Laura Bird

On learning a first language and discovering 19th-century Brit lit By Laura Anne Bird Cracking open Teaching English to Refugees, a mind-bending volume of philosophy, theology, and social justice, made me feel like I was in college again. I deeply appreciated this nod to my academically stimulating past, so it’s no surprise that I’d fallen in love by Chapter 2. In his quirky hybrid memoir, Robert Radin shares his experience of teaching adult refugees from far-flung, war-torn places like Iraq and Somalia. He writes beautifully about defying his students’ expectations of what “should” happen in the classroom by, among other [...]

On shedding and transcendence By Laura Anne Bird Andrew J. Graff loves a good coming-of-age story. “A big part of any coming-of age story is the question of whether the characters are going to ‘make it.’ Will the relationship survive? Will she get the job? Will Frodo and Sam ever actually get rid of that ring?” says Graff. Publishing his debut novel, Raft of Stars, in March has been like Graff’s own coming-of-age moment. “I spent over a decade writing, studying, reading, and writing again—with no guarantees that I’d ever publish,” he says. “There are plenty of dark nights of [...]

A celebration of family, food, and art By Laura Anne Bird If you’re itching to run off to Italy and not come back, Angela Paolantonio is your girl. If you love cured meats and pasta, even better. Paolantonio was born in Brooklyn to Italian American parents. While growing up, she didn’t know much about her Italian grandparents, but as an art and history student in high school and college, she developed a reverence for the past which led her to wonder about her extended family. “I held this curious flame inside me. Who were my grandparents, and where did they [...]