US Represented

Creative Nonfiction

O Say Can You Sing?: Confessions of a Nervous Fourth-Grade School Actor

The beginning of July is here, and it’s almost that time again, when Americans from all walks of life celebrate their dominance by making things explode. I know what you’re thinking. That’s every day in the U.S., and you’re right, but this one also involves hot weather, cooked meats, and lots of emergency room visits. […]

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Redneck Chic and the Return of Gretchen Wilson

I think I am only slightly exaggerating when I say that being a redneck is sort of fashionable right now. Ever since the white working class proved decisive in the 2016 presidential election, both major parties are re-evaluating their relationship with an “embarrassing” voting bloc they believed they could ignore with impunity.  However, over a

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Shiplap, Lots of Shiplap: On Politics, Comedy, and HGTV

A few months ago, talented, cherubic-faced comedian Tina Fey treated college-educated women like me to yet another celebrity lecture on voting for Trump. Speaking about reproductive rights at an ACLU event, Fey said, “A lot of [the 2016] election was turned by white, college-educated women who now would maybe like to forget about this election

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It Is Happening Again: The Damn Fine Return of Twin Peaks

Good news, friends and neighbors: Twin Peaks is back on Showtime. For the uninitiated, Twin Peaks is a television series created by filmmaker David Lynch and writer Mark Frost. Set in a sleepy and slightly creepy Washington lumber town, the show centers around the investigation into the murder of Laura Palmer, a homecoming queen with

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