Here, in micro-flash nonfiction, writers make quick work of compelling stories. Leading up to Multiplicity‘s second themed issue, we present five short takes on work and working. If you enjoy these bite-sized stories, check back for the feast of essays, profiles and poems in “Work,” […]

By Suzanne Strempek Shea I left home for college with the normal amount of angst about meeting new people. I needn’t have wasted time fretting—I quickly found out I had an easy icebreaker. “You’re from where?” strangers would ask. “Palmer, Massachusetts.” They’d nod blankly, as […]

By Kara Lynn Puskey-Noble When life gets stressful, I go to the barn and clean stalls. Forking up manure, pushing around a loaded wheelbarrow, sweeping—caring for my livestock settles my mind and clears my head. Between the pandemic and the election, I’ve needed to spend […]

By Robert Surbrug I’ve been a passionate advocate of voting for most of my life. I’ve thrown myself into voter registration drives and taught the history of voting-rights struggles. That’s partly because I’m an historian and partly because I grew up on Schoolhouse Rock. But […]

By Liza Sofia I roll down my window on the carriageway to get a better look at the sky. It’s a good thing I’m not driving because I can’t keep my eyes from drifting up to the ethereal clouds above us. I point out a […]

By Karol Jackowski In the sisterhood, we were taught to think about work as obedience. We went where we were sent and did what we were told, believing that the will of God was wrapped in the decisions of the Superior. A group of 19-year-olds […]

By Meghan Vigeant Mimi’s white hair sticks up stiff and electric. I notice a brown spot on her gown—the same black and white flannel dress she wore yesterday. Why didn’t the last caregiver change her? I kneel in front of her on the floor, fumbling […]

By Heidi Fettig Parton In the middle of September, you are in the backyard on your knees. You are not praying, but perhaps you should be. Bended knees can lift up, bended knees can kill. The world, heavy with sorrow; you persist. Using your gloved […]

Every summer, Bay Path University’s MFA program in Creative Nonfiction writing offers a weeklong Writing Seminar based in Dingle, a town nestled on the Atlantic coast on the western shore of County Kerry, Ireland. Each day throughout the week, Seminar Facilitator Suzanne Strempek Shea gives […]