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THEMES by PROMPT
We publish writing using a series of prompts as an entry point for exploring emotions, personal histories, shared truths, joy, grief, shame, and those themes that matter most to us in our hearts.
Explore the themes by prompt below:
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Jan 8, 2022
Shelter in Place
By Kristin D'Agostino — Am I the only one who finds this phrase liberating? A tyranny of choices reduced to the lowest common denominator,
Dec 17, 2021
Nesting
By Megan Vos — Last year during Covid, my family noticed that a robin had built a nest under our deck. Our deck is off the back of our
Dec 3, 2021
I Cried
By Gabrielle Maryland — At the height of the pandemic, I found myself sobbing on whatever floor could hold my shaking frame. Often times,
Nov 22, 2021
Flatbush Food Co-Op
By Ivy Raff — We came to know each other in these days, idly rolling the rickety red powder-coated shopping cart back and forth over cracked
Nov 9, 2021
Pandemic Haibun
By Deborah Bacharach — I want to hug Marcie in her orange home-knit sweater. I can see her now coming down Greenwood past the buff work-out
Oct 29, 2021
Pandemic Wishes
By Anangsha Haldar — Glass rimmed, venous wings hang like paper kites, flittering anxiously, contemplating release from the narrow
Oct 7, 2021
Walking Down the Street
By Diane Kendig — I am stopped by a man who wants to know if my hat is for Navy. “No, it’s my dad’s Army Air Corps hat,” I say, hold it at
Sep 29, 2021
My Young Nephew
By REN — Having been privileged to receive and finish education years before the pandemic, I sometimes worry for my young nephew. He's
Sep 8, 2021
What the Sheltering Do
By Lana Hechtman Ayers — Turnips are all I eat for the fifth night this week
because the market is out of everything,
and facial tissues
Aug 29, 2021
The Housing Crises is Real
By Victoria Lambert — I received a letter from my landlord's attorney dated April 14, 2020 that stated I should pay my past due rent within
Aug 5, 2021
First Wave of COVID–19 through the Lens of a Child from a Middle Class Family in Kerala, South India
By Maya M — Agasthya understood that something serious was happening around him. Dad and Mom stayed at home and they did not send both his
Jul 21, 2021
I Just Need My Hand Held
By Christine Carpenter — I am in one of the final prenatal appointments of my pregnancy and because I have something called marginal cord
Jul 7, 2021
Aftermath
By April Boyington Wall — During Covid 19 I learned that the term aftermath was apparently originally an agricultural one, referring to an
Jun 9, 2021
Covid in a Bell Jar
By Teresa van Luyk — I met my cottage neighbor, Joe, on the beach a month or so ago, before this latest stay-at-home order, and we caught up
Jun 1, 2021
Pandemic Protocol
By Nancy Smiler Levinson — One of my reserved books is ready at curbside pickup. I phone for a date. Press one.
Name check. ID card check
May 25, 2021
Common Sense
By Steve Bailey — As one who has stayed home and ventured out for only food and medical needs for the last year and on those occasions wore
May 17, 2021
The Sky in California
By Sarah Henry — The sky looks a citrus shade since the inferno keeps blazing. A fault line runs across the state where thousands die from
May 3, 2021
April 2020: Quarantine, Week Five
By Magdalena Bartkowska — Today, I yelled at my eight-year-old son for doing a math problem wrong and refusing to try it my way. My four
Apr 27, 2021
Masks
By Jeremiah K Durick — Bill brought masks the other day, sat in his car in the driveway and visited a bit, thought we’d need masks if we
Mar 28, 2021
Vietnam Memories
By John L. Swainston — We learned it was to late to say: "Hell no I won't go!" We had learned to shoot straight. We found our need to sin,
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