“Palm readings by the pair”— fortunes in the city! Stale patchouli whiffs; a spidery chandelier; gold at her turtle throat. Her pilling shawl was fringed with foggy opal tears. She …

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For Julie I understood our time was running out, so I planned a winter picnic, and privately decided not to eat. We drove past petrified trees, and thankfully we passed …

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starts with   mouth-to-mouth inspiration   from the beige-lipped perfect   O   of a Martin D-28 guitar where soul on rebound   from plucked brass   swims up through sound waves and waits humming   behind a copse of hair   at the mouth of …

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You will not find me among the women of the earth, Their hair wound up in buns upon their heads, And goosebumped legs bridged above the bath— I am not …

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Jillian Tamaki We asked five celebrated writers to devise five guidelines for composing a short story or poem. They all traded lists—and played by the rules. Five rules by Michael …

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You can tell a thousand-footer by her straight back, hammer head —a skyscraper toppled. Too long for locks, what she’s best at: pushing taconite from Duluth to Gary, the endless …

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The personalities of the dwarfs were still “open to change” throughout the rewrites. Dopey himself was introduced late. Why not add a Latinate “a” to the end of his name …

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The Korean chatelaine who claims she never boffed her former dogwalker (and blots her creamy affidavit swearing theirs a chaste relationship) is perjuring: if she didn’t, she should have, as …

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I’d say the book was disappointing, but I had no expectations of its excellence, so that would be misleading. I’d say my team’s performance fails to satisfy, but its salary …

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You talk across periods; I draw on arms with blue pen, The Clash, et cetera. With gall you hang posters, know the slogans. You savour the word disobedience, chew chocolate …

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