Candide's Garden by Susan Shafarzek Long, long ago when I was young, someone I knew told me how much it meant to her to read Candide. In fact, she read it over and over. It was […]

Boxes Left Unchecked by Presley Ackeret You’ve been using ChatGPT as a therapist a little too much lately. We joke about it on occasion—we’ve lovingly named him “Chad,” you share, ch […]

A Day of Firsts by David Stern The first time that my brother and I had gone sailing without Dad. The first time we checked the weather and set a course like real navigators. The […]

Combined Training by Amelia Zahm Amelia Zahm is the third place winner of Streetlight’s 2025 Essay/Memoir Contest Long strides carry her forward. I hear joy, that annoying […]

Gradoo by Richard Key Etymology uncertain. That is how the dictionary deals with the origins of the word gradoo, tip-toeing lightly around a word you wouldn’t want to s […]

From a Persian Kitchen by Ruth Knezevich Ruth Knezevich is the 2nd place winner of Streetlight’s 2025 Essay/Memoir Contest Prepare fresh herbs—4 bunches parsley, 3 bunches cilantro, 2 b […]

Aritifice or Intelligence by E. H. Jacobs So, I found myself in a restaurant with my wife, two friends, and one friend’s first cousin whom I had not previously met. After drinks and a […]

Final Thoughts by Christopher Ghattas Christopher Ghattas is the 1st place winner of Streetlight’s 2025 Essay/Memoir Contest Whenever someone tells me that they, too, are dying, […]

Stop the Car by Scott Weaver 1842 On a Midwestern tour to drum up support for a second presidential run, Martin Van Buren had the bad fortune of passing through […]

It's Not a Madeleine But by Rachel Lutwick Deaner I have always been sensitive to smells and tastes, but this was too much. On a four day getaway with my husband in NYC, the city of my girlhood, I […]

Stolen Summers by Lauren Dunn I’m sweeping up a pile of sand from the hardwood floor. It’s everywhere. Under each throw mat and area rug. In the corners of the room and hiding ben […]

We Have Winning Essays by Susan Shafarzek The annual contest is a big event here at Streetlight’s essay/memoir section. We never know what our invitation is going to bring, but it’s always i […]

Asa Fowler by Miles Fowler I am leery of ancestor worship, but the more I research the history of my great-great grandfather, Asa Fowler, the more I find admirable about […]

Cicadian Rhythm by Quincy Gray McMichael Quincy Gray McMichael has earned an Honorable Mention in Streetlight’s 2024 Essay/Memoir Contest    As I stretch my shoulders, arms aloft, t […]

Death Reprise by Lauren Dunn My mom died sometime last year. And it’s funny, I couldn’t tell you exactly when it happened. Well, it’s not so much funny as it is strange. Becau […]

Slugger by Walter Lawn I know a story they left out of her obituary. In the late 1970s and early 80s I worked in the Development Department at The Franklin Institute, the […]

The Grass is Always Greener by Miles Fowler Growing up in Massachusetts in the 1950s and early 1960s, my schoolmates and I used to watch a children’s television show called Big Brother. At n […]

My Funny Little Valentine by Lucinda Guard HEART OF GOLD The calendar waves its pages, and announces it’s time for our annual tradition of tapping trees and sugaring. Oh wait: not you! No more […]

The Rauschenberg Retrospective by Ingrid Jandrewski Studio by Katy Nicosia. CC license. When we first enter the Robert Rauschenberg retrospective at the Tate Modern, my parents’ eyes brighten as if t […]

The Last Time by Cheryl Somers Aubin We never know when it will be the last time, do we? If I had known, I would have paid closer attention to the story mom shared about her […]