BackStory: Five Questions with Barbara Diggs Author of Granddaddy at War What inspired you to write “Granddaddy at War”? I’ve always found it poignant and confounding that the African-American men who served in World War I were determined to fight…
Granddaddy at War
Granddaddy at War by Barbara Diggs My grandfather stands straight as the rifle he won’t be allowed to touch. Trenches may be choked with corpses across the ocean, but a weapon in the hands of a black man is no…
Timeline: FlashBack’s Eleventh Season
Timeline: FlashBack’s Eleventh Season As we close our eleventh — eleventh! — season, we’re bringing you both some bad news and some good news. First the bad: We’re starting our summer publication break a few weeks early this year, and…
BackStory: Seven Questions with Jack Somers
BackStory: Seven Questions with Jack Somers Author of The Defenestration of Jezebel What inspired you to write ‘The Defenestration of Jezebel’? For years, I had heard the term “Jezebel” used as a derogatory term for a woman, but I didn’t…
The Defenestration of Jezebel
The Defenestration of Jezebel by Jack Somers The queen wore her finest on the morning of her death. The lotus silk gown, pale as the blanched beaches of Sidon. The damask linen stole, soft as moth wings, green as the…
BackStory: Five More Questions with Caroline Greene
BackStory: Five More Questions with Caroline Greene Author of Eliza Brightwen Waits for Dawn What inspired you to write ‘Eliza Brightwen Waits for Dawn’? This monologue is based on the life of Eliza Brightwen, a naturalist who was very much…
Eliza Brightwen Waits for Dawn
Eliza Brightwen Waits for Dawn by Caroline Greene When I walk out here in the night I hear all the sounds of my wakefulness: the clumsy rustle of the hedgehog, the ghoulish bark of the fox, the lonely shriek of…
BackStory: Four Questions with Hannah Hoare
BackStory: Four Questions with Hannah Hoare Author of The Sort-of-True Story of Princess Alexandra of Bavaria What inspired you to write ‘The Sort-of-True Story of Princess Alexandra of Bavaria’? I first heard about Princess Alexandra of Bavaria in an episode…
The Sort-of-True Story of Princess Alexandra of Bavaria
The Sort-of-True Story of Princess Alexandra of Bavaria by Hannah Hoare When I was a child I swallowed a glass piano. Of course it sounds preposterous; you are not the first person to snigger. As I endeavour to squeeze through…
BackStory: Four Questions with Peter Burns
BackStory: Four Questions with Peter Burns Author of Rex Nemorensis (King of the Woods) What inspired you to write ‘Rex Nemorensis (King of the Woods)’? The inspiration for this piece came, in fact, from Donald Trump refusing to accept defeat…