Discussion

Femmes souriantes.

Comme le
parfum d'une
rose qui chante
l'harmonie d'un
rêve éternel,
comme le son
de la neige
qui décrit la
lumière....

Francesco Sinibaldi

nice post , wonderful topic

"a hurried/lurching from verge"
Driving drunk, or drunk man lurching to avoid cars?

"places in the roof/ where dust had gathered"
encapsulates the poem, great metaphor.

Love it.

More, More, please

Softly your memory...

Like a
luminous flower
your delicate
sadness returns
near a white
dream....

Francesco Sinibaldi

Quite good. I wish there had been chocolates on Pound's grave only so someone could have stolen them as well. Death can be so unfair.

Judy Chicurel communicates well the tension between intimacy and estrangement,and an honest reflection on the competition between self-preservation and altruism.

El sueño melodioso.

Silente y
suave como
el lento pasar
de la noche
encantada.

Francesco Sinibaldi

I’m very much a part of the tiki culture and rockabilly scene. I’m a makeup artist, alternative pin-up model, and fashion designer. My goal is to use my skills to become a triple threat in the entertainment and fashion industries.

The more I think about this story the more I like it.

It doesn't have the 'KABOOM' of a shotgun blowing a target and stand all to pieces but, rather, the 'THWACK' of a dogged BB as it pierces, close to the bullseye, of it's targets plastic sheathing.

What I love about Chinelo’s writing is that she allows the reader to formulate hypothesis and because of her intricate and complex writing the answers to the questions that may arise are never one sided. Chinelo pushes the reader to deeply read into her narrative and absorb each sentence, phrase, paragraph with an open mind. And only then, will you truly appreciate her craft. I thoroughly enjoyed the first drafts of ‘Runs Girl’ and even enjoy it even more now that others are able to read it. I look forward to reading more of Chinelo’s works. It is a pleasure to have an artist who takes writing to a new level, leaving one refreshed and wanting for more.

((Continued))

As one ages, the connections to parents begin to erode and certain subjects, feelings, decisions are no longer shared in fear of disappointing parents and also because of fearing what their reactions may be. More importantly, the parent to child relation becomes reversed and the child starts to take the roll of parent(s). The child begins to be the sole provider of everything from nourishment, to safety, and often life threatening decisions. In doing so, the child-like tenderness is gone. The child becomes rigid and ultimately becomes incapable of expressing emotions. Ada expresses this notion so well when she states:

"If I had tried to tell her I loved her on our taxi ride that day, it would not have made things any better. I would not have even known how to say it. No matter how I said it, it would have felt contrived, because we no longer said such tender things. And so, I remained silent, only patting her lap gently each time the pain caused her to moan."

By Ada subjecting to the role as a parent at this point. I feel that she then had no other choice but to provide the necessary care for her mother at any means. Since Ada had to be the sole provider, did she then make the right choice? Is the mother the main cause to Ada’s demise?

What I love about Chinelo’s writing is that she allows the reader to formulate hypothesis and because of her intricate and complex writing the answers to the questions that may arise are never one sided. Chinelo pushes the reader to deeply read into her narrative and absorb each sentence, phrase, paragraph with an open mind. And only then, will you truly appreciate her craft. I thoroughly enjoyed the first drafts of ‘Runs Girl’ and even enjoy it even more now that others are able to read it. I look forward to reading more of Chinelo’s works. It is a pleasure to have an artist who takes writing to a new level, leaving one refreshed and wanting for more.

‘Runs Girl’ is only a small piece that exemplifies Chinelo (Nel) Okparanta’s incredible mastery of words and story telling. Each word, description, and reference to verses from the Bible are carefully thought out and well researched. ‘Runs Girl’ is a powerful piece that encompasses various issues/ topics and the way in which Chinelo weaves each one together is an unmistakable trademark of hers, rightfully deserving of high praises. With that said, I would like to share one theme that can be extracted from this wonderful and thought provoking piece.

What I love most about ‘Runs Girl’ is that Chinelo captures the reader—or at least that’s how I felt—to be part of the character. In doing so, Chinelo allows us to bring to notion feelings that we, perhaps, choose not to address such as the child to parent reversal roles that children are often forced to accept and the damages causes.

Ada shares a point in the narrative which I consider to be her moment of accepting “parenthood” and sheds her child-like mannerism in order to provided aid and comfort to her mother. She states:

"I should have told her I loved her. But how? Aside from prayers and practical exchanges, we rarely even talked those days just before she fell ill. I was busy with my studies, and she was busy with the market. And so there were silences, as if we no longer valued spoken words, as if spoken words were gaudy finishes on a delicate piece of art, unnecessary distractions from the masterpiece, whose substance was more meaningfully experienced if left unornamented."

I find this excerpt very intriguing because it evokes a feeling of loosing innocence and a part that I find to be a tragic. I believe that readers can connect to Ada at this point based on various reasons. The first is Ada’s inability to say how much she loves her mother, second, the lost value of the powerful words “I love you” which were taught to us at such a young age, and finally, the lost value of a parent to child relationship. In addition, Ada at this point in the story, is forced to live a dual life; Ada learns to live as an adult trapped in a child’s body.

What a beautiful meditation that avoids the traps of sentimentality at every turn.

I said it before, I'll say it again... When I read the story, I can see the story. Every. Tiny. Single. Detail. To me that is great writing.

Dans le trésor une poésie.

Comme un
diamant qui
brille dans
l'intensité d'une
âme silencieuse
je l'écoute le
sourire et le
chant du matin.

Francesco Sinibaldi

This is captivating as a sort of cleaner remaking of a Cagney or Bogart-esque scene.

This story is so beautiful and sad, and is even more affecting than the first time I read an early draft. Nel is such a talented artist!

Immigration is the great unifier of man and womankind: before letters, phone calls, social media. It is hard to read this and not place oneself within the greater context of our social, political and human realities. I can't help but wonder if we need to reshift our focus from freedom, self-determination, and materialism to something more humane. Perhaps if we can all agree upon a definition of what a human is and what a human is not, travesties such as these can be averted. Bravo to you, Ms. Mengiste. You have given us a tale we can apply to any context in the world, to that member of our family who has risked everything for something more, for their right to be human. I think what many of us forget, the billions of us, is that this is a universal construct. We are all complicit, but we are also all in possession of real power that can make a difference. I hope this story, essay, moment in our collective history, is shared with all of those who refuse to see the power they have to make real changes in this world.

I loved this article! It perfectly captured the way we wiled away the days in my neighborhood too.

This was my Detroit, too, though I was born in '68: worldly and provincial, hot & sticky, Black and White and Jewish and ill-at-ease with itself.

I've often thought that Detroit's history as a city forecast a lot of what came to pass all over the US economically and socially in the 70s. It's enlightening to receive glimpses of that bigger picture, through the lens of a memoir; it's a living snapshot from a place that has a lot to say. Waiting for more...!

It is always said one picture encompasses lots of word and cinema is itself a series of pictures. I read your post,it is superb.

What a delightful story! When will the next installation of your childhood saga be published? I want to know how the growing tension between the parents develops (does it get resolved or spin out of control?) and how the dynamic between the siblings changes with the arrival of a fourth sister. Bravo Ms. Schuster!

I'm not from Detroit, but I was 10 in 1966 and I love what Lynda Schuster does to make me happy and melancholy all at once.

wonderful piece - flows so well, feels so natural. great writing.

Beautifully written. I'd love to read more of Jessica Thummel's stories on upcoming issues of Granta!