by Emily Eaton Workaway If I’m thinking about chickens then I’m thinking about September. A suburb near Perth where the sky was eerily empty – no clouds, like a simulation. Us together, fresh out of Southeast Asia, rocking up to a hobby farm with big backpacks and doses of optimism. How things turned out toContinue reading “Two Pieces”
Category Archives: nonfiction
Chicken Church
by Chaitra Kotasthane In the forests of Indonesia, there is a church made in the image of a chicken. It was built by a man who was following instructions he claimed to have received in a divine vision, and it was originally meant to resemble a dove. I wonder — what does a dove haveContinue reading “Chicken Church”
The Free and Resilient Chickens of Kauai
by Isabella Grecco In the fall of 1992, a Category 4 hurricane hit Hawaii. It was named Hurricane Iniki, the most destructive hurricane to hit Hawaii in the 20th century and sixth costliest in US history. The island of Kauai took most of the damage, so severe that phones, power, and water weren’t restored forContinue reading “The Free and Resilient Chickens of Kauai”
Give Me The Bird
by Lilli-ann Buffin I never thought I would say this, but… give me the bird. I’m not the only one asking. According to the National Chicken Council, in 2018 Americans consumed an average of 93.5 pounds of chicken per person due mostly to the American love affair with rotisserie chicken. But a council of chickensContinue reading “Give Me The Bird”
The Chicken Mutiny
by Leah Mueller My mother and I didn’t talk much during the summer of ‘76. She reclined in her bathrobe, chain-smoking and re-reading old Mike Royko columns. Mom hated downstate Illinois. She’d always identified with Eva Gabor in Green Acres, who fervently desired a luxury high-rise apartment. Thirty chickens lived in an enclosed coop behindContinue reading “The Chicken Mutiny”
Good Meat
by Maya-Gawonii Shabazz-Saleh My grandmother was four when a rooster lunged at her face. She lived on a farm in Kansas in 1947, small enough that some animals stood taller than her, loud enough that very little startled anyone—except the way the rooster chose her. Wings first. A violent bloom of feathers and air, theContinue reading “Good Meat”
If It Laughs, Peck Its Toes
by Anisha Mascarenhas I’ve lived long enough to see many humans come and go. They build their fences, wave their sticks, and believe they’re in charge. But we hens remember. My great-grandmother used to say, “If it runs toward you waving a stick, run faster. If it laughs, peck its toes.” It sounded silly whenContinue reading “If It Laughs, Peck Its Toes”