Holding It Together
“Is that thunder I’m hearing,” I asked my friend and former colleague Sarah. We were sitting across from one another in a booth at the local seafood restaurant near Sarah’s house in Maryland and eating our usual, broiled crab cakes. I turned around to look out the...
Perspective
A string of petty annoyances happened last week. My author web site caroleduff.com got flagged for malware; the living room smoke alarm associated with our security system alerted low battery even after we replaced it; making a simple checkup appointment turned...
Raise your hands a little higher
The air conditioning in the Rotunda’s Multipurpose Room at the University of Virginia was set to sub-zero. New arrivals, refugees from last week’s steam bath in Charlottesville, might have welcomed the chill. But those of us who’d stayed from the previous workshop...
Try and Trophy
Last week, a rejection email showed up in my inbox. “Although I don't find your essay right for our needs, I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to consider it,” the editor wrote. Nice Try but no Trophy. Submitting a piece for publication is like auditioning,...






