M.C. Easton

The World Needs More Ambitious Women

And a big part of this is on men. We need you–as our fathers, brothers, friends, and lovers–to encourage us to strut our stuff. Intellectually. Academically. Professionally. A lot of men I meet are plenty comfortable with their woman earning more. It’s the idea of a woman knowing more–having a higher IQ, a more advanced degree–that getsContinue reading “The World Needs More Ambitious Women”

Why Mandela Still Matters

Along with most of you readers out there, I was saddened to read the headlines today about the death of Nelson Mandela at the age of 95. Being 32, I had never known a world without Mandela, and although I had read of his ill health for years, I must have assumed his immortality—as mostContinue reading “Why Mandela Still Matters”

Politics as National Temperament

So apparently there was a truce today (December 3) between Thai protesters and the police. When protests go down in Bangkok, there is always an eventual—if temporary—truce. Since the post-World War II era, Thai politics have been inflammatory and unstable, with regular cycles of military coups and popular revolutions. There’s nothing endemic to Thailand aboutContinue reading “Politics as National Temperament”

Beautiful Boys

Today at the college, a freshman hunched over the form I handed him, checking off boxes. Male. Under 25. Native language Mongolian. He shouldn’t have had to fill it out again. The writing center where I work had misplaced his file, and the young man was understandably frustrated. But this wasn’t your average freshman sulk.Continue reading “Beautiful Boys”

Body as Home

I miss the roads along which I used to run. Running taught me many things. It taught me perseverance when things got tough. It taught me to respect the boundaries of a physical body, and to distinguish between when to push myself–and when to take it easy. It taught me my own fierce strength. And itContinue reading “Body as Home”

Responsible Fiction: Toe to Toe with Difference

Writers have to get outside their own skin. But sometimes I get overeager to inhabit differences. And I write about characters I have no chance of understanding. So I just finished revisions on a short story about an Ethiopian immigrant who runs into his past. At the grocery store, he comes across a woman who witnessed anContinue reading “Responsible Fiction: Toe to Toe with Difference”

Top Five Reasons to Learn a New Language If You’re Over 30

So I just started taking Russian classes. My classmates and I arrive promptly at 6:15 and greet each other with a polite “Prevyet. Kak dela?” A lot of our friends are impressed but confused as to, well, why would you do this to yourself? I mean, who has the time, they say. If you have theContinue reading “Top Five Reasons to Learn a New Language If You’re Over 30”

Words for Autumn

It’s that time of year. Along with falling leaves and spiced cider, I find myself thinking often about these words from the German idealist Arthur Schopenhauer: “The life of the individual is at bottom only borrowed from that of the species.”

Revision as Sculpture

A lot of students have come to me lately with papers deep in revision. “I’m really sorry for the mess,” they say. They set down a packet of stapled pages, all scrawled over with notes. Entire lines crossed out. Marginalia thicker than printed text. “Can you still read it?” “Are you kidding?” I ask them. “ThisContinue reading “Revision as Sculpture”

An Evening at the Frye

Last Wednesday night I attended The Stranger’s Night of Genius for Literature. One out of a five-week series recognizing Seattle’s best of the best in film, music, the visual arts, performance, and literature, the event could go one of two ways. Maybe people would shake hands and introduce themselves to their neighbors, like passengers onContinue reading “An Evening at the Frye”