In contrast, Johnson is deeply rooted in a sense of place-often misrepresented or rendered invisible in literature-that he always thought wasn’t worth claiming. “ The Stories That Helped Me Embrace the Rural South” by Caleb Johnson That emptiness, though excruciatingly painful, has also allowed me to cultivate emotional and psychological dexterity, to embrace digression, and to comfortably linger on the shores of foreign cities on my impossible search for a place to call home. I am from nowhere or, perhaps, I am from a constellation of places which habits and social codes violently contradict one another, leaving me empty handed. Given the disorienting cartography of my life, there isn’t a singular home for me to return to. In this essay she maps Odysseus’ quest back to Ithaca onto a desire to find a similar sense of home in South Bend, Indiana. For Oloomi it’s the latter, because of a lifetime of moving from place to place. Not all of us have a home that we can return to, whether that’s because you’ve cut ties or because you never had one in the first place. “ Reading the Odyssey Far From Home” by Azareen Van Der Vliet Oloomi So, whether you’re re-watching Home Alone for the 50th time in your reindeer pajamas or doing other secular non-Christmas-related activities, read some of the best short stories and essays we’ve published about home.

No matter what you celebrate, or don’t, this is a time of year most associated with family and going home. Holiday season is in full swing most of us are replacing half our blood with eggnog, listening to Christmas music 24/7 whether we want to or not, and either hanging out with our (birth or chosen) families or pointedly declining to.

Short stories to write essays on