The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2018
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David Wallace-Wells is deputy editor at New York Magazine, where he also writes about science and the near future, including his recent cover story on worst-case scenarios for climate change (which was the most-read New York Magazine story ever). He is currently working on a book about the meaning of global warming.
Chris Ware is the author of Jimmy Corrigan—the Smartest Kid on Earth and Building Stories, which was deemed a Top Ten Fiction Book by the New York Times and Time. A regular contributor to The New Yorker, his work has been exhibited at MOCA Los Angeles, MCA Chicago, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, and an eponymous monograph was published by Rizzoli in 2017.
Frank B. Wilderson III is an award-winning writer, poet, scholar, activist and emerging filmmaker. He has received numerous writing awards, including the Eisner Prize for Creative Achievement of the Highest Order, the Crothers Short Story Award, the Judith Stronach Award for Poetry, the Jerome Foundation Artists and Writers Award, the Loft-McKnight Award for Best Prose in the State of Minnesota, and the Maya Angelou Award for Best Fiction Portraying the Black Experience in America. His fiction and creative prose, as well as his critical and scholarly work, have been published internationally.
The Best American Nonrequired Reading Committee
Sophia Casey-Stewart’s hobbies include reading, writing, baking (only with cheap box cake mix and store-bought cookie dough), and overanalyzing TV shows and movies. In fall 2018 she will be attending Eugene Lang College at The New School in New York City and trying to figure out how to use the subway system.
Max Chu is currently a senior. He loves to read, loves to write, and loves the “Beth” coffee mug. He would appreciate if anyone reading this not named Beth not try and take the “Beth” coffee mug. He needs it to do proper and top quality BANR work. However, if your name happens to be Beth and you would like to claim the “Beth” mug, Max is willing to establish a trade-system. Whatever that means.
Madison DeVry is not sure what she will be doing this fall. She might be going to The New School or taking a gap year. Either way, she will be reading lots of books and drinking copious amounts of coffee. She will also be missing a certain little basement on Valencia Street and the invaluable time that she got to spend there.
Emilia Villela Fernández graduated from Lick-Wilmerding High School and now attends Yale University. Her friends make fun of her for meticulously overplanning things on several mini-whiteboards she keeps in her room. She is really glad to have been a part of BANR and will miss it: the basement, the cool people, and even the bluegrass that seeps in from the bar next door.
Emma Hardison is a freshman at the University of San Francisco. She is known for her quick wit, stunning beauty, startling intelligence, and undeniably humble nature. She will miss BANR almost as much as it will miss her, if that is even possible.
Sidney Hirschman graduated from Lick-Wilmerding High School in the spring of 2018, and is now attending Yale University. When they’re not reading or in school, Sidney enjoys sewing, painting, metalworking, and eating food with a lot of sodium in it. This is Sidney’s last year at BANR, and they would like to thank Clara, Laura, Daniel, Sheila, and Tom Hanks.
Colette “Coco” Johnson is a young African-American woman from San Francisco, California. She is currently a sophomore at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts. In her spare time she likes to listen to music, watch YouTube, and play volleyball. Her goal in life is to be a journalist or on-air host for Clewer, an entertainment news source. She hopes you enjoy the book and is proud of the pieces the BANR committee selected.
Althea Kriney wanted to turn this in late like she did last year, but management is really cracking down. She is currently a senior at Lowell High School. Hopefully she graduates next year—it’s very up in the air. You’ll have to pick up next year’s BANR book to find out.
Sian Laing is a freshman at UC Berkeley. She is currently embracing her Scottish heritage by looking for Nessie, the Loch Ness monster. By calculating how many sips it would take to drink the Loch Ness, she hopes to gather enough mouths to consume the lake, exposing the monster in all its glory. However, she has yet to discover how the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency feels about her plan.
