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Book Cover A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

A Little “Triggering” Life

November 12, 2021/in Blog / Jazmine Cooper

Earlier this year, I read A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. If you haven’t read this book yet, be advised, there are spoilers ahead. It took me two whole weeks to read this novel, nearly 800 pages of torture for the reader. Yanagihara’s story follows Jude, a  character who, according to an interview, is someone who simply “never gets better”

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/littlelife-1.jpeg 387 256 Jazmine Cooper https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Jazmine Cooper2021-11-12 10:00:432022-01-12 11:52:40A Little “Triggering” Life
City scape of downtown Los Angeles at sunset

An L.A. Story

November 6, 2021/in Blog / Franz Franta

The other day, I watched L.A. Story (1991) with Steve Martin for the first time since I was a child. It’s a story about Harris K. Telemacher – a wacky television meteorologist by day, an intellectual with a PhD in Arts and Humanities by night. Harris lives in Los Angeles, a city known for valuing wealth and appearance over knowledge and character…

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/pexels-pixabay-237325.jpg 1528 2200 Franz Franta https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Franz Franta2021-11-06 10:01:552021-11-06 10:01:55An L.A. Story
People holding up their graduation caps in the air

The Epiphany

October 26, 2021/in Blog / Regan Humphrey

Between June and July, you lost twenty pounds. And maybe he died because of it. Wait. Was it fifteen pounds? Eighteen? You can’t remember, and it doesn’t matter—Maybe he died because of it…

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/pexels-olia-danilevich-8093047-scaled.jpg 1707 2560 Regan Humphrey https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Regan Humphrey2021-10-26 14:56:022021-10-26 14:56:02The Epiphany
Emoji of angel with heart eyes

The Happy Heretic

October 8, 2021/in Blog / Karen Gaul Schulman

With fanatical determination, I memorized the required lines to affirm I took Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, all the while thinking to myself, “I absolutely believe no such crazy thing.” After my baptism on that hot summer day, I finally felt like a proper member of my southern family, and not just the cousin from California-where-all-the-weirdos-lived. I was euphoric, enjoying Jell-O salad and sweet tea with my kin. But when I returned to California, Christian hymns and sweet baby Jesus were put away and forgotten.

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/117071073_l-scaled.jpg 2560 2560 Karen Gaul Schulman https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Karen Gaul Schulman2021-10-08 12:28:502021-10-08 12:28:50The Happy Heretic
Write Without Fear. Edit With Mercy.

A Love Letter to the Sentence

September 26, 2021/in Blog / Ashley Russ

I hit a writing wall. I could construct a narrative and cast characters, but I didn’t enjoy the sentences I wrote. I didn’t know if they communicated what I thought they did. I could write one I liked every now and then, but I want to write well on purpose, not by accident.[…]

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Earphones resting on a page on musical notes

The Feeling

September 17, 2021/in Blog / Jazmine Cooper

The first time my classically trained ears hear “Forty Six & 2” by the legendary metal band Tool, I was washing dishes alone in my apartment, music blasting through my Bose headphones. I had heard of Tool before, of course, but in high school my best friend wouldn’t stop talking about them, but, like everything else that was overtalked, I ignored them. I wasn’t really into heavy metal at the time either. I didn’t find much of what I was looking for in heavy metal, but I opened my Spotify app and search for Tool. What I really wanted to do was focus, and the way that I focused best was through classical music…

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/pexels-pixabay-248510-scaled-1.jpg 1920 2560 Jazmine Cooper https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Jazmine Cooper2021-09-17 10:05:302021-09-27 22:04:25The Feeling
Neon Exit sign

A Little Voice That Never Quits

September 10, 2021/in Blog / Ben Lewellyn-Taylor

I’m crying in the principal’s office, but I’m an adult. I’ve just quit my job at the school where I started my teaching career, and I’m telling my boss why. No, I don’t have a job lined up. No, it’s not because of any negative experience: I love this campus and the community I’ve made here since 2013. I just… need to go.

