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Poems from Water Puppets

I will admit I was in favor of war and now look what’s happened. / At the end of the road the man driving the truck will eat /… More

Sophia’s Childhood

Her rejection as a child helps to explain her constant search as a woman for what she had missed. Even as Empress Catherine, at the height of her autocratic… More

Cross-Country Skiing

In November, before the snow, I’d got lost in these woods and spent part of a chilly night curled up in wet leaves. After it snowed, however, I could… More

Moby-Duck

At the outset, I felt no need to acquaint myself with the six degrees of freedom. I’d never heard of the Great North Pacific Garbage Patch. I liked my… More

Crime Reporter Shot Dead in Puebla

PEN International protests the murder of Mexican crime reporter Adrián Silva Moreno, who was shot dead in Tehuacán, Puebla state, on November 14, 2012. More

Sophocles in L.A.

Dramatis PersonaeSOPHOCLES, a playwrightSOCRATES, a philosopherA POLICEMANA FLYING ROBOT Inhabited by the Ghost of Søren KierkegaardCHORUS of Graduate Students SCENE: the outside of a small house in Carson, California.Enter SOPHOCLES from the house.SOPHOCLESI do… More

Getting Around to It

Setting: The interior of an apartment. Some clothing, a spoon, and several pens lie on the floor. Downstage left is a small table set with chess pieces in front… More