Mysteries of My Father

One thing about having a parent with dementia is how much of the past becomes a mystery, and how abruptly it seems to happen.

2018 Nomination for the Pushcart Prize

It’s that time of year again when editors mail in their nominations for The Pushcart Prize. We each get six picks and untold hours of gnashing of teeth. Congratulations to this year’s FGP Pushcart nominees! Deborah Linder’s “Familiar” While I like these men, and while I have tried so hard to make myself likeable, nay, … Continue reading 2018 Nomination for the Pushcart Prize

Weird Loud Smelly World

Photo by Gina Easley By Jody Mace When I was around nine, I used to practice being blind. It was a strange practice but not totally far-fetched. I had worn glasses for near-sightedness since I was six, and my vision was already terrible. If I’d lived in a different age I probably would have already … Continue reading Weird Loud Smelly World

The Purge

Photo by Gina Easley By Jody Mace I started hating things in the first week of December, 2012. I mean “things” literally. Objects. It might have been the tiny plastic cocktail forks that did me in. Before that week, I had an archaeologist-like fascination with things. I was especially interested in things that other people … Continue reading The Purge

Full Grown People’s 2017 Pushcart Nominations

By Jennifer Niesslein It’s that time again, when editors across the land reread what they’ve published in the last year, then drive themselves bonkers trying to compare all the apples and oranges and figs and molten lava cakes and palak paneers and potato salads and bánh baos they published in the last year. Editors of … Continue reading Full Grown People’s 2017 Pushcart Nominations

Schrödinger’s Horn

By Jody Mace “It looks like you’ve got a horn growing on your face.” That’s what the dermatologist says—literally says—to my father. A horn. I hadn’t thought of the growth as a horn until this moment, and now I wish I had looked at it more closely, even though it’s the kind of thing I … Continue reading Schrödinger’s Horn

The Night of the Rooster

By Jody Mace It’s been about two years since I decided I wanted to paint a chicken. Maybe three. It’s not the kind of thing I would have put on my calendar to fact-check later. I was in a small restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Its sign was topped with a huge, pink pig … Continue reading The Night of the Rooster

Our Esteemed Nominees

By Jennifer Niesslein Around this time every year, I do two things: Make sure the elastic waistband leggings are clean for Thursday. Pick six essays to nominate for the Pushcart Prize. The second task is insanely hard. The Pushcart folks ask small-press editors (and past winners) to nominate six pieces, and the editors of the annual … Continue reading Our Esteemed Nominees

Privilege

By Jody Mace The day that I returned a loaner car to an auto dealership, I didn’t know that I had become a stooge in an automobile heist. Here’s how it went down. A recall was issued for my car. It was a safety issue. It turned out that the airbag’s inflator, a “metal cartridge … Continue reading Privilege

FGP’s Virtual Holiday Party

By Jennifer Niesslein I wish I could bring all of us together for a holiday party. The last time I got together with some FGP people, some things that you just can’t through reading and emailing. For instance, I learned that Kim Kankiewicz once gave a voice lesson to Emily Kinney, the actress who played … Continue reading FGP’s Virtual Holiday Party