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/pexels-yasin-emir-akbaş-4075782-scaled-1.jpg 1707 2560 Ben Lewellyn-Taylor https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Ben Lewellyn-Taylor2021-09-10 10:00:422021-09-27 22:05:38A Little Voice That Never Quits
Wood table with a blank page,pen and a cup of black coffee on top

Writing in Conversation

September 3, 2021/in Blog / contributor

Hearing someone else’s perspective inspired me. That’s what I’d forgotten. It was 2016. I’d lived in New York City for almost four years. I was still working on a YA manuscript that I started writing four years ago during NaNoWriMo. I’d had one short story published in a magazine, but that was a while back. I had a new desk job in the city where I tried to dodge invitations to go to Chop’t on my lunch break so I could write. I had a writing partner who lived in Albuquerque, and we were working on TV scripts together. Our G-chats about story ideas were fun, full of energy, and always gave me ten new ideas for our script. But novel writing remained a long and lonely process…

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Amanda Woodard from Wylie High School, Headshot

Ecstasy Like Fire

August 28, 2021/in Blog / Amanda Woodard

My old creative writing teacher leans his squat body against his desk, his girthy thighs splayed across the seat of his swivel chair. I’m sitting beside him in one of those plastic stand-alone chairs with metal legs that are inherent to schools, and I’m sporting tight clothes that don’t technically break the standardized dress code, though some teachers in the halls give me looks. The way we’re sitting, mere inches from one another, close enough to touch, feels uncomfortably familiar, but I push the thought from my mind.

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Skies turning green as a tornado approaches- Photo by C. Read

This Isn’t Normal: Climate Change from a Reporter’s Perspective

August 13, 2021/in Blog / Loumarie Rodriguez

Thick clouds took over the sky as I raced down windy roads, trying to beat the impending storm. Against the strong wind, trees bent uncomfortably close to my small, red car. I zipped around tight corners hoping, more like praying I’d make it to the town hall in one piece.[…]

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The Opposite of Silver Linings: The Big Comeback

May 29, 2021/in Blog / Karen Gaul Schulman

This year-long hunker-down reset my rhythms to a slower, less eventful pace. The pandemic gave me an excuse to do what I would rather do anyway. I am loath to give up  sleeping until I feel ready to get out of bed. I don’t want to go back to traffic jams and parking tickets or obligatory events. Though I suppose that’s not entirely new. I am happy in sweatpants. I don’t miss zippers. Or shoes. […]

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Compelling Characters – In life and In Stories

May 21, 2021/in Blog / Gail Vannelli

What do a Pentecostal minister, a hobbling chicken, and a German immigrant have in common? Me! The minister was my maternal grandfather, the chicken was a family pet, and Mr. Wagner was my flute teacher. Another shared aspect was their ability to sometimes completely baffle me […]

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Grandad-at-pulpit-copy.jpg 450 810 Gail Vannelli https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Gail Vannelli2021-05-21 10:56:062021-06-16 15:48:24Compelling Characters – In life and In Stories

The Best Kind of Magic

April 30, 2021/in Blog / Bob Kirwin

Books have been some of the best friends I’ve ever had. They’ve kept me company when I was lonely, taken me on great adventures, helped me explore other cultures and worlds, and given me deep insight into myself and the Universe. But one of the most precious gifts I have received through reading books is healing – spiritual and emotional healing.

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A person praying in churchPhoto by Mimi Moromisato

A Man Who Literally Goes to Therapy

April 23, 2021/in Blog / Ben Lewellyn-Taylor

A meme started going around this year that hit close to home. It goes like this: “Men will literally ___ instead of going to therapy.” There are many of them, and a lot are hilarious. They poke fun at deserving men (“Men will literally run for president instead of going to therapy,” “Men will literally invent Facebook instead of going to therapy”) and the toxic behaviors of literary characters (“Men will literally hide a portrait of themselves that ages while their physical form stays young and beautiful instead of going to therapy”).

