Essay
58 stories
The Keys to My Heart »
For decades, I had an on-again, off-again love affair with the piano. Today, my ardor is once more in bloom—to the envy of even my husband.
December 2011
Neighborhood Association »
Why would anybody take a charming place like Highland Park, tear down the nice old homes, build new fortresses, gradually drain the neighborly spirit, and call that progress? Don’t ask me. I don’t get it either.
October 2011 by Prudence Mackintosh
Michael Brewer, 80 »
Michael Brewer, clock repairman
September 2011 As told to Jason Sheeler
Cowgirl Up »
The word probably makes you think of rhinestone-studded jeans, floppy-brimmed hats, and Nashville queens, but “cowgirl” ought to stand for the tough pioneer women who built ranches and went on cattle drives and the hardy rural women who are out there today doing their fair share of the work, usually invisibly, to maintain a majestic way of live.
August 2011 by Barney Nelson
Imaginary Friends »
Brownsville’s first federal judge was a legendary figure in my house. So legendary that I never believed my father when he said he knew the man.
December 2010 by Oscar Casares
Family Matters »
An interview with Mimi Swartz.
November 2010 Interview by Molly Bruder
All in the Family »
An interview with David Dorado Romo
November 2010 Interview by Cathy Sze
Meet the Parent »
In the year since my mother died, I’ve learned a lot of things—like how to spend time with my dad.
November 2010 by Mimi Swartz
Fish Story »
One more trip—would it be the last?—to Toledo Bend Reservoir with my dad.
September 2010 by Rick Bass
The Story of Us »
Had the Texas myth become a straitjacket?
June 2010 by Paul Burka
Where They're From
A memorable hour-long radio special based on the June issue of TEXAS MONTHLY, a co-production with KUT 90.5 FM.
June 2010
City of Dreams »
Searching for the legendary past—and the cosmic future—in my old river city, San Antonio de Béjar.
June 2010 by John Phillip Santos
Our House »
Sometimes a home is more important than a hometown.
June 2010 by Elizabeth Crook
A River Runs Through It »
At the port of entry in El Paso, I always tell the agents, “American,” but what I really want to say is “fronterizo”—I’m from both sides.
June 2010 by David Romo
We’ll Always Have Austin »
In the late sixties, the Capital City was just as thrilling, drug-addled, pompous, and aimless as you’ve heard. Especially if you came from the provinces.
June 2010 by Stephen Harrigan
Homeward Bound »
Temple
June 2010 by Bryan Burrough
Childhood’s End »
Mission
June 2010 by Erasmo Guerra
The Departed »
They say you can’t go home again—especially when pretty much your entire family has moved away.
April 2010 by Oscar Casares
The Simple Life »
Growing up in a small town has its privileges.
April 2010 by Alison Finney
Two Burials »
Today my grandfather is buried in a family plot in Laredo. But to understand who he was and what his family was like, you have to know the story of his first burial, seventy miles away and nearly twenty years earlier.
March 2010 by John Phillip Santos
Psychic Friends Network »
A prayer for trust in God’s timing (and the occasional fortune teller).
March 2010 by Donna Xander
Minimum Shrinkage »
When my psychiatrist kept falling asleep on me, I knew it was time to look elsewhere.
January 2010 by Donna Xander
The Bernadette Babies »
A prayer for pagan souls and finding redemption in almond cake.
December 2009 by Donna Xander
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