The creative-nonfiction writers I’m presenting this month are a diverse group. One lives in Nigeria, one lives in Brazil, and one lives in Pennsylvania. But they are diverse in more ways than this.“Hitting the Point: On Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s ‘Imitation,’” by Som Adedayo, might on first inspection appear to be a standard excursion into literary analysis. But Adedayo makes clear from the start that this is not the case, as his piece reveals itself to be not a dry analysis, but a lyrical narrative contemplation of Adichie’s story.
“ The Long Shadow,” by Jill Moyer Sunday, is a meditation on motherhood, divided into differing prisms of experience and perception. There are seven sections, each exploring a distinct feature of the mother/daughter dynamic. Some are narratives, some are discursive, some play with form. All are moving reflections on the often perplexing realities of parenthood.
“Build the Wall,” by B. Michael Rubin, is not a Trumpian piece, so relax. The title represents the ironic—and intriguingly accurate—notion that a wall on the Mexican border would indeed be protective—of all of the people living south of it. Rubin’s approach is not merely comic—he comes to us with an important message.