By Alex Andy Phuong Why do people write? What is the point of worrying about events, places, and characters created through the human imagination? They are not even real! Some people major in English while in college because they are bookworms. Sometimes they could be very similar to Belle from Beauty and the Beast, and … Continue reading Why I Write
No Longer Hungry and Other Flash Non-Fiction
By Jeffrey Zable NO LONGER HUNGRY I walk into this sandwich place I’ve been to once before and notice immediately that all the tables are taken except one near the back. So I quickly walk to the counter to order a sandwich so that I can get that table before anyone else. I order my … Continue reading No Longer Hungry and Other Flash Non-Fiction
Contrasts, Opposites, and the Need to be Different
By Alex Andy Phuong A prevalent theme in literature and poetry is the idea of opposites. Famous examples include Marianne and Elinor Dashwood in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, and various character foils in novels like Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations. Because it is such an effective technique, contrasting ideas have the ability to reveal universal … Continue reading Contrasts, Opposites, and the Need to be Different
Water and Living Instead of Feeling Frozen
By Alex Andy Phuong Water A fundamental fact is that water provides life. It can cleanse the body and clean up messes. Water is essential because everyone is a filthy creature by default. Ironically, water can also cause death. That was why more than a thousand people perished when the Titanic sank in 1912. … Continue reading Water and Living Instead of Feeling Frozen
Dinnertime Dogma
By Carol Glick The other night, Shankar Vedantam from NPR's Hidden Brain paddled down the iPhone-podcast stream and docked at my dining room table. I welcomed Mr. Vendantam. He demanded nothing of me other than an open mind and a listening ear. His digital presence removed the pressure to social distance. Best of all, the … Continue reading Dinnertime Dogma
Having an Education and Other Prose by Alex Andy Phuong
Having an Education Ever since I was six years old, I strived to emulate the teachers who inspired me to become the educator that I am today. Ironically, I did not like to read when I was a child. Nevertheless, I still went on to earn college degrees in English, and currently work as an … Continue reading Having an Education and Other Prose by Alex Andy Phuong
When You Are Gone, You Are Not Gone
By Tabassum Tahmina Shagufta Hussein Those who say about thee with words of despair, Merely weave walls of words- You are not insane, Oh my love, Talk to me for a while and bless my heart at times, With your pain. Sit with me, feel the gentle breeze, Can you listen to the sound of … Continue reading When You Are Gone, You Are Not Gone
The Song That Woke Me Up
By Alex Andy Phuong For the longest time, I viewed life with an existential perspective as I previously believed that life simply has no meaning. Lost and confused, I doubted the possibility that there is a reason for why I live. However, the simple act of curiosity helped me experience what I … Continue reading The Song That Woke Me Up
Prose by Alex Andy Phuong
A Garden in the State of California I am outside near my lemon tree. Sunlight shines upon my body. I express gratitude for having Vitamin D flow through my veins. I breathe air to survive as well as thrive. I walk on the grass, and feel the Earth beneath my feet. I am getting older, … Continue reading Prose by Alex Andy Phuong
Parallelism Between Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” and Ahmed’s “Moirae.”
By Mehreen Ahmed When the stream of consciousness technique was first introduced at the turn of the 20th century, it was difficult for many publishers to accept it. Mainly because, such a style endorsed ungrammatical choppy sentences, and sentences that had not made much sense. After James Joyce, finished and published Ulysses, it was almost … Continue reading Parallelism Between Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” and Ahmed’s “Moirae.”
Academy of the Heart And Mind 