I had a chance to sit down last week with Anna Badkhen in Washington, D.C., to talk about her two books out this year, “Peace Meals” and “Waiting for the Taliban” (an e-book), both narrative nonfiction treatments of the effects of war on civilians. Badkhen grew up in Russia and did her first reporting for the English-language [...]
Tag Archives: St. Petersburg Times
Anna Badkhen on her two books about war and a decade as a “professional intruder”
October 25, 2010 – 3:44 pm
What we’re watching: used car sales’ Big Vinny, artists living in uncertain times, and the true price of a dowry
October 12, 2010 – 1:26 pm
Great visuals can inspire storytellers, even when they’re employed for other ends. Below are a collection of beautiful photos and video used in intriguing ways to evoke a way of life, a community, and even the shadow that hovers over a whole gender. And just to help with integrating all the conceptual ideas into the [...]
What we’re reading, in which we contemplate a hit-and-run fatality, the death of Glenn Beck’s mother and the declining lethality of quicksand
September 30, 2010 – 11:55 am
One of the things about stories is that for them to be interesting, something usually goes wrong. As a result, a large number of the articles, profiles and essays we feature cover unfortunate events, whether recent or recalled from the distant past. This week is no exception, but we can promise that each story is [...]
Tom French on zoo stories, narrative nonfiction and the pleasures of playing anthropologist
September 14, 2010 – 12:38 pm
In 2007, St. Petersburg Times reporter Tom French delivered a nine-part series about Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, which led to the writing of “Zoo Story,” published in July. In his book, French focuses on the lives of a number of mammals, including Enshalla (a tiger), Herman (a chimp) and Lex Salisbury (the director of the zoo). [...]
What we’re reading, second edition: in which we offer soccer balls, the Book of Revelation and a visit to the Khyber Pass
June 30, 2010 – 3:38 pm
In our new installment of written work worth checking out, we encourage you to think about the history of the soccer ball, the awesomeness that was the 1975 Cincinnati Reds, the expanding ramifications of the oil disaster in the Gulf, the many things we receive from our parents, and one former Marine’s problem with the [...]
Thomas Lake on mythical storytelling and the editing process: “sometimes it’s hard to kill your darlings”
June 17, 2010 – 2:18 pm
We spoke by phone this week with Atlanta magazine senior editor Thomas Lake about his story, “The Golden Boy and the Invisible Army,” our latest Notable Narrative. Lake, who also freelances for Sports Illustrated and is a regular commenter over at Gangrey.com, has previously worked at the St. Petersburg Times and The Florida Times-Union. His [...]
Michael Kruse profiles Tampa Bay fugitive
May 19, 2010 – 3:33 pm
These days, it can be hard for a star to keep up with his Facebook feeds and the television and newspaper stories about him, not to mention where he’s been and who he’s met—especially if he’s a monkey. But in our latest notable narrative, St. Petersburg Times reporter Michael Kruse ties up the loose ends [...]
Meg Laughlin on reporting from Haiti: “this is the face of the nation now”
February 4, 2010 – 2:09 pm
St. Petersburg Times reporter Meg Laughlin recently spent eight days in Haiti and the Dominican Republic covering the aftermath of the earthquake. She managed to file a series of short narratives, mostly at the rate of one a day. Earlier this week, she talked with us about finding stories with local elements, using small moments [...]
Meg Laughlin chronicles survivors’ suffering in Haiti
February 3, 2010 – 4:22 pm
Our latest Notable Narrative concerns the recent earthquake in Haiti but takes place in a public hospital in the Dominican Republic. St. Petersburg Times reporter Meg Laughlin finds one doctor who has done 22 amputations in two days, and another who says he has done 32 in just one day.
Many reporters in the region noticed [...]
