Saturday Essay: Select gems from 2016

Last week we highlighted the five most-read pieces from the first year of Perfect Duluth Day’s “Saturday Essay” series. This week’s focus is on five essays of similar quality that might have been missed by readers who were cleaning their attics, fixing their hot rods or relaxing at the cabin on the particular Saturdays these stories were originally posted.

The first 50 essays in our series showcased the work of 16 different writers; we hope to expand that roster in 2017. Anyone who has an original piece of literary excellence that seems to fit (or appropriately defy) the established format should email paul @ perfectduluthday.com to get involved.

And now a few select gems from season one, in random order …

Heather Jackson’s “Spring Brings Unexpected Things”
… in which the author spends 26 days “mothering through a thick plexiglass isolette” while her newborn girl struggles to learn “how to swallow even a single milliliter of pumped breast milk from a twig-thin syringe.”

Ryan Vine’s “Some Notes on the St. Louis”
… in which the Flying River Rats of Fond du Lac leap from the bridge, drink, smoke and philosophize.

David Beard’s “Suicide Peaks with the Tulips and Lilacs”
… in which the author sips a Manhattan in central Minnesota and discovers a dark, secret sadness.

Arne Vainio’s “Graduation Day”
… in which the author shares the sacred tobacco with six medical school graduates as they prepare to go forth and honor a “sacred and unspoken pact.”

Dave Sorensen’s “Down Town”
… in which the author tells of “our long-ago, analog ways” when “there were no Frisbees and no convenience stores.”

Obviously the bright red text on the titles above indicates those are links to the stories. So read or reread and enjoy. Next week we launch the 2017 season with an essay by Anna Tennis.