Nonfiction Posts

A roll of film unraveling

My Mother, My Hero

By Omolayo C. Akinlosotu Koya For International Women’s Day, Southern New Hampshire University students were invited to submit essays in celebration of women’s contributions to society, with a focus on a particular woman who inspired the writer. This essay was selected for publication in The Penmen Review. Thousands of film…

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A woman in a plaid shirt leaning on a couch while writing in a red journal

The Courage to Rekindle a Dream

By Jennifer Ward As a little girl, I was a dreamer. I wanted to be so many things—a teacher, a lawyer, an author, a fashion designer, an architect. Amid these dreams, I always imagined I would be happy doing something I loved. Still, during my first year of college, it…

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Two cars driving down a long road during a snow storm.

Breaking Down

By Loren Mayshark A blustery, white January day on Dutch Hollow Road in western New York. I was a benchwarmer freshman on the junior varsity basketball team in a school with about two hundred students. This meant the team was composed of both freshman and sophomore players, and I’d had…

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A home health care worker with a clipboard.

Flying Nuns

By Pamela Kaye (This piece first appeared in the online publication MixedMag.) My wife and I finally settled into a financially and physically secure retirement. Two years ago, we bought our forever home, unpacked boxes that had been in storage, and eased into the next chapter of life; for me,…

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A red-faced warbler on a branch, staring ahead

1001 Toad and Bird Calls

By Roberta Schine When I was a junior at Central High School, Mike Ventura invited me to Cornell University’s homecoming weekend. We had gone out a few times when he was still in Bridgeport. Once, he took me to Beardsley Park Zoo. Another time we sat in the Merritt Canteen…

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Tree in on hill in a field under the night sky

The Shot

by Nadja K. McGlinn The nurse in the cubicle where my husband and I got our second shots of the COVID-19 remarked that everyone she’d injected that day had the scar from a smallpox vaccination, meaning we were old—old enough to have still gotten them as children. She noted I…

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Woman standing under a cloudy sky

My Female Silent Hero

by Jessica Hensley Students at Southern New Hampshire University were invited to submit essays in celebration of women’s contributions to society, with a focus on a particular woman who inspired the writer to share her story. This essay was chosen to be published in The Penmen Review on International Women’s…

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An open notebook with blank pages

Rewiring During a Pandemic and Beyond

by Mark Howard In 2017, I left being a successful financial business owner to become a fifty-seven-year-old, first-year high school English teacher. I made that change because I wanted to. Now, countless thousands are being faced with a career change because of the pandemic. In my little town, there are…

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Person holding blank notebooks

How to Avoid Writing

by Marnie Lyn Adams Writing—or avoiding it—is a stressful business. The critical element to evade creative writing of any type—from a George R. R. Martin-length series to a haiku—is to maintain productive activity while neglecting your long-term writing goals. However, with practice and a focus on diversionary tactics, you too…

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