February 2, 2020

A Man, a Plan, a Canal

In the fall of 2013, my short story “A Man, a Plan, a Canal” was published in Commonthought Magazine. As today, 02.02.2020, is a global palindrome day (or something like that) I thought it only fitting to share it here with you.  A Man, a Plan, a Canal by Carolyn Clare Givens Date: December 25, 2008 Time: 0510 hours Officer Making […]

Writing, Words & Grammar 0 11 min read
October 16, 2019

You Didn’t Know My Grandma

You didn’t know my Grandma. I mean, perhaps you did—I do think she had outsized influence for a girl who grew up without a daddy in Manheim, Pennsylvania—but as a whole, she lived her life outside the notice of the world. It was a small, faithful life, rich in family and hospitality and love—for Jesus and her fellow man. “If […]

Rabbit Room 0 3 min read
October 11, 2018

The Deeper Magic from before The Dawn of Time

The henna is beginning to fade from my hand. I can’t quite recall the flavor of the garlic chili green beans that final night. My arm doesn’t hold the warmth of my friend’s arm, leaned up against it, anymore. The deep magic is fading. But something remains. There is a deeper magic from before the dawn of time, one that […]

Rabbit Room 2 2 min read
October 9, 2017

Nothing Is Wasted

It was almost November, nearly six years ago. The glory that is October in Philadelphia had spent itself and we were in the grey days of late autumn, when the remaining leaves are matted along the curbs, waffling between slimy decomposition and brittle trash gatherers depending on the weather. The CD player in my car still still worked back then […]

Grief & Loss 2 3 min read
Foreign
October 10, 2016

Foreign

It was February 1999. I was visiting my cousins in Glennallen, Alaska during mid-winter break of my senior year. They competed in the State Final for hockey that week, and I got to see the defense duo of S. and S. Givens (numbers 1 and 11) help take the Panthers to a win. I learned how to play Myst. I was […]

Music & Musicians 1 4 min read
August 27, 2016

Introducing Smuggins, The King’s Messenger

Quite a few years ago (I’m not going to say how many because it makes me feel old), I sat in a Great Christian Writers class in college and listened to my professor talk about one of John Milton’s most famous sonnets, “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent.” As Dr. Bancroft walked us through the final lines of the poem that day, a character was born in my imagination: Smuggins, a messenger for the King.

Writing, Words & Grammar 1 2 min read