Zagrowsky Tells

Grace Paley

1985

I was standing in the park under that tree. They call it the Hanging Elm. Once upon a time it made a big improvement on all kinds of hooligans. Nowadays if, once in a while…No. So this woman comes up to me, a woman minus a smile. I said to my grandson, Uh oh, Emanuel. Here comes a lady, she was once a beautiful customer of mine in the pharmacy I…

Please login or register for free access to Posen Library
Register
Already have an account?
Engage with this Source

Creator Bio

Grace Paley

1922–2007

Born and brought up in the Bronx, Grace Paley wrote short stories and poetry. As a feminist and peace activist, she wrote works that portrayed the everyday lives of her contemporaries. She taught at Sarah Lawrence College and the City College of New York, earning Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, the National Institute of Arts and Letters Award, and the title of New York’s first state author.

You may also like

The Loudest Voice

There is a certain place where dumb-waiters boom, doors slam, dishes crash; every window is a mother’s mouth bidding the street shut up, go skate somewhere else, come home. My voice is the loudest. […
View Source

The Great Madness

For the past four years I had not seen the morning sun. The newspaper work generally ended about three o’clock in the morning and who can go to sleep right after work? After work one…
View Source