Lola Leuterio is a senior at Tamalpais High School. She has been a member of the BANR committee for the past two years and loves the way it gets her thinking, talking, and learning from people with different perspectives. Lola’s role model is Donna from Mamma Mia and she believes life’s ultimate success is being The Dancing Queen. That pretty much says it all. She hopes you enjoy the anthology!
Xuan Ly is a sophomore at Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts. She is used to people calling her “Juan,” but she wants you to know, even if it is completely irrelevant, that her name is actually pronounced, “Swan.” This is her first year on the BANR committee and she has enjoyed reading and learning from each piece. She loves her dog and at the moment, she and her brothers are attempting to slowly rename him Zucchini, but she’s not sure how that will go.
Zoe Olson is a senior at Mission High School and this is her second year on the BANR committee. She likes cookies, cats, and arts and crafts. You can’t see, because the image is zoomed in, but she’s waving at you from the little picture on the right. Hi!
Charley Ostrow is a freshman at Scripps College. She loves to read, write, watch The Office, and spends too much time picking her outfits. This is her first year on the BANR committee, and she has loved reading the wide collection of pieces. Enjoy!
Annette Vergara-Tucker is a senior at Lick-Wilmerding High School, who hopes that you take the time to seriously reflect on the writing that the committee selected for this year’s BANR anthology. The pieces they encountered this year were incredibly reflective of the last twelve months and make for a collection that will be relevant and sought after for generations to come.
Huckleberry Shelf is a senior at Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, and BANR’s resident devil’s advocate. He often confers with a cardboard cutout of Tom Hanks in dark corners of the BANR meeting space. No one knows precisely what they discuss, and everyone should be worried.
Very special thanks to Dave Eggers, Nicole Angeloro, Mark Robinson, and Tommi Parrish. Thanks also to Daniel Gumbiner, Sarah Vowell, Rachel Kushner, Adam Johnson, Daniel Handler, Laura Van Slyke, Chris Ames, Olga Sankey, Jody Hanson, Justin Carder, Meghan Berckes, Matt Carney, Natalie Jabbar, Colin Winnette, Andi Winnette, Reese Kwon, Daniel Levin Becker, Abigail Ulman, Jose Segura, Catherine Sullivan, Max Ross, Ted Trautman, Alex Holey, Amy Langer, Sunra Thompson, Claire Boyle, Kristina Kearns, Eric Cromie, Chris Monks, Mimi Lok, Laura Brief, Kaitlin Steele, Lauren Broder, Maggie Andrews, Daniel Cesca, Kelson Goldfine, Angela Gasca, Anna Griffin, Yusuke Wada, Cecilia Juan, Okailey Okai, Sierra Swann, Diana Adamson, Juliana Sloane, Hannah Bardo, Kate Bueler, Rita Bullwin-kel, Nirvana Felix, Marisela Garcia, Leo Harrington, Timothy Huynh, Cristian King, Jessica Li, Sam Lozano, Monica Mendez, Oliver Pascua, Veronica Ponce-Navarrete, Francisco Prado, Piper Sutherland, Kenia Tello, Jenny Vu, Nicholas Watson, and Alma Zaragoza-Petty.
