Tag: book-review
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on the unfamiliar
When I first moved to Iquitos, a city deep in the Peruvian Amazon, I felt farther from home than I’d ever been. Nothing was familiar. Motos screeched around corners—many with small children, many with women nursing babies. It was 100 degrees, but people stood on sidewalks grilling whole fish. Cumbia rhythms poured through windows. Yet…
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on discovery
One fall Saturday while visiting my parents in upstate New York, we went to the town’s famous annual shindig: the Hilton Apple Fest. We parked at a church nearby, and on the way back to the car, we passed what looked like overgrown brush. Until: “Is that okra?” I said, stepping off the path. “Where?”…
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on writing a memoir
“Want to join a memoir-writing group with me?” my friend S. asked me one day in 2019. This was pretty random. We’d never talked about writing memoirs before, and I wasn’t ghostwriting them yet. I liked reading them, but my specialty was fiction. “Yes!” I said right away. “When do we start?” Shoot, I thought…
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on moving
Moving day. Everything’s moved in, so now it’s a matter of organizing. This is my favorite part. Deciding what goes where, that glimmer of satisfaction when I put something its new home. I don’t have much stuff (and thank God the apartment’s furnished). Each object I own tells a story of where or who it…
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on being ghosted
Years ago, I met a prospective client, a renowned clothing designer, in her NYC studio. We discussed the book she wanted to write — her timeline, her goals, her hopes and fears. I thought we bonded… …and then she ghosted me. Weeks passed. I wondered: Was it something I said?I should NOT have worn that…
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on connecting the dots
My first night in Peru, I sat on my patio and opened a notebook to write. I’d come here to find peace. My life had been upended recently—a 6-year relationship ended; the house I’d wanted to buy had fallen through. The future I’d imagined had dissolved, and I felt lost and uncertain. Here, though, listening…
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on drawing a finish line
You live in Peru? You must be bilingual.” Well…sometimes. It depends on the day. On my mood. On the lighting. I used to think being bilingual was a finish line I would one day cross. But now I see it as more as a moving target. It’s more like being “happy” or “healthy.” Are you…
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mediocre jazz
The other day, I came upon some songs I’d recorded back in 2013. A couple I had written, some covers, some classical and some mediocre jazz.* I hadn’t thought about them in years. When I listened to them now…I was shocked. They’re WAY better than I remembered. At the time, I was 25 and living…
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the fear of starting
“It is not possible to make a mistake.” That’s what Mona tells John when he arrives on the island in Breakfast of Champions (the Kurt Vonnegut novel). It’s the customary greeting in her culture when meeting a shy person, she says. It’s also what I tell people who want to write, but are afraid to…
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how to write a book
In 2019, I decided to drive around the U.S. The plan didn’t start off that way. At first, I was just going to visit my sister in Atlanta. Then my brother in Mississippi, since it was only 4 hours away. Then, Why not New Orleans? Houston’s only a couple hours from there. Well if I’m…
Kimberly Bunker, MFA 