Perfect Duluth Day’s “Saturday Essay” series concluded its second season last week. At the end of each year we take a look back at some of the favorites — like the literary version of a 1980’s-era TV sitcom flashback episode. This week is part one, highlighting the essays that were read the most times in the past year according to the folks at Google Analytics.

Before digging into the 2017 countdown, here’s a brief paragraph to spell out for the uninitiated how the “Saturday Essay” feature works:

PDD publishes an essay every Saturday. Yours truly, Paul Lundgren, is the editor. A small group of writers are featured somewhat regularly, but anyone is welcome and encouraged to submit a piece for consideration. Shoot an email to paul @ perfectduluthday.com to inquire.

And now, the champions of Duluth literature …

#1: Anna Tennis’ “The Trouble with Al Franken”
… in which the author does the math on harassment, abuse and assault.

#2: Avesa Rockwell’s – “Witness Relocation”
… in which Koko Taylor shares the spotlight with an unsuspecting family.

#3: Mary Tennis’ – “Locker Room Talk”
… in which the author briefly loses control of her surroundings, takes a shot of whiskey and gets back in the game.

#4: Anna Tennis’ – “Pornography, or, ‘Worst First Dates’”
… in which a DOS kernel is corrupted, among other things.

#5: John Hatchers’ – “What’s in the box? A gift I’ll never open”
… in which a box sits on a shelf as a symbol of ethics in journalism.

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’ll showcase a few of the lesser-read gems from the past year before launching the 2018 season.