Articles Written By Jessica Francis Kane
TMN Contributing Writer Jessica Francis Kane’s first novel, The Report (Graywolf Press, 2010) was shortlisted for the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize and was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. Her story collection, This Close (Graywolf Press, 2013) was long-listed for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and the Story Prize and was named a Best Book of the year by NPR. She lives in New York with her husband and their two children.
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Op-Ed
Daddies Unbound
The stereotype that dads don’t show much skill or interest in child-rearing should have gone out when you were still in diapers—so why does it persist?
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Notes From the Lawn
The Heirloom Ficus
When a loved one’s houseplants are divided up, what you get isn’t a condition of your standing as a relative, but of your ability as a gardener. Our writer has a story of memory and maintenance, and the discovery of a special bond.
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Spoofs & Satire
BetweenTheLines.com
Tired of having your work rejected by editors left and right? The Frustrated Amateur Writers Network may be just what you need to jump-start your writing career. They won’t be able to get you published—but they can help you feel better about it.
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Notes From the Lawn
Forced: A Flower Show
Gardeners love to commune with nature. Though not as much as they love to commune with ice cream and plasma screens and loud noises and personality quizzes. Our writer reports from the middle of 33 indoor acres of plants.
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Books
The Beginning of Spring
In 1998 Penelope Fitzgerald won the NBCC Award for The Blue Flower. Since then, many of my friends have read that book as their introduction to her and been confused, or...
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Notes From the Lawn
Landscaped Beyond all Recognition
We bemoan the rise of the McMansion, the slash-and-burn path of the strip mall—but the real problem may be lurking in the shrubbery.
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Things
Cottage Cheese
It was with surprise that I discovered cottage cheese a few weeks ago. My mother says I ate it as a child, but I don't remember. So cheap, so versatile,...
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Destinations
The Blackfriars Playhouse
Living in Charlottesville, Va., I sometimes have felt far away from the world's cultural centers. And then I discovered the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, Va. Top-quality repertory in the middle...
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Notes From the Lawn
Raising the Stakes
Drooping flowers are no gardener’s friend. So how can you fix them? And, more to the point, how did these things ever get by without us? A few simple ways to make the world bend to our will.
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Things
Black-Eyed Susans
Common on greeting cards and dorm room posters, black-eyed Susans, known as an "aggressive perennial" (translation: a nuisance), are underappreciated. They bloom their hearts out from June to October--that's nearly...
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Notes From the Lawn
Magic Step
One person’s porch is another’s stomping ground; one person’s garden is another’s view. This week: How to share the world with your neighbors or, failing that, how to suffer their existence.
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Magazines
Virginia Quarterly Review
In two days I'm headed to the place where my family gathers every August, my enthusiasm high despite a mixed historical record. In my suitcase: a copy of the summer...