, Yitzhak Goldah was an accomplished young journalist in Prague. Inside the camps, he nearly died at the hands of Nazi scientists. But after the camps, Yitzhak Goldah is still alive, and this is where Jonathan Rabb’s …
So this was odd. My husband and I were idling in the pizzeria last Friday, waiting for our slices to come out of the oven, when the song changed on the radio. And in my hour of darkness, she is standing right in front of me Speaking words of wisdom Let it be “I love …
Originally appeared in ImageUpdate, a publication of IMAGE Journal. Essays of Rest and Restlessness First Church of the Higher Elevations: Mountains, Prayer and Presence by Peter Anderson Things that many of us hope for in prayer and pilgrimage, even if we don’t admit it: “quiet peaceful serenity,” “out-of-the-ordinary contemplative skill,” “great mystical insight.” What we often get, …
I was pretty mad at my husband this morning. Details not important. Level of anger important. I was at that stage where you get out the blankets for that spare bed in the basement. I was at the stage where I regarded every flattering social media post we’ve ever made about each other as the …
“How do you combine 26 different letters to change a person’s breathing?” –Bret Anthony Johnston This was my fave quote from the Luther College Writers Festival in Iowa last weekend, where I got to hear hearty & inspiring talks by the writer above, plus Erik Larson, Charles Baxter, and Jane Hamilton, and panels moderated by Keith Lesmeister …
Originally appeared in ImageUpdate, a publication of IMAGE Journal. The Penny Poet of Portsmouth: A Memoir of Place, Solitude, and Friendship by Katherine Towler “Minor Poets Have More Fun,” read the calling cards of Robert Dunn, the titular character in Katherine Towler’s memoir The Penny Poet of Portsmouth. Towler, who knew this very private writer as much as anyone …
Originally appeared in ImageUpdate, a publication of IMAGE Journal. A Radiant Coming-of-Age My Radio Radio by Jessie van Eerden They called themselves The Dunlap Fellowship of All Things in Common. They were idealists who meant to replicate the early church described in Acts, doing away not only with private property but even family ties, so that parents were addressed not …
Originally appeared in ImageUpdate, a publication of IMAGE Journal. Marking the Unseen Eye Dothead by Amit Majmudar “It’s not some freak / third eye that opens on your forehead like / on some Chernobyl baby,” writes Amit Majmudar in the poem “Dothead.” “What it means / is, what it’s showing is, there’s this unseen / eye, on the inside. And …