Nonfiction

A Pure and Lovely Flame

For Descartes, the pineal gland is a magical place where our souls and personality and identity shimmer in a night sky.

Sisters

For a moment my sister seemed to hesitate, standing in the ghostly light of the moon, as though she were considering going back.

The Absolute Worst Thing  

When they suggested one more blood test, since “maybe you’re lucky and you just have AIDS,” I knew that the absolute worst thing was for real,

Songs from the Black Chair

A thousand men each year sit in the black chair next to my desk. I am a mental health worker at the Bellevue Men’s Shelter.

Remembering Appleman

“If I can’t help your mother,” Appleman said to me, “then I’ll help you build some armor against her rages.” 

A Doctor in the Court of the King of Nepal

I labored to decipher the pidgin English until I at last understood that the King of Nepal wanted me, Dr. Itzhak Kronzon of the Bronx Municipal Hospital, to come to his royal court.

Off The Page: Our Psychedelic Minibreak

Erin Cherry reads “Our Psychedelic Minibreak,” a story by Sunny Teich

Solitude

I am back with the ‘who’ of me, the self I left behind through the seasons of my years. The ultimate prize is this reconciliation with the original, unvarnished self.

Off The Page: A Midnight Encounter

Ryan Duncan reads “A Midnight Encounter,” an essay by Mark Zimmerman