Articles Written By Jessica Francis Kane
TMN Contributing Writer Jessica Francis Kane is the author of a story collection, Bending Heaven, and a novel, The Report, which was a finalist for the 2010 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize and the Indie Booksellers Choice Award. She lives in New York with her husband and their two children. A new story collection, This Close, has just been published by Graywolf.
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Op-Ed
Curb Your Dog’s Enthusiasm
New York City is a wonderland for dogs—to defecate on, and for their owners to look the other way. An argument for a more civilized scenario, where dogs aren’t encouraged to kill plants.
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The Non-Expert
How to Lose Friends and Alienate Family
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. We step in with some last-minute advice for a reader confused by a Christmas party conundrum: Do friends and family mix?
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Personal Essays
Pilgrimage
Many people hope to be authors, even some in the publishing business. Going back to a monastery to see both sides of the story.
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Personal Essays
Girl Lessons
Mothers and daughters don’t always have the easiest relationships, especially when the daughters try to recycle the mothers with the trash. A story of aspirations, generations, and pop culture quizzes.
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The Non-Expert
Easy-Fake Oven
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. In this week’s installment we break down all that pre-heating nonsense, with a heating guide for 21st-century cookery.
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The Non-Expert
The Party Racket
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we solve another parenting mystery: Exactly how many of your child’s classmates must you invite to the birthday party?
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New York, New York
The Rules
The laws of the playground aren’t just for children. New York City parents have to keep an eye out for garbage, syringes, and disturbed men bearing toys.
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Notes From the Lawn
Secret Gardens
Now a New Yorker, our resident green essayist brings her yardwork series to the big city, even if it means breaking into private plots.
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Notes From the Lawn
Leaving Charlottesville
Departing the (garden) lovers’ state for one that loves its cement and money more, our scribbler of the lillies Our writer realizes the crucial difference between caring about plants and caring for them.
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The Non-Expert
Adverb Your Enthusiasm
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we help a reader determine if her one true love is letting adverbs get in the way of romance.
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The Non-Expert
Midnight in the Garden of Wood and Evil
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we address a reader’s concern about her plant’s feelings with stories about menacing shrubs.
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Op-Ed
Room to Read: A Modest Proposal
What better way to relax after a kid-filled day than with a nice book—and what less likely scenario can many parents imagine? For page-turners everywhere, a novel idea.