Archives

They Only Come out at Night by Jim Dodson   They came out of the darkness the other night, devouring everything in their path. I simply opened the front door to feed the cat his supper and [...]

Some years back, I wrote this in tribute to a beloved colleague at the magazine who was preparing to move home to England. We share a love of beautiful English slang. Bob’s the Word By Jim [...]

October’s Surprises By Jim Dodson   As sure as October nights arrive cooler and earlier, stories about dark clowns may soon begin circulating again, as they did four years ago when I posted [...]

The Dash of Life by Jim Dodson In an early episode from one my favorite British dramas, a charming program called “Delicious,” a roguish head chef, speaking from his grave in a Cornwall [...]

Brief Notes from a Transcendental Trout Stream By Jim Dodson   Essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson noted that life comes with compensations. I’ve long believed this to be true, and this week did [...]

Last Laughs By Nancy Oakley   It’s no joke: In recent years comedians have been bemoaning the slow death of comedy, owing to the trend of public shaming or outright cancellation of material [...]

The Life I Never Had By Jim Dodson Sometimes before dawn on the late summer mornings, I let in the cat from his nighttime rambles and put on the coffee, then spend a few quiet moments with Ruby [...]

Blue Angels of the Garden By Jim Dodson As August wanes, dragonflies begin to disappear from the garden. Their lease, like summer’s, is far too brief. I’m always sorry to see them go. The other [...]

Ask The Garden Guru By Jim Dodson   Summer is here. The Garden Guru will now take your important gardening questions.   Dear Garden Guru, I’m new to gardening this year and eager to [...]

Best-selling author John Grisham chats with David Woronoff, publisher of O.Henry, over Zoom on July 15, 2020. The conversation was sponsored by The Country Bookshop of Southern Pines.