Lauren Alwan

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Fiction and essays in the O. Henry Prize Stories 2018, The Southern Review, ZYZZYVA  (Notable, Best American Essays 2016), Alaska Quarterly Review, StoryQuarterly, Bellevue Literary Review, The Rumpus, The Millions, Nimrod International, and others.  Prose editor at the museum of americana, staff contributor @LitStack. Follow her on Twitter at @lauren_alwan   www.laurenalwan.com

Stories

Cover Photo: Photograph of an embroidery panel created by the author's grandmother, featuring a young woman feeding birds, surrounded by flowering plants; the face of the young woman is taken from an old photograph of the author's grandmother
Searching for Family History in My Grandmother’s Embroidery

Together, the photograph and the needlework clearly told a story, one beyond any we knew.

Mar 17, 2020
Cover Photo: watercolor painting of houses along a curving road
Why My Father Could Not Embrace His Name

From his youth until late in life he was able to “pass,” his heritage all but invisible until he mentioned his name.

Feb 18, 2020
Cover Photo: Illustration of two sisters' overlapping faces, one sister blond-haired and pale, the other with dark brown hair and olive skin
“Are You Really Sisters?”

The only means for talking about our mixed heritage was the ‘adorable’ contrast between ‘the girls,’ as we were called: one light, one dark; same parents, different skin.

Jan 08, 2020