Notable
Nonrequired Reading
of 2017
GBENGA ADESINA
Hiding Place, Washington Square Review
TAMAR ADLER
Everyone Should Have a House Meal, Bon Appétit
SVETLANA ALEXIEVICH
An Excerpt from The Unwomanly Face of War
RACHEL AVIV
The Trauma of Facing Deportation, The New Yorker
LEONORA CARRINGTON
Mr. Gregory’s Fly, Dorothy
TA-NEHISI COATES
The First White President, The Atlantic
RACHEL KAADZI GHANSAH
A Most American Terrorist: The Making of Dylann Roof, GQ
CAMILLA GRUDOVA
Unstitching, A Doll’s Alphabet
YURI HERRERA
House Taken Over, Words Without Borders
DAVE HICKEY
The Last Mouseketeer, Perfect Wave<
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ROSE HIMBER HOWSE
An Interview with Garth Greenwell, Dead Darlings
LAUREN MICHELE JACKSON
We Need to Talk About Digital Blackface in Reaction GIFs, Teen Vogue
LESLIE JAMISON
The Digital Ruins of a Forgotten Future, The Atlantic
ANDREW LELAND
Self-Portrait in An Open Medicine Cabinet, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern
SAYAKA MURATA
A First-Rate Material, Freeman’s
WILL MURRAY
Let the People See What I See, Salmagundi
LUPITA NYONG’O
Speaking Out About Harvey Weinstein, The New York Times
ELENA PASSARELLO
Arabella, Animals Strike Curious Poses
WILLIS PLUMMER
10,000 Year Clock, Muumuu House
DEAN RADER
Still Life with Cacography, ZYZZYVA
REBECCA TRAISTER
Your Reckoning. And Mine, The Cut
JAVIER ZAMORA
Nocturne, The Poetry Foundation
About 826 National
Proceeds from this book benefit youth literacy
826 national is a nonprofit organization that provides strategic leadership, administration, and other resources to ensure the success of its network of eight writing and tutoring centers. 826 National’s chapters are dedicated to providing under-resourced students, ages 6 to 18, with opportunities to explore their creativity and improve their writing skills. We also aim to help teachers inspire their students to write. Our mission is based on the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with individualized attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success. 826 is the largest youth writing network in the country.
826 National amplifies the impact of our national network of youth writing and publishing centers, and the words of young authors. We serve as an international proof point for writing as a tool for young people to ignite and channel their creativity, explore identity, advocate for themselves and their community, and achieve academic and professional success.
Currently, the 826 Network is in eight major U.S. cities and serves nearly 34,000 under-resourced students ages 6–18 each year, thanks to the support of almost 5,000 volunteers. Each chapter has an imaginative storefront that reimagines tutoring as anything but traditional; provides a gateway for meeting families, teachers, and volunteers; and connects students with community members. And of course, sells Canned Laughter and Robot Toupees.
In addition, there are fifty 826-inspired organizations across the globe. We support educators through 826 Digital, our new online pay-what-you-wish platform designed to help teach and ignite a love of writing. 826 National is the hub of the 826 Network: facilitating collaboration and alignment among our chapters, and bringing the 826 Network model and approach to new communities.
Read on to learn more about each 826 chapter.
826 Valencia
826 Valencia was founded in 2002 by educator Ninive Calegari and author Dave Eggers. It comprises two writing centers—the flagship location in the Mission District and a new center in the Tenderloin neighborhood—and three satellite classrooms at nearby public schools. The year 2019 will see the addition of a third 826 Valencia center on the ground floor of an affordable housing development in the Mission Bay neighborhood. 826 Valencia offers tutoring and workshops, supports teachers through inschool projects, and hosts field trips from local public schools. This year 826 Valencia will produce 50 major student-written publications, and cultivate wonder, confidence, and an affinity for writing for more than 7,000 under-resourced students all over San Francisco.
826 NYC
826NYC’s writing center opened its doors in September 2004. Every year, it provides more than 4,000 students with the opportunity to build their writing skills and confidence in their creative voice through a combination of after-school, in-school, and field trip programs. 826NYC operates year-round out of the world famous Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co., the South Williamsburg branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, and its East Harlem Writers Room located at M.S. 7/Global Tech Prep. In addition, 826NYC runs short-term programs with Title 1 schools throughout the city. 826NYC publishes more than 25 publications each year, supported by a corps of more than 300 volunteers annually.
826LA
826LA serves over 9,200 students each year at its centers in Echo Park and Mar Vista, its Writers’ Room at Manual Arts High School, and at high schools all around Los Angeles. Through after-school tutoring, in-school classroom support, creative writing workshops, and bookmaking field trips, 826LA builds connections between its community of students, families, volunteers, educators, and supporters. Since its founding in 2005, 826LA has served more than 74,000 students. More than 120 public school teachers each year benefit from 826LA’s support, and, in 2017, over 1,230 trained volunteers contributed 22,035 hours of their time. At 826LA, students are transported to a world where writing is a form of magic, their voices are celebrated, and anything is possible.
