In the quarantined Covid year of 2020, I returned to exploring the figure in my mixed media paintings. Even though it’s been years since I’ve used the human figure as a subject, I’ve always consi […]

I mix up the names of common furniture pieces
like cupboards and cabinets, closets and shelves

And bureaus. And Ursas, both major and minor

Armoires. To know only of […]

My summer reading list (and Spring) centers around the writings of Thomas Merton. After sifting through his prose and poetry I think the most amazing thing about him is how many people lay claim to him and find a […]

There’s this Tree. It’s a Cottonwood. It’s been there longer than forever, a gentle, generous tower on the long green lawn in front of the dorms. Three decades ago, when I was still teaching at the colle […]

Naomi Raquel Enright has earned an Honorable Mention in Streetlight’s 2021 Essay/Memoir Contest
I am the brown-skinned, biological mother of a son presumed to be white. My mother is Ecuadorian and my father was […]

Hunting Gems

I don’t comprehend the chemistry of how geodes form
but their creation makes enough sense for my layman mind
to teach an abridged version to my daughter:
Some rocks may look dull, b […]

I’m amazed and delighted every time we hold Streetlight’s Essay/Memoir contest to see how many wonderful submissions we get. The only sorrow is that we can’t give out more than three cash awards. But, we can offer […]

Little Betrayals

I was six
I knew he had a quarter in his pocket
I knew it was mine if when he roared
who is the greatest grandpapa of all
and the silver and Wedgewood china on table shook
and the Irish […]

Streetlight Voices: Short Fiction & Memoir · Erebus by Patrick Christie
 

Podcast: The threat is getting closer.

A fictional story performed by Joe Guay.

Read the story online: Erebus by Patrick C […]

Monday for Mom was splat day. She was working on splats up until her last few days. We talked about the splatforms a lot in her last few months. About a week ago she asked if I would write a splat about what […]

Fate is read in the routes
of the snails that methodically
spell their own names in the park.

Leaves shrivel
and shiver off of white birch
trees.

Alongside an old church,
pigeons storm a sliver
of […]

The first year of the pandemic lockdown was the worst for Frankie and PJ. Most of their time was spent worrying about the health of Frankie’s Mom and then PJ’s Mom and then as it turned out all that […]

Armen Bacon and Phyllis Brotherton are the 3rd place winners in Streetlight’s 2021 Essay/Memoir Contest
 

Sheltering-in-place brought out the wannabe gardener in me, a long-time aspiration, with many […]

I cannot separate drawing from writing. Without drawing swallows, I cannot write spring. I am self-taught in art. I am always a student. I observe, I dream and I draw.

I grew up and live in Ankara, Turkey. […]

That’s actually me. I have four kidneys. I joke about it, but with great feeling for what they each signify. Two are native, gifted by my parents. The others are from two donors who saved my life with their o […]

As a Tuskegee Airman, the late Leon “Woodie” Spears was one of fewer than 1,000 African-Americans pilots in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He was among the last cadets to be trained on the gro […]

Melissa Sinclair is the 2nd place winner in Streetlight’s 2021 Essay/Memoir Contest
 

“Can u go to the parler with me today if u don’t have any plans?”

This text is from my friend Nighat, who is gettin […]

It will be a year, he says.

The sun behind her covers the barman and his wall of drinkery in rosey light. A ceiling fan stirs fry-oil and lemon around them, but she still feels slick with sweat on her face […]