Ancient Grains Archive
Archival Mix: Ellen and William Craft
Ancient Grains, History
Jan 07, 2014
Alexis Coe’s past essays on history for The Toast (newly christened "Archival Mix") can be found here. Most recently: Rita Levi-Montalcini: Kicking Ass and Doing Science. This, and all subsequent editions of Alexis’ columnn (!) are brought to you courtesy of a sweet and generous sponsor who wishes to be known
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Watching Downton Abbey With an Historian: Part One
Ancient Grains, History
Jan 07, 2014
As an historian of nineteenth and twentieth century Britain and Ireland, I resisted watching Downton Abbey for a long time. I’ve been immersed in the 1920s and the 1930s for over a decade, and I was afraid it would be like seeing all of my favorite books made into one terrible movie,
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Bus Rides I Have Had
Ancient Grains, Weird True Tales
Jan 07, 2014
The cockroaches crawling over the seats only marked the beginning of the twenty-plus hour hell about to commence. By the time the other students noticed the insects slowly emerging from the plush, reclining seats, it was too late to turn back. It was the summer after my freshman year of college, and
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Your Favorite Inspirational Non-English Teacher
Ancient Grains, Loose Threads
Jan 07, 2014
English teachers get all the glory. Ask a representative sample of people what teacher they remember the most fondly from their school days, who encouraged them to pursue a particular dream or a career, and I'm willing to bet a disproportionate amount name an old English teacher.
And it is true that the
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Lizzy Bennet vs. Lily Bart vs. The Patriarchy
Ancient Grains, Books
Jan 07, 2014
After one reads all of Jane Austen’s novels, one begins fumbling through the literary desert seeking the Next Jane. Eventually, the search alights on Edith Wharton. Wharton, like Austen, uses feather-light prose to describe juicy conflicts: marriages of convenience vs. love matches, rich people jockeying for status with the slightly less rich. It’s
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Link Roundup!
Ancient Grains, The Internet
Jan 07, 2014
Why Women Aren't Welcome On the Internet:
Two hours later, a Palm Springs police officer lumbered up the steps to my hotel room, paused on the outdoor threshold, and began questioning me in a steady clip. I wheeled through the relevant background information: I am a journalist; ...Read More
Unusual Woman Hates Hospitals
Ancient Grains, Health
Jan 06, 2014
In a striking departure from convention, a local woman professes to dislike going to hospitals, whether for her own health or to visit an ailing friend. "Oh, I hate hospitals," she confessed to a group of relatives planning to look in on a cousin recovering from surgery as if they were going recreationally
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Shock and Awe High School
Ancient Grains, Weird True Tales
Jan 06, 2014
Let this be a testament to the power of the Stepmom. Let this story flex the frayed muscles of hope and faith. Let this be proof of the unseen strings that tether us together like wild marionettes in perpetual flail. But held, somehow, in some unearthly palm.
I watched Boeings slam the World
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