826CHI
826CHI is headquartered in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago and serves over 3,000 students from more than 120 Chicago public schools. Originally opened in 2005, 826CHI moved in 2014 and opened their new storefront, the Secret Agent Supply Co., full of products that unlock creativity and inspire new adventures for agents of all ages. 826CHI believes all Chicago youth should have equal access to high-quality writing and literary arts education. Over 350 active volunteers support 826CHI’s programs, which are dedicated to amplifying the voices of Chicago youth.
826michigan
826michigan opened its doors on June 1, 2005, on South State Street in Ann Arbor. In October of 2007 the operation moved downtown, to a new and improved location on Liberty Street. Today, 826michigan operates Liberty Street Robot Supply & Repair in Ann Arbor, The Detroit Robot Factory in the city’s Eastern Market neighborhood, and dozens of writing and tutoring programs in venues across Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Ypsilanti. 826michigan students—all 4,000 of them—write poems and essays, stories and plays, on field trips, in-classroom residencies, drop-in writing programs in public library branches, and much more. The organization has a staff of 11 and a diverse, vibrant volunteer corps of 500+ adults across southeastern Michigan.
826 Boston
826 Boston opened its doors to the Greater Boston Bigfoot Research Institute in 2007. Working with traditionally underserved students ages 6–18 out of its headquarters in the Roxbury neighborhood of Egleston Square, as well as through a network of full-time writers’ rooms located within Boston public schools, 826 Boston has served 19,000 students. Its community of more than 2,500 volunteers—including college students, professional writers, artists, and teachers—helped 826 Boston secure a “Best Places to Volunteer” distinction from the Boston Globe. Recent collections of 826 Boston student writing include I Rate Today a -1,000, inspired by Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, and Attendance Would Be 100%: Student Proposals for High School Redesign Boston.
826DC
826 DC opened its doors to the city’s Columbia Heights neighborhood in October 2010. 826DC provides after-school tutoring, field trips, workshops, college essay support, and in-school publishing programs for students in all eight wards of the District. It also boasts DC’s only magic shop—Tivoli’s Astounding Magic Supply Company, Illusionarium & De-Lux Haberdashery—in the heart of the city. Recent anthologies of 826DC’s student writing include Spit Fire, Having to Tell Your Mother is the Hardest Part, Delicious Havoc, and My Heart Went Beating Fast.
826 New Orleans
826 New Orleans was founded in 2010 as a writing project in a single classroom and has since grown into a multi-program nonprofit that serves over 3,000 students annually. Rooted in the historic 7th Ward, the youth writing center is a literary hub for students across the city. The diverse programming allows young people to work one-on-one with volunteers to develop and publish high-quality writing, from professionally
bound anthologies of personal narratives to poems printed on pizza boxes. Because of its exemplary work, the center was invited to become the first Southern chapter of the highly-esteemed 826 Network, allowing them to connect their students to 32,000 young writers across the nation and to continue amplifying the voices of New Orleans youth.
About ScholarMatch
Founded in 2010 by author Dave Eggers, ScholarMatch began as a crowdfunding platform for college scholarships, and has now grown into a full-service college access organization that supports low-income and first-gen students through every point of the college journey. We serve high school students at our San Francisco College Access Center and nationwide through our Virtual Destination College program, and the ScholarMatcher—a groundbreaking college search tool optimized for the needs of low-income students. We support college students nationwide, with hubs based in San Francisco and Los Angeles. From local website to nationally reaching nonprofit, today, ScholarMatch is a nimble 20-person organization that is actively growing and constantly refining programs based on what works. Our services are free for students and available for contract by community-based organizations, corporations, and foundations. To support a student’s college journey or learn more, visit scholarmatch.org.