The Font

A Literary Journal for Language Teachers

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  • About
  • Archive
    • Author Index
    • 2022 –Vol.2
      • Fiction 2022 Vol. 2
        • A. P. English
        • The Carpenter’s Hammer
        • Early spring
        • Ladders
        • An Unexpected Message
      • Creative Non-fiction 2022 – Vol. 2
        • Cultural Cricket
        • Chapter 3. Enter the Gladiators
        • True Story
      • Poetry
        • Running with David
        • LUDIC
        • Two Poems by James Mulhern
        • Three Poems by Gale Acuff
        • Editing
      • Essays & Nonfiction
        • ‘M’, Editing and A Vindication of the ‘Writes’ of (One) Woman
        • Asleep at The Oral Defense
        • The Language Teacher as Language Learner
        • An Opportunity
        • Stubborn: personal or public?   
      • Authors 2022 – Vol. 2
    • 2022 –Vol.1
      • Column – In Love with Language
        • A Brief Primer on Russian, Belorusian, and Ukrainian
      • Fiction 2022 – Vol. 1
        • Sewage, Sand and Sisyphus
        • “Mr. Beaumarchais”
        • The Farewell Song
        • A long winter
      • Creative Non-Fiction 2022 – Vol. 1
        • The English Teacher
        • Pride, Regret, and Rust-buckets
        • Stained
        • The Unexpected Professor
        • Gray Kimono
        • Monkey Want Banana
        • Anything You Want
        • “Do you play cricket?”
      • Poetry 2022 Vol. 1
        • The Rules
        • Language Barrier
        • Did you hear?
        • Education
        • The Alphabet Family
      • Essays 2022 – Vol. 1
        • Bagwis
        • Fish Tales and Tips: Hillel Wright’s Life, Stories, and Advice
        • A Note on Hyphens
        • What’s in a Name?
        • Before I Taught a Poem I’d Ask to Know
      • Authors 2022 – Vol. 1
    • 2021 – Vol. 2
      • Essays
        • De Zoet Does Japan
        • L’esprit de l’escalier: A Mancunian in Japan
        • Hybrid Identities: Teaching While Learning
        • The Joy of Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Japan
      • Poetry
        • Vespers, Hue 
        • chasing the rIsing sun
        • Perfect
        • Teaching is a Woman’s Job?
        • Early Lightning
        • Three Poems
        • Word of the Day
        • The Magic Words
      • Fiction
        • Traps
        • The Married Rocks
      • Creative Non-Fiction
        • Danny’s Revenge
        • That Moment in Montmartre
        • Déjà vu in Dammam
        • The Phone Company that won’t do Business on the Phone
        • Aisatsu – The Importance of being Seen and Noticed
      • Authors 2021, Vol. 2
    • 2021 – Vol.1
      • Column – In Love with Language
      • Creative Non-Fiction
        • I Feel Your Pain. Do You Feel Mine?
        • Shady Practice
        • Lamparilla
        • WOEFUL TOEFL
        • On Payette Lake
        • An Excellent Night of Theater
        • Achieving my English Learning Goal at all Costs: What Did I Sacrifice?
        • Snookered, or, Why the British Talk That Way
        • Distractions during Zoom Lessons
        • Overnight
        • From Hoeing the Cornfields to Teaching English
      • Fiction
        • Miss Representation
        • The Odyssey
        • How Many?
      • Poetry
        • Wedged Underneath a Heavy Desk
        • The Monster Manual
        • Heritage Language
        • The Sounds of English
        • Adverbity / So What Does a Poet Do? / Alchemy of Ink
      • Authors 2021 Vol.1
    • 2020 – Vol. 2
      • Creative Non-Fiction 2020 Vol.2
        • Line of Duty
        • Teaching Transcends Boundaries