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/pexels-mimi-moromisato-4235012-scaled-1.jpg 1707 2560 Ben Lewellyn-Taylor https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Ben Lewellyn-Taylor2021-04-23 10:51:072021-06-29 22:39:15A Man Who Literally Goes to Therapy
Silhouette of a womanMarc Sendra Martorell/Unsplash

What Will Become of the Millennial Wild Woman?

April 16, 2021/in Blog / Franz Franta

I feel I haven’t even made it to adulthood, let alone nearing menopause. My outer woman struggles to have a purpose, but inside I have never felt more capable. I’m panicked. I feel trapped in my body.

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/marc-sendra-martorell-Q87f7HW6k1o-unsplash-scaled-1.jpg 2560 2048 Franz Franta https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Franz Franta2021-04-16 13:41:002021-06-29 15:14:36What Will Become of the Millennial Wild Woman?

Becoming a Wordplay M.A.S.T.E.R. (Maker of All Sorts of Tomfoolery to Entertain Readers)

April 9, 2021/in Blog / Gail Vannelli

Like any young teenager, I was passionate about the things I loved and the things I hated. What I loved were my pets, which came in all varieties (dogs, cats, ducks, guinea pigs, birds), my funny storybooks that featured dorky kids like me (too tall, clumsy, self-conscious), and my writing, especially the comical stories I composed with my best friend Izzi (which we crammed full of wordplay) […]

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Screen-Shot-2021-04-06-at-9.04.21-AM-copy.png 681 998 Gail Vannelli https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Gail Vannelli2021-04-09 10:54:122021-06-29 22:11:58Becoming a Wordplay M.A.S.T.E.R. (Maker of All Sorts of Tomfoolery to Entertain Readers)

Being Biracial: The Identity Crisis of Both and Neither

April 2, 2021/in Blog / Julz Savard

I have never felt like I belonged to a group of people. As a kid, I spent half my time with the white kids and the other half with the Asian kids. And through it all, I never felt like I truly fit. […]

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And God Said: “Come as You Are”

March 19, 2021/in Blog / Bob Kirwin

What I came to see was that all my prayers are answered. Every time. I don’t always hear it, and I’m not always willing to do what I feel directed to, but that Love is always present…

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Hood Century: Using Architecture and Psychogeography for Community Preservation

March 12, 2021/in Blog / Franz Franta

Last week I was scrolling through Instagram and saw an image of a boxy apartment building on the corner of Greenwich and Laguna in San Francisco describing it as having a “pop-up book feel” and I felt instantly drawn to it. It led me to the account Hood Century – a page devoted to images of mid-century design from the “hood” in cities all over America.

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/MCM5.jpg 1038 825 Franz Franta https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Franz Franta2021-03-12 11:09:582021-03-18 07:16:29Hood Century: Using Architecture and Psychogeography for Community Preservation

Never Enough: The Life and Trials of a Perfectionist

March 5, 2021/in Blog / Ashley Russ

What I experience goes beyond merely seeking excellence and having high standards. I compare myself to others and become easily discouraged when I can’t match their success. Individual events and conversations haunt me for days, and I ruminate on what was said, playing out alternate scenarios until I’m so upset my heart races and my cheeks flush…I am a perfectionist.

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Pregnancy 101: The Woes, the Rules, and Yes, the Swollen Ankles

February 26, 2021/in Blog / Julz Savard

Two blue lines. “Are you sure?” I asked my husband, Tom. One line on the white, plastic stick looked kind of faded. I peed on another stick. Same result: Two blue lines, this time, more defined.[…]

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The Baby Step

February 19, 2021/in Blog / Barbara Platts

When I have children, I don’t want to let them down. I also don’t want to let myself down. I’ve got a lot of career goals and life ambitions, outside of having kids. Life is a constant game of juggling, but will I manage to keep all of the balls in the air without dropping one? Can I manage to be an attentive, loving parent as well as a dedicated writer and journalist? 

