Personal Essays & Reflections

Filling the Hole

Filling the Hole

It was 2004. I was incarcerated in Wisconsin’s Dane County Jail. I had forged checks on the account of my seventy-year-old friend, Miss Milele Chikasa Anana, one of the most prominent, renowned, highly respected members of the African American community, Madison,...

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Letter to Mom

Letter to Mom

I never suspected that your father treated you badly. He was charming, and an enthusiastic host to his grandchildren, so I only saw that side of him. He was playful, mischievous, and resourceful. He made his own soap and vinegar, grew vegetables, bought delicious...

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