        • Red Ants
        • The Language Dance
        • Weeding in Wakayama
      • Fiction 2020 Vol.2
        • The Uklak
        • Generation C
        • Hand to Mouth
      • Poetry 2020 Vol.2
        • One Nation, Under & Counting
        • On a Pickle, Very Very Very & “Figurative Language is Useless”
        • Enlightened Alphabet
        • The Eternal Thought, & The Day She Spoke
      • Essays 2020 Vol.2
        • Exactly Where I Should Be
        • A Quick Fix for English Teacher Burn-Out
        • Reclaiming Vedic Education
      • Authors 2020 Vol. 2
    • 2020 – Vol. 1
      • Fiction Vol. 1 – 2020
        • Outside
        • The Rotten Mikan
        • Daisy
        • Julia in the Desert
        • Cheating
        • Peppermint Candy
      • Non-Fiction Vol. 1 – 2020
        • Two for the Price of One
        • Teaching During the Corona Virus Shutdown
        • Context for my outrage—teaching and learning after graduation
      • Essays Vol. 1 – 2020
        • This I Believe
        • Teaching and the Art of Compassion
        • Escaping from Osaka on the Dreamy Sea Bream Train
      • Poetry Vol. 1 – 2020
        • Lament, and Things I would not like to forget
        • Simply Silly
        • A Language Learning Adventure with Wrecked Haiku
        • The Wow! signal, This is home now, and Gaps
        • Hell-box
        • Chinese Characters – 3 Poems/ Lessons
      • Column – In Love with Language
      • Authors 2020 – Vol. 1
    • 2019 – Vol.2
      • Column – In Love with Language
      • Fiction
        • Arab Spring
        • Blind in Darien
        • Save for a Rainy Day
        • Someone Cheated
      • Creative Non-Fiction
        • Hit from Behind
        • Total Physical Response in the University Prius
        • What to Say in a Knife Fight and other Regrettably Forgotten Lessons from High School German
      • Poetry
      • Essay
      • Interview – Steve Redford
      • Authors 2019 Vol. 2
    • 2019 – Vol. 1
      • Column – In Love with Language
      • Fiction
        • Contract
        • European II
        • Jambo
        • On the Road to Emmaus: A Wednesday before the Chalkface
        • The Case of the Purloined Cats
        • The Gem Polishing Unit
        • The Lesson
        • The Seminar
      • Poetry 2019 Vol. 1
        • On Finding the Right Words
        • On Magic, Illusions and Other Realities
        • On Sunday School (3)
      • Essays
        • Dental Floss
        • Francesca and Stevick
        • Teaching at Fifty-Six
        • The Roundabout Way
        • Unfunny
      • Non-Fiction
        • Creating a Tsunami Evacuation Path
        • MARTIN JOOS
        • My New Job as Translator
      • Author Bios 2019 Vol. 1
    • 2018 – Vol. 2
      • Creative Non-Fiction
        • If
        • Sorry Not Sorry 
        • The Blue-Eyed Japanese Speaker
        • The Moonshine
        • The Road Warriors: A Journey Back in Time
        • The Worst Tenth Grader
        • Tigress Strength
      • Fiction
        • Deconstructing Identities
        • On the Way Home
        • Plum Rains on Happy House
        • The Crazy Girls Club Detectives
      • Poetry 2018 Vol. 2
        • On the Poetic Impulse
        • On New Horizons and Home Shores
        • On Sunday School (2)
      • Essays
        • Is Free Education the Solution?
        • The Life of a Nepalese Teacher
        • The World We Are Sending Them Off To
      • Column – In Love with Language
        • Column – In Love with Language
      • Author Bios 2018 Vol. 2
    • 2018 – Vol. 1
      • Creative Non-Fiction 2018 Vol. 1
        • A Teacher’s Dilemma
