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1 week ago | 
thebollard.com | Al Diamon |Samuel James |Elizabeth Peavey |Phoebe Kolbert
The Coming FirestormOn the bus to Philadelphia at dusk, I am listening to Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky,” thinking, as I always do when listening to that song, about how a man who grew up Orthodox Jewish might have come to write such a banger Christian anthem.
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Feb 2, 2025 | 
thebollard.com | Phoebe Kolbert |Samuel James |Al Diamon |Leo Hylton
Me and Kiki shortly before we were almost eaten by a bear in Brownfield a few falls ago. photo/Kiki GarfieldYear 20The Bollard was born 20 winters ago as an underground publication, by which I mean literally beneath the surface of Earth. There were advantages to starting underground. It’s relatively warm down there this time of year (especially around the furnace), the beers were cheap and the landlord let us smoke.
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Jan 5, 2025 | 
thebollard.com | Phoebe Kolbert
Go back to MarsI don’t know if you all remember this — I know I’ve written about it several times — but about five years ago, when we published that article about Maine Facebook Nazis [“Hatebook,” Dec. 2019], some mofos mailed disinformation packets smearing this magazine to all of its advertisers. I was labeled a man-hating lesbian, and not for the first time. Clearly it’s stuck in my mind. But I think it is worth revisiting after the election. I’m ready to admit something: I do dislike most men.
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Nov 11, 2024 | 
thebollard.com | Phoebe Kolbert |Samuel James |Al Diamon |Edgar Allen Beem
Scent MemoriesThere are lots of interesting, exciting, and incredibly scary things going on in the world, and I have benign opinions on them all. At one point I would’ve shared those opinions with you, but — and I’m choosing to view this as progress rather than laziness — I now know I have nothing to add.
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Jun 2, 2024 | 
thebollard.com | Phoebe Kolbert |Todd Russell |Leo Hylton |Al Diamon
My Almost Old SchoolI’m finally graduating from college on the 19th of this month, and my grandparents already got me a watch, counting their chickens before they’ve hatched. I am going to be, perhaps oddly, very relieved to not have to write a paper ever again. I can, begrudgingly, admit I will miss school, and at points I’m sure I’ll feel its absence deeply.
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Apr 2, 2024 | 
thebollard.com | Phoebe Kolbert |Leo Hylton |Al Diamon |Samuel James
The Ice AgeMy Father just turned 60. He is not a sentimental man. He is, in some ways, so unlike a “traditional” man that it’s absurd. He is incredibly generous and the best political thinker I know. He is further left than most of my peers. But in other ways, he is such a dude. He is not a fan of displays or celebrations. He refused to let my mother do anything for his birthday. But he shocked us when he played hooky the following Monday to go skate Great Pond. He is a workaholic.
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Mar 5, 2024 | 
thebollard.com | Phoebe Kolbert |Samuel James |Al Diamon |Leo Hylton
The Warming Felt ’Round the World We’re going to start off in Cambodia again this month, if that is agreeable with you. The country is in the midst of an agrian transition. While , the methods are changing. Rice is the staple crop, and boy, oh boy can’t you tell. I swear, you eat probably four cups of it at each meal. It is the most important ingredient in terms of food security to