ARCHIVE FOR Writers React

In this series, "Why I Write," members of the Grub community share what compels them to put words onto paper day after day. In this edition, Lydia Erickson talks about changing the world with words.

Here and there, a set of footprints. Happisburgh, Acahualinca, Langebaan, Ileret, and Laetoli. When they are gone, what else remains?

In this series, "Why I Write," members of the Grub community share what compels them to put words onto paper day after day. In this edition, Nicholl Montgomery shares the benefit her writing has for others--and for herself. 

As a Black woman, I write as an act of resistance and survival. As Audre Lorde stated, “If I didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for and eaten alive.” Not only am I able to define myself through writing, but I am also able to provide other Black women with portrayals of Black womanhood …

In this series, "Why I Write," members of the Grub community share what compels them to put words onto paper day after day. In this edition, Marjorie Turner Hollman on avoiding writing, until it became her outlet.

I avoided writing like the plague, much as I avoided working with children. My inner editor scolded me about my lack of writing skill. Groups of children would run around, away from, or on top of me. I ignored suggestions that I go into teaching. Writing wasn’t even a consideration.

In the wake of the fatal police shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, writers in the Grub community asked for a space to address the effects of police brutality on communities of color. To create that space, this series of "Writers React" is dedicated to personal essays that respond to prejudicial violence. The title, "My Heart is Invisible," comes from the first essay in the series, "Driving While Me," by Kerry Beckford. In this eighth installment, Beasa Dukes talks about how race changes childhood dreams.

In the wake of the fatal police shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, writers in the Grub community asked for a space to address the effects of police brutality on communities of color. To create that space, this series of "Writers React" is dedicated to personal essays that respond to prejudicial violence. The title, "My Heart is Invisible," comes from the first essay in the series, "Driving While Me," by Kerry Beckford. In this seventh installment, Chetan Tiwari reacts to the history behind the present moment.