        • Cheerfully Building and Rebuilding Despite Fire, War, and In-Laws
        • Crush
        • Laughs in Translation
        • Love In Any Language
        • My 12-Year Skype Call
        • Rights in the Matter
        • Saga of a Layman Turned Teacherman
        • Taro’s Gift
      • Fiction 2018 Vol. 1
        • Immortal Memory
        • Snapshots
        • The Acid Test
      • Poetry 2018 Vol. 1
        • On Language, Place and Culture
        • On the Workings of the Student Mind
      • Essays 2018 Vol. 1
        • From Chair to Instructor: Reflecting on a Transition
        • Practicing Spanish with Students in China
      • Column – In Love with Language
      • Author Bios 2018 Vol. 1
    • 2017 – Vol. 2
      • Creative Non-Fiction 2017 – Vol. 2
        • While I Stand
        • How Not to Speak English
        • A Real Job
        • Beginning
      • Fiction 2017 – Vol. 2
        • DMZ
        • The Gerbil
      • Poetry 2017 Vol. 2
        • On Inspiration
        • On Friendship
        • On Sunday School (1)
      • Essays 2017 – Vol. 2
        • Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Ukraine
        • The Price of Freedom: A Few Thoughts on Learner Autonomy
      • Author Bios: 2017 – Vol. 2
    • 2017 – Vol. 1
      • Creative Non-Fiction 2017 Vol. 1
        • End of Session
        • Finding Our Way
        • Making Up Names
        • An Unexpected Journey to Becoming Bilingual
        • Praying Hands
        • Language in the Round
        • Daisies, Pearls, and Mushrooms – Adventures in Language Learning
        • The 8 a.m. Class
      • Fiction 2017 Vol. 1
        • The Point
        • Too Many Photocopies
      • Poetry 2017 Vol. 1
        • On Boundaries
      • Author Bios 2017 Vol. 1
    • 2016 – Vol. 2
      • Creative Non-Fiction 2016 Vol. 2
        • A New Phrase for Brazil
        • A Question of Stress
        • A Term or Two
        • Gun Shy
        • My ESS Debacle – Or, How Tomoyuki Lost his Groove
        • The Awkward Letter
        • Why
      • Fiction 2016 Vol. 2
        • Teachers’ Meeting! (A ‘Morality’ Play)
        • Vine and Gall
      • Poetry 2016 Vol. 2
        • On Resignation
      • Interview 2016 Vol. 2
        • An Interview – Susan Laura Sullivan
      • Author Bios 2016 – Vol. 2
    • 2016 – Vol. 1
      • Creative Non-Fiction 2016 – Vol. 1
        • A Visit to Mod’s
        • Changing the Subject
        • Don’t Know Much About the French I Took
      • Fiction 2016 – Vol. 1
        • Four Days
        • Rubber Gloves
        • The Rain in Nagoya
        • Tiger Gate
      • Poetry 2016 Vol. 1
        • Thoughts on Poetry in the EFL Classroom
      • Essays 2016 – Vol. 1
        • Better Than the Browns
        • Wearing the Other Hat
      • Author Bios 2016 – Vol. 1
    • 2015 – Vol. 2
      • Fiction 2015 Vol.2
        • A Crash Course in Conditional Clauses, a Hanoi Story
        • Dear Sir
      • Creative Non-Fiction 2015 Vol. 2
        • Anyone Listening? I’m Home
        • Staring at Walls
      • Poetry 2015 Vol 2
        • On Classroom Conflict
      • Essays 2015 Vol. 2
        • Gourmet Teaching
        • What is holding us back from becoming better writers?
      • Author Bios: 2015 Vol. 2
    • 2015 – Vol. 1
      • Fiction 2015 Vol. 1
        • Where is Lion?
        • Hello Kitty
        • Reasons for Song
        • An Early Spring for Alex
      • Creative Non-Fiction 2015 Vol. 1
        • Meadow School: Teaching with Nature
        • Catching Breath in Nagano
        • The Writing is on the Whiteboard
        • The A to Z of an English Teacher in Hong Kong
      • Poetry 2015 Vol. 1
        • On Language Use
        • Making Rain
      • Essays 2015 Vol. 1
        • “What Should Adults Learn from Kids?”
        • English as a Second Life: Juggling Cultures in the Age of Globalization
      • Author Bios: 2015 – Vol. 1
    • 2014 – Vol. 2
      • Creative Non-Fiction 2014 Vol. 2
        • Risk Taking
        • To Gunung-Gunung and Paths Unknown
      • Fiction 2014 Vol. 2
        • A New Appreciation for Mountain Climbers
      • Poetry 2014 – Vol. 2
        • On the Spoken Word
        • On Teachers
      • Essays 2014 Vol. 2
        • What It Is Like Here
        • The How and Why of Me Becoming a Teacher
        • Studying the Public and Private in France
        • Teaching English in Korea
      • Author Bios: 2014 – Vol. 2
    • 2014 – Vol. 1
      • Fiction
        • A Snapshot of Sad
        • Mr Chizuwa
        • Ji-
        • The Little Suicides
        • Reading the Signs in Seoul
        • Class Act
      • Poetry
        • On Teaching and Learning
        • On the Written Word
      • Creative Non-Fiction
        • A Good Thing
        • The Far Country
        • Snakes Nudity Brats – Day 1
        • The English Metamorphosis of ESL Students and Me
        • The Nosy Teacher
      • Interviews
        • From English Teacher to Art Curator
      • Essays and Reviews
        • Language Acquisition
        • Barack and A Hard Place
      • Author Bios: 2014 – Vol. 1
    • 2013 – Vol. 1
      • Fiction
        • The Barbarian
        • Harry Cherry Tomatoe
        • Toilet Slippers and Other Disasters
      • Poetry
      • Creative Non-fiction
        • The Battle of Mianzi
        • Counseling Mind
        • Just Like in the West
        • Native Language
        • Snow Angels
      • Essays and Reviews
        • English in China: A Miraculous & Conflicted Encounter
      • Author Bios: 2013 – Vol. 1
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  • Visual Arts
  • Editorial Committee
  • Contact / Newsletter
  • Current Issue 2023 – Vol. 1
    • Column – In Love with Language
      • Thinking in Pictures
    • Fiction 2023 Vol. 1
      • Boat to Heaven 
      • Chapter 4: Dazed, Drenched and Confused
      • Dysfunctional Word Families
      • Embracing Ambiguity
      • Far From Home
      • Making Love in the Disco Room over Hirohito’s Dead Body
      • The Man Who Couldn’t Stop Learning
      • Word Games
    • Creative nonfiction 2023 Vol. 1
      • Behind the Iron Canon: Teaching Literary Theory in East Germany
      • Second Language
      • Tea in Taiwan 
      • Why (school)? 
    • Poetry 2023 Vol. 1
      • Gale Acuff Two Poems
      • Animal Kingdom
      • Brave Soul Wins Heart
      • Invisible Exile
      • Gerard Sarnat Three Poems
      • Martin Bennett Two Poems
      • Nolo Segundo Three Poems
      • Off the Wagon
      • Paul Hostovsky Two Poems
      • Pronunciation practice
      • Teachers
      • The Viewless Wings of Poesy
      • Vyacheslav Konoval, Voice from Ukraine
      • Without a Word
      • Yonsei
    • Essay & nonfiction
      • Foreign
      • Suckered Twice?
      • Turnabout is Fair Play—Wedding Speech
      • You don’t look native enough to teach English
    • Authors 2023 – Vol. 1

Creative Non-Fiction 2017 Vol. 1

End of Session

By Ray Bennett

Finding Our Way

By Mary J. Breen

Making Up Names

By Jessica Fast Michel

An Unexpected Journey to Becoming Bilingual

By Carol Ann George

Praying Hands

By Natthinee Khot-asa Jones and Hardy Jones

Language in the Round

By Marc Kaufman

Daisies, Pearls and Mushrooms

By Rachael Pettus

The 8 a.m. Class

By Kristian Wingo

Copyright The Font Journal 2013