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Divorce and Happy Endings, or “The Great Mulligan”

February 12, 2021/in Blog / Karen Gaul Schulman

As someone with decades of professional divorce-related experience, a child of a “broken home,” and a thrice divorced person myself, I have come to some conclusions about divorce. Mainly this: Divorce is good.

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It's Time for Your Dental Exam

It’s Time to Schedule Your Dental Exam

February 5, 2021/in Blog / Amanda Woodard

I’m sitting in a stiff blue chair, reclined as if I should be relaxing. I’m scrolling through my phone to pass the time. There’s a TV in here, playing daytime television I didn’t consent to watch. Everything around me is metal.[…]

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/caroline-lm-8BkF0sTC6Uo-unsplash-scaled.jpg 1920 2560 Amanda Woodard https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Amanda Woodard2021-02-05 08:30:352021-06-30 15:49:21It’s Time to Schedule Your Dental Exam

Close Listening: Paying a Different Attention to Music

January 29, 2021/in Blog / Ben Lewellyn-Taylor

My mom gave me my first record player when I was in college. I had been eyeing it for some time: a gray and navy Crosley suitcase player, one of the many that became popular at Urban Outfitters at the beginning of the new vinyl boom. I lived at home, commuting to the university I attended in Fort Worth, and I mainly listened to music through my iPod and headphones or in my car. I had never heard music on a record player, so I had no way of knowing if it sounded better, despite what vinyl purists might say.

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Drowning in Numbers: How I Almost Drowned in the Ocean and Why America Continues to Drown in Covid-19 Cases

January 22, 2021/in Blog / Ashley Russ

I hadn’t made it far when I heard a train-sized roar coming from the ocean behind me. I hung from my arms and glanced over my shoulder. A wave hit me, and I slammed into the rock and cut my chest on the mussels. I recovered, but the next hump of water was so tall, it would strike above my head. I had to jump.

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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Screen-Shot-2021-01-21-at-8.33.46-AM-1.png 2350 4124 Ashley Russ https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Ashley Russ2021-01-22 10:58:392021-01-22 14:30:22Drowning in Numbers: How I Almost Drowned in the Ocean and Why America Continues to Drown in Covid-19 Cases

Friday Lunch Archive

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Midnight Snack

Take a bite out of these late night obsessions.

Tonight’s bites:

Dig Into Genre

May 23, 2025/in Midnight Snack / Michelle Hampton
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The dreams in which I’m (not) dying

April 25, 2025/in Midnight Snack / Michelle Hampton
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On The Map

March 28, 2025/in Midnight Snack / Michelle Hampton
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Amuse-Bouche

Little bites every third Friday to whet your appetite!

Today’s plate:

Tale of the resistant apple tree

June 6, 2025/in Amuse-Bouche / paparouna
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Talyshi Wall Graffiti and other poems

May 30, 2025/in Amuse-Bouche / Michelle Hampton
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we don’t spend our lives in the belly of the fish

May 16, 2025/in Amuse-Bouche / Michelle Hampton
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School Lunch

An occasional Wednesday series dishing up today’s best youth writers.

Today’s slice:

I’ve Stayed in the Front Yard

May 12, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Lizzy Young
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A Communal Announcement

April 28, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Lizzy Young
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https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SL-FB-Isabella-Dail.png 788 940 Lizzy Young https://lunchticket.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lunch-ticket-logo-white-text-only.png Lizzy Young2021-04-28 11:34:132021-04-28 11:34:13A Communal Announcement

Seventeen

April 14, 2021/in School Lunch, School Lunch 2021 / Caroline Shannon Karasik
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Word From the Editor

The state of the world breaks my heart every day. Broken hearted, I stay online. I can’t log off. Because my career and schooling are all done remotely, I tend to struggle with boundaries regarding screen time, with knowing when to break away.

Like many of you, I have been spilling my guts online to the world because the guts of the world keep spilling. None of it is pretty. But it’s one of the things that, having searched for basically my entire life, I found that tempers the chaos that lives rent free inside my head.

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Current Issue »

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