Programming note: until I get my act together and build a real online profile, this is as close as you’ll get to one. Below are a handful of things I’ve written, mostly on other sites, though there are links at the bottom to old posts that I particularly like from 2007-2010, when I blogged right here. Without further ado:

Essays:

Prop 8: Mormon Persecution, Marriage and the Refuge of Patriotism: The Awl, 2010

“Unfortunately, few things settle one’s opinions like being persecuted for them.”

Team Earth! A Cure for the Common Cold: The Awl, 2010

“Please note: this method will make your face feel like it is exploding and you should not try it.”

Reporting:

Plotting a Library: The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2011

A science-fiction fan takes on the task of mapping the genre.

Suicide Barriers at Cornell Could Be Delayed: The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2010

The project faces an uncertain future because of a spat between members of the firm tapped to design barriers on campus bridges.

Biodegradable Forks: Not So Biodegradable: The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2010

I don’t think I need to blurb that one.

Community Colleges Take on Clean Energy Training: National Wildlife Federation, 2009

Reports predict that the workers in highest demand will be ‘middle-skilled,’ requiring education beyond high school but no bachelor’s degree.

Reviews:

A Man of Means: The Second Pass, 2010

Independent People, the best Icelandic novel I’ve ever read.

The Tense, Thrown Like a Switch: The Rumpus, 2010

Paul Farley’s The Atlantic Tunnel.

Given Sugar, Given Salt: The Second Pass, 2011

Scroll down: I’m #5 or so.

Blog Posts:

Failed Attempt at Feminism tell girls the truth

the nature of relics how i become old

the opposite of starvation Louise Gluck

swoon Silversun Pickups, Zooey Deschanel, honesty as a weapon

how to write a faith-dismissing blog post based on “science” for a women’s website as described

Poor Leroy Bacon nothing to do with the writing, but priceless, priceless, cultural anthropology

shining, perishable dream New York; the ways in which I do and don’t agree with Joan Didion

Satis House Glee, Charles Dickens

Other: You can also see what I’m sharing on Reader, and, of course, I will always answer mail at xarissa [dot] holdaway [at] gmail. Ta!