Excavations of the Mind
Freedom Dawn’s soft sun seeps through left and right forests that defer in a letter V bow to light. I rise in shadows for a gratitude prayer that precedes the…
Essays
22 posts
Essays to read, to seek, to learn
Document 14
Michael McQuillan exhorts Americans to heed Orwell's prophetic work 1984, and through the poem "Document 14," Michael draws attention to the breakdown of society as we know it today.
Rikers Island: A Council Hearing Lacks Answers
The tragic story of Kalief Browder raised public awareness of the horrid reality for incarcerated persons at Rikers Island. Yet, needed change is too slow and a council hearing lacks answers.
Creativity is the Human Condition
Throughout the majority of humanity’s existence, creativity has been regarded as a mystical enigma. Architect and architecture critic Robert Furneaux Jordan asserted that “to comprehend [creativity] fully would be to be God. We can never comprehend God.” Thanks to this prevailing opinion, it wasn’t until the late 1940s that the study of creativity even started down the path toward legitimacy. In the seven decades since, the psychological and neurological basis of creativity has been fully extracted from the occult and shown to be ingrained in our species.
Parts of Me: Reflections on Reviewing The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story
In this Writer's Journey essay, Carol Ann Wilson shares how, in reading and reviewing The 1619 Project, she also uncovers "parts of a bigger me to be discovered and explored."
Tell Me a Fractal
Think of a snowflake forming around a molecule of water clinging to a tiny particle of something, how it blossoms and diverges as other molecules join in, seeking their hexagonal destiny, becoming a perfect thing of beauty. Then think of it melting, its sharp edges blurring, its interstices blotting out until it plops to earth. That’s a story, right there, in full surround. Matter, space and time at play.
The End of the Beginning
Building the Structural Foundation When I write, I have a plot sketched out in my mind and sometimes laying out the groundwork can be laborious and even boring. It’s essential,…
The Longform Book Review
The longform book reviews on bookscover2cover are narrative, descriptive and analytical. Through a close reading of the text, the reviewer identifies themes and motifs embedded in the text and examines contextual information to verify facts. To develop a coherent argument in favor of the book, the reviewer offers readers insight, not mere judgement.
Diane Chamberlain, an Author Study
Diane Chamberlain writes compelling fiction that features young female protagonists striving to prevail in a world that proves to be hostile towards them for reasons that are revealed as the stories progress. Her novels captivate the reader as secrets from the past and mysteries of the heart gradually come to light.