A New Kind of Literary Pulse

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Creative Nonfiction
Creative Nonfiction
Society  5 min

Someone You Know

Andrew Hoffman

JANUARY 2020. 7234 miles from Chicago, China reports the first death from a novel coronavirus. There is no evidence it can spread among humans.
I'm commuting to school and two women on the train are ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 5 min

Crows in Fur Coats

Jordan Anderson

I took the metro everyday past Tula and the station, South, from the farthest point within Moscow's transport limits. It's where the Germans stopped in 1942, and where the buses brought in people from ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 4 min

Blessings in a Bucket

Nikash Pradhan

The smell of cow dung sucker-punched me with my first steps out onto the dirt path with my grandmother. It was pungent enough to mask my own odor caused by the hot and humid summer in India. My ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
Creative Nonfiction
Creative Nonfiction
 3 min

Losing Control

Claudia Battezzato

I've always liked being in control. My planner, filled with checklists and to-do items, contains my whole life. Filling out forms brings me a weird sense of satisfaction. I like putting all the ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 2 min

Convenience

Melina Rice

Little brothers are annoying, aren't they? They're messy and whiny, god so whiny. They take your things without asking, they're...endlessly loud. That afternoon, my half-brother was the quietest he'd ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 1 min

Indecent Proposal

Brian Rosenzweig

I proposed to the love of my life in September, and she ran away from me. I'd expected her to say no, sure, as I knelt down in front of the Old Well with no ring, no intention, no plan. We were ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 2 min

How to Ride a Bike

Emma Nelson

First, admit that you have never been happy. Admit that joy is a commodity reserved for those far outside of your understanding. Admit that pain has always felt more natural to you because it lets you ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 2 min

Roses

Gabrielle Shiozawa

Grace drives south on State Street back toward our apartment. We have groceries in the backseat, and there are plants tucked around my feet to keep the soil from spilling as we travel. Grace's new ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 2 min

Five Hours

Alyson Cabeza

The backdoor slammed as you stormed out. The loud strike of blinds hit the door and caught up to the slam – the last noticeable telling of your previous presence. I sat on the floor. The others joined ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 2 min

London Fog

Margaret Hall

When I was fourteen, I was diagnosed with Vocal Cord Dysfunction. How I breathe is fundamentally broken. The doctor guessed I had never smoked, and I told her she was right. Good, she said, and let me ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 1 min

Tabasco Sauce

Teresa Vazquez

There is no Tabasco sauce on our table. My usual order—the "Just Bacon" burger with no onions, pickles, or garlic aioli, please—will be unsatisfactory if it is not drenched in Tabasco sauce. The sauce ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 5 min

The Girl with the Yellow Hair

Harlen Bertrand

The hallways were unnaturally quiet when I left my room. The walls reflected a putrid-looking yellow that shined from the small light above me. The usual thumping of music that came from the doo ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 4 min

Dispatch from the Middle Ages

Denise Stroud

Ten days ago, I quit the kind of job this school is meant to prepare you for. I left the investment bank I'd worked for, to return to school as a full-time student. Why would I make such a seemingly ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 4 min

3x a Million

Caroline Thompson

"(3x a million)
That's all
Your devoted husband
Nick"

Janet cradled her newborn child in her arms as she read his words, carefully sprawled on the tan paper. Her darling. He ...  [+]
Creative Nonfiction
 3 min

Trps of the Trade

Edward Chen

When we think of a cell, we might not realize the extent of its intricacy. Sure, cells may be complex, but then there are tissues, organs, organ systems, and entire organisms. Cells are only a really ...  [+]