Aliyah and Words

Introduction “It is a common saying that women are delicate creatures, flowers, eggs, anything that may be crushed in a moment’s carelessness. If I had ever believed it, I no longer did.” In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange…

Introduction “Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” A Room of One’s Own is an extended essay by Virginia Woolf. First published on the 24th of October, 1929, the essay was based on a series of lectures…

Introduction “I also remembered Buddy Willard saying in a sinister, knowing way that after I had children I would feel differently, I wouldn’t want to write poems any more. So I began to think maybe it was true that when you were married and had children it was like being brainwashed, and afterward you went…

Introduction “Stories always begin the same way: There was and there was not. There is possibility in those words, the chance for hope or despair.” There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart…

Introduction “It’s always been fascinating to me how things can be simultaneously true and false, how people can be good and bad all in one, how someone can love you in a way that is beautifully selfless while serving themselves ruthlessly.” Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the…

Introduction “Hate does that. Burns off everything but itself, so whatever your grievance is, your face looks just like your enemy’s.” In life, Bill Cosey enjoyed the affections of many women, who would do almost anything to gain his favor. In death his hold on them may be even stronger. Wife, daughter, granddaughter, employee, mistress:…