When my brother died, it took the Erie County Coroner's office more than two days to call any of my family members back. We called the police officer who initially reached out to me. We called the police department. We called the coroner several times. Nothing. We had to physically show up at the office, [...]
Author: Ashley Bethard
Writer. Editor. Digital Media Expert.
Some essays take 4 years to write.
I mean, this one did. I turned it over and over again, like stones in water, finding things that glimmered and caught the sun. But there never felt like a real sense of cohesion. I'd also add that it's one of the more experimental essays I've done. So experimental and feeling/sensory-oriented that I considered categorizing [...]
2015 Literary Goal #1: Quality, not quantity
First, an observation: bottomless mimosas are very conducive to dreamlike, hazy, optimistic thoughts. In other words, exactly the kind you should be having on New Year’s Day, as you dream about what the year might have in store for you. In recent years, reflecting on the year gone by and setting goals for the new [...]
How to write about blood
"Basic laws of physics: how to lodge a hook in your head. Treble means three. Simple motions. Hold, run, cast. You tell the story for show now, choosing words carefully, measuring impact, showing ownership of memory. I can tell it too, that is the subtext of what you’re saying. But you’re not trying to compete. [...]
What it’s like to learn you’re semi-deaf
"It’s like being underwater: the loudest thing you hear are your thoughts. Voices are garbled syllables with distorted time signals, they are far off and distant. It is easy to ignore, easy to give in to the indulgence of living in one’s own head. This is what it’s like to be semi-deaf, to be increasingly [...]
It’s Important To Talk About Monica Lewinsky. Here’s Why.
The public assessment of Monica Lewinsky post-affair, post-scandal, post-blue dress and beret seemed to fall squarely in two camps: that she was was a slut – a bad girl looking for a good time, or she was an impressionable little girl who was preyed upon, taken advantage of by a man in a position of considerable [...]
Why Aren’t We Talking About the Girl Who Turned Down James Franco?
I’ve got some feelings about this. I am impressed that she turned Franco down. I am also weirdly proud of her. I want to give her a high-five. And a hug, since of course the Collective Asshole of the Internet turned its claws on her once the story broke. >>> Read the whole essay on Luna [...]
