MELODY NIXON
The Russian military has just bombed an art school in Mariupol that housed 400 civilians, including children, killing many of them. There are reports of civilians being loaded onto buses and sent to “distant cities” in Russia against their will—the echo of history jars my spine…

HELEN BENEDICT
War has always been seen as a man’s story, dating back to the earliest oral battle ballads from cultures around the world. Yet today, more women and children die in the world’s wars than men.

CRYSTAL HANA KIM
This sense of removal spurs me to write more about my history. I write to understand and investigate.

IRIS MARTIN COHEN
Honestly, they all sound so boring. I’m kind of glad to be able to say that it isn’t a parody of Lerner or Murakami or Foster-Wallace because I haven’t read any of them. It’s more just a constant churn. It’s hard not to notice what appeals to the prestige literary marketplace.

It seems only fitting to give one last nod to the fantastic pieces that we brought out in 2017. Below is a list of our most-read pieces of the year: the poems, essays, interviews, and art that made 2017 our biggest year yet for web traffic from around the world! We hope you’ll have a look, if you haven’t already, and see why this work struck a chord with readers this year.

Why Teach The Common? Teach The Common in your classroom and receive discounted subscriptions, a free desk copy, and lesson plans. A classroom subscription includes two issues for every student, and an in-person or Skype visit from Editor in Chief Jennifer Acker or a participating author. Learn more about teaching The Common or contact us for more options. Supplementary materials for

MELODY NIXON
I studied in the academy for many years, and there you cannot allow yourself to write in a spontaneous way. For me that was an interesting restraint. I had some conflict between my need for spontaneity and this heavy, troubled way of writing: always thinking of the other that will criticize you.

Why Teach The Common? Teach The Common in your classroom and receive discounted subscriptions, a free desk copy, and lesson plans. A classroom subscription includes two issues for every student, and an in-person or Skype visit from Editor in Chief Jennifer Acker or a participating author. Learn more about teaching The Common or contact us for more options. Supplementary materials for

Why Teach The Common? Teach The Common in your classroom and receive discounted subscriptions, a free desk copy, and lesson plans. A classroom subscription includes two issues for every student, and an in-person or Skype visit from Editor in Chief Jennifer Acker or a participating author. Learn more about teaching The Common or contact us for more options. Supplementary materials for

Why Teach The Common? Teach The Common in your classroom and receive discounted subscriptions, a free desk copy, and lesson plans. A classroom subscription includes two issues for every student, and an in-person or Skype visit from Editor in Chief Jennifer Acker or a participating author. Learn more about teaching The Common or contact us for more options. Supplementary materials for