Letter to a Stranger
Essays to the Ones Who Haunt Us
Published on 22. March 2022
336 pages
978-1-64375-223-5 (ISBN)
Description
"Beautiful. The human condition is on full display in these glimpses of our essential connectedness. Perfect for our times." --Dani Shapiro, author of Inheritance Sixty-five extraordinary writers grapple with this mystery: How can an ephemeral encounter with a stranger leave such an eternal mark? When Colleen Kinder put out a call for authors to write a letter to a stranger about an unforgettable encounter, she opened the floodgates. The responses--intimate and addictive, all written in the second person--began pouring in. These short, insightful essays by a remarkable cast of writers, including Elizabeth Kolbert, Pico Iyer, Lauren Groff, Gregory Pardlo, Faith Adiele, Maggie Shipstead, Lia Purpura, Kiki Petrosino, and Jamil Jan Kochai, are organized around such themes as Gratitude, Wonder, and Farewell and guide us both across the globe and through the mysteries of human connection. Addressed to a first responder after a storm, a gambler encountered on jury duty, a waiter in Istanbul, a taxi driver in Paris, a roomful of travelers watching reality TV in La Paz, and dozens of others, the pieces are replete with observations about how to live and what we seek, and how a stranger's loaded glance, shared smile, or question posed can alter the course of our lives. Moving and unforgettable, Letter to a Stranger is an irresistible read for the literary traveler and the perfect gift for anyone who is haunted by a person they met once and will remember forever.
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03/2022
Algonquin Books
€41.05
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Person
Colleen Kinder is an essayist and editor whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, National Geographic Traveler, Salon.com, and The Best American Travel Writing. She has taught writing at Yale University, the Chautauqua Institution, and Semester at Sea. A Fulbright Scholar, Kinder received her MFA at the University of Iowa and is the author of Delaying the Real World and the cofounder of the online magazine Off Assignment (OffAssignment.com), where some of the pieces in this anthology originated. Her website is colleenkinder.com.
Content
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword by Leslie Jamison
- Introduction by Colleen Kinder
- Symmetry
- To the Traveling Magician, GRANADA, NICARAGUA by Leslie Jamison
- To the Woman Who Found Me Crying Outside the Senate, WASHINGTON, DC, by Rachel Swearingen
- To the Father Paused Under the Tree, GRAND CANYON, ARIZONA, by Anjali Sachdeva
- To My Lost Trishaw Driver, MANDALAY, MYANMAR, by Pico Iyer
- To the Child on the Plane, THE CASCADES, OREGON, by Lia Purpura
- To My Arctic Vardøger, PYRAMIDEN, NORWAY, by Alexander Lumans
- To the Girl in the Tattoo Parlor, DALLAS, TEXAS, by Michelle Tea
- To the Face in the Subway Glass, BERLIN, GERMANY, by Annie Schweikert
- Mystery
- To the Loner at High Altitude, TRES CRUCES, PERU, by Elizabeth Kolbert
- To the First Responder After the Storm, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, by David Parker Jr.
- To the Boy Who Climbed onto My Hammock, MAZUNTE, MEXICO, by Emily Matchar
- To the Man I Believe Was Good, PALERMO, ITALY, by Lauren Groff
- To the Man Who Saw Cobras Dance, AUROVILLE, INDIA, by Meera Subramanian
- To the Woman Who Wanted to Go Shoe Shopping, XI'AN, CHINA, by Vanessa Hua
- To the Chatty Man Who Pierced the Quiet, CANAAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE, by Peter Orner
- To the Boo Radley of My Childhood, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, by Madelaine Lucas
- To the Grandfather I Hardly Knew, SICILY, ITALY, by Peter Turchi
- To My Grandmother, c/o the Mush Hole, TSI KANATÁHERE (BRANTFORD, ONTARIO), by Amber Meadow Adams
- Chemistry
- To the Girl at the Riverbend, BAKER RIVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, by Howard Axelrod
- To the Stranger in My Family, BETHESDA, MARYLAND, by Kiki Petrosino
- To the Man Who Spoke with His Hands, SOUTH CHINA SEA, by Ying Reinhardt
- To the Taxi Driver Who Looped Back to Get Me, PARIS, FRANCE, by Irina Reyn
- To the Woman Whose Shoulder I Slept On, NEW YORK CITY TO BOSTON, by Naomi Gordon-Loebl
- To the Source Who Kept Changing Costume, DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA, by Keija Parssinen
- To Father of the Baby with the Brain Freeze, TUCSON, ARIZONA, by Margo Steines
- To the Inescapable Teacher, PARAKOU, BENIN, by Erica Cavanagh
- To the Gambler I Met in Jury Duty, CHINATOWN, NEW YORK CITY, by Jenessa Abrams
- To the Stranger from the Silver Hour, ROCAMADOUR, FRANCE, by Colleen Kinder
- Gratitude
- To the Pharmacist on Futong West Street, BEIJING, CHINA, by Monet Patrice Thomas
- To the Woman Who Spared Me an Orange, OAXACA, MEXICO, by Sarah Menkedick
- To the Driver I Followed, INTERSTATE 40, NORTH CAROLINA, by Matthew Olzmann
- To the Man Who Sold Me Shoddy Film, HARAR, ETHIOPIA, by Meron Hadero
- To Sandals Man, AN AIRPORT TERMINAL, CENTRAL CHINA, by Craig Mod
- To the Driver Who Was Not Godfrey, KAMPALA, UGANDA, by Raksha Vasudevan
- To the Waiter Who Left Me a Tip, BEYOGLU DISTRICT, ISTANBUL, TURKEY, by Michael Agresta
- To the Doctor I Never Thanked, TARRYTOWN, NEW YORK, by Aria Beth Sloss
- To the Woman Who Walked Beside Me, YONKERS, NEW YORK, by Sarah Perry
- To the Drunk Mr. Flunchy, AVIGNON, FRANCE, by Gregory Pardlo
- Wonder
- To the Seller of Breadcrumbs, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, by Cutter Wood
- To the Woman on the Park Bench, CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK CITY, by Aviya Kushner
- To My Steadfast Danish Soldier, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, by Julie Lunde
- To the Young German Horsewoman, Chosen to Help with Réttir, ÓBYGGDASETUR ÍSLANDS, ICELAND, by Pam Houston
- To the Lady of the Platform, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, by Jacquelyn Mitchard
- To the Italian Whose Name I Lost, FLORENCE, ITALY, by Julia Glass
- To the Traveler Who Hid Cash in Her Underwear, RWANDA-TANZANIA BORDER, by Ted Conover
- To the Lady of the Blackberries, HAPPY CAMP, CALIFORNIA, by Kelly Ramsey
- Remorse
- To the Logari Who Asked About the Sun, LOGAR PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN, by Jamil Jan Kochai
- To the Roomful of Travelers Watching Reality TV, LA PAZ, BOLIVIA, by Anna Vodicka
- To Mario, 26-Year-Old Bestie to My 78-Year-Old Mom, SUNNYSIDE, WASHINGTON, by Faith Adiele
- To the Son of the Victim, SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA, by Sophie Haigney
- To the Woman with the Restraining Order, HOODSPORT, WASHINGTON, by Meg Charlton
- To the Woman We Met Before the Flood, PAI, THAILAND, by Maggie Shipstead
- To the Servant Girl Who Shared My Toys, KARACHI, PAKISTAN, by Sheba Karim
- To the Keeper of the Fawn, CHISAGO CITY, MINNESOTA, by Sally Franson
- To the Woman Harboring a Gringo, SAN ISIDRO DEL GENERAL, COSTA RICA, by Jesse Donaldson
- Farewell
- To the Poet Who Disappeared, OKINAWA, JAPAN, by Akemi Johnson
- To the Woman in the Earrings, PROVINCETOWN, MASSACHUSETTS, by T Kira Madden
- To the Protagonist of a Too-Short Story, US ROUTE 17, NEW YORK, by Carlynn Houghton
- To the Follower of Cheikh Bamba, DAKAR, SENEGAL, by Emmanuel Iduma
- To the Father of the Lost Chilean Son, CHILEAN BASE, ANTARCTICA, by Carin Clevidence
- To the Man Who Had a Wife, COSHOCTON, OHIO, by Rachel Yoder
- To the One Who Was Supposed to Get Away, KO PHA NGAN, THAILAND, by Lavinia Spalding
- To the Stranger My Doctor Heard All About, PORTLAND, OREGON, by Robin Romm
- To the Deliveryman Who Gave Me a Lift, CARACAS, VENEZUELA, by Lucas Mann
- To the Girl I Didn't Love on the Last Bus Home, GUANACASTE, COSTA RICA, by Jeremy B. Jones
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
