creative nonfiction
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A Strong Affirmation: Nominated for Best American Essays 2027
Please join Flash the Court in congratulating this year’s nominees for Best American Essays Read the nominated writers below: “Transitions” by Jennifer Braunfelshttps://flashthecourt.com/…/transitions-by-jennifer…/“Liturgist of the Land: A Single Work Completed” by Gregory Ormsonhttps://flashthecourt.com/…/liturgist-of-the-land-a…/“Lucky” by Nate Methothttps://flashthecourt.com/2026/07/03/lucky-by-nate-methot/“Balance Exercises” by Brian McNelyhttps://flashthecourt.com/…/balance-exercises-by-brian…/“On the Anniversary of My Mother’s Death” by Amy L. Bernsteinhttps://flashthecourt.com/…/on-the-anniversary-of-my…/ My essay appeared in the…
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What Memory Keeps
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Team Flame Takes the Field for The Twin Bill
Today is publication day, and I am delighted to share that my essay, “Team Flame,” appears in Issue 24 of The Twin Bill. The Twin Bill is a literary quarterly devoted to baseball writing and art. Each year, the journal releases a special issue on the day of Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, bringing together…
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Nothing Is Forced into Action Except the Old Boat Motor
At the cabin, stories rise the way ghosts do. Nobody can produce them on demand. They are, like the Dylan lyric about sons and daughters, “beyond our command.” They flash across consciousness, drift back into the trees, return when they are ready. This is why I come again to Big Casey Lake, to the Old-Style…
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MIDWEST INTIMATIONS
Port Yonder Press / Eastern Iowa University will be publishing its third volume of lyric essays this summer. Work by two writers is now online, including my essay, “Midwest Intimations.” The other essay online, link included is, “You Will Have a Son,” by Cindy Lamothe, an expat living in Antigua. Thank you Port Yonder Press.…