Take another look at James Salter on France and A Sport and a Pastime, introduced by Paul Yoon; revisit Damascus with Tricia Khleif as she recalls music lessons in “Abu Musa.”
Photo from Flickr Creative Commons
JAMES K. BOYCE
The human fascination with loons spans cultures and generations. For many who live in the north woods or spend their summers there, it has become a love affair. In 2025, the common loon was named “Bird of the Year” by the American Birding Association.
DANIELLE SCHOON
This will always be my claim to glory, despite its awful circumstances: the moment that I flew. I will highlight this part of the story when repeating it to my mother and friends back in the States, to take the edge off. But, like any glorified moment, this one did not last long.
ANDREW STEINER
Married at twenty-one and divorced by twenty-five, I crashed into a brand-new life. Suddenly I was free. I hyperventilated on this freedom. I quit a stable job with matching retirement contributions to work for $10 an hour on a failing farm. I took up smoking, dropped acid, drove drunk.
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