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Amal El-Mohtar

Amal El-Mohtar

Mar
12
Friday Open Thread (with Breaking Ice)

Friday Open Thread (with Breaking Ice)

Dear Friends, A few days ago I sat down to journal about February – a month I continue to wrestle with
3 min read
Feb
26
A line of snow-laden pines and deciduous trees against patches of blue sky and sun-infused clouds.

Friday Open Thread (with Stillness)

Dear Friends, I got 1500 words into a Long Letter for February before deciding I would wait to finish and
3 min read
Jan
29
Foreground: snowy ridge abuts on to river in which a grey basketball is caught in a seam of rapids. 3 pink hearts lead to it.

A Long Letter for January

Dear Friends, Happy New Year! It's been a while – but since I last wrote on New Year'
9 min read
Dec
31
A bottle of Salt Spring Wild cider flavoured with bitter orange and rosemary.

New Year's Eve, 2021

Dear Friends, I am extraordinarily sleepy. I have had a big, beautiful meal; I'm drinking a gift; in
3 min read
Dec
17
Dark, bare-branched tree leaning over a thawing river reflecting dim, pale afternoon sun.

Friday Open Thread (with Postcards)

Dear Friends, When I first moved to the UK – over a decade ago, as a penniless student not yet dreaming
3 min read
Dec
10
A stuffed moose toy sits on a box of maple cookies wearing clothes on which are embroidered the US & Canadian flags.

In Search of Lost Timelines

In another timeline, you aren't reading this. You're reading something silly, joyful, titled Friday Open Thread
4 min read
Dec
03
Close-up on a thin scrim of ice on a river's edge, with thin reeds and grasses poking through it in chilly lacework.

Friday Open Thread (with December and Gifts)

Dear Friends, It's December, Sagittarius season, and my birthday month, bringing with it the end of the teaching
2 min read
Nov
26
On Sondheim

On Sondheim

Dear Friends, Most weeks I try to gather up little bits of news to deliver in a bundle at week&
3 min read
Nov
19
Close-up on fallen gingko leaves, golden and jewelled with drops of rain, with a patch of dark green moss between them.

Friday Open Thread (with Quiet)

Dear Friends, I'm writing to you from my family's home in the wilderness, surrounded by deep
3 min read
Nov
13
Petra Mayer smiling against a light blue background, holding a paper with her name, job, hometown and twitter handles on it.

In Memoriam: Petra Mayer

Petra Mayer [https://www.npr.org/sections/npr-extra/2018/06/11/618848485/faces-of-npr-petra-mayer] – editor at NPR Books, pillar of my
3 min read
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