I have time on my hands, and a nice spot to enjoy it. I brought a stack of recent issues of the New Yorker, and in the June 8 & 15, 2020 issue—the Fiction Issue—I found four essays on the theme Close Encounters. The New Yorker publishes these essays in special issues throughout the year, and I’ve always enjoyed the compact writing, contained in two columns and an illustration on one page. I read them, marvel at the good writing, and feel inspired. The themes can be good writing prompts, so my goal this week is to use some of that time to write a close-encounters essay of my own.
© Anton Zuiker