When I was a teenager, fresh and angry with newfound feminism, I did the strangest thing. I agreed to compete in the Harvest Queen Festival. This was a yearly fundraiser for my church. A lineup of girls had to sell raffle tickets, compete in a talent competition, and attend the Harvest Ball wearing a…

My mother and I have not always been close. There was a time when, passing through Vancouver (where I lived for ten years), she’d call me from the airport. She’d been to visit my brother in Seattle. She’d tell me what a lovely time she’d had, and how there hadn’t been time to call…

Spring is always an uneasy surprise. Classes end, suddenly it seems. The light sharpens, anticipating summer, and I see disarray everywhere; the piles of marked midterms on my desk; the litter at the edge of my garden; the dust in the guestroom. Out of the corner of my eye I see crocus; narcissus; cherry…