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Amal El-Mohtar

Amal El-Mohtar

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
Nov
12
A Shang-Chi comic cover, "Dweller by the Dark Stream," with Shang-Chi in a spooky forest looking towards a ghostly bag-piper.

Friday Open Thread (with Shang-Chi)(but without spoilers)

Dear Friends, Stu and I watched Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings this evening, and I'm
2 min read
Nov
06
Three slender elm trees lean over a river; the sun shines from beyond the upper-left corner illuminating their golden leaves.

Friday Open Thread (with November)

This is a little heavier than the usual Friday Open Thread, so if you'd like to skip straight
4 min read
Oct
29
A slender, sun-dappled path through a pine forest.

Friday Open Thread (with Nuthatches)

Dear Friends, Once upon a time, when I was in high school, I got the opportunity to go on a
4 min read
Oct
25
A very dramatic sunset over a river covered in lily pads and framed in long grasses and leaves from surrounding trees.

The Blessed Unrest of Women Talking

On April 12, while scrolling the wilderness of Twitter, I saw Ellen Kushner post an excerpt from Agnes de Mille&
6 min read
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