Some people daydream about tropical islands, or tall ships, or sex with their classmates. I spend that time confronting the grim reality of my own imminent demise.
Spook by Will Dart
Category: Essays
An archive of all of the personal essays we’ve published at Hippocampus Magazine over the years.
The Missing Piece by Michael Narkunski
My date was from OKCupid, told me he was bipolar but “over it,” dragged me to three different bars, and didn’t even make out with me for my trouble.
Not Here by Joshua Williams
I was a twenty-year-old white kid with a preposterous camera bag. I stayed for a while and then I left.
Escape from Candyland by Anthony Spinner
Amos was six-foot-five and weighed 300 pounds. The vacant, insincere smile plastered to his lips made it seem he knew embarrassing information about you.
The Lord Won’t Mind by Gregg J. Orifici
Amidst the titles we didn’t understand—about menopause, bi-polarity, What Color is Your Parachute—one book stood out, like a billboard: The Joy of Sex.
A Geography of Grief by Sarah Kilch Gaffney
On July 21, 1923, my maternal grandfather was born in a small fishing village in the Bay of Fundy. White Head, so named because of the array of white quartz at the head of the island…
Until Gwen by Tina Mortimer
The display flashed “Great workout!” and a sense of dread dug its claws deep in my belly. I stepped off the treadmill feeling like I was still moving, my heart doing that flutter thing again.
A Temporary Shelf-Life by Sean Gill
One day, as we were perusing the want-ads in the Village Voice, my sister remarked that in spite of four college degrees between us, neither was qualified to work a New York City car wash.
Tiny Baby’s Great Escape by Eric Day
When I was thirteen I wanted to be Steve McQueen in The Great Escape, acting alone and vexing the authorities, German or otherwise
Airplanes and Heartbreak by Julie Wiencek
I can’t do this for much longer, and by this, I mean you. The radiant silences and the incisive looks, avoiding your eyes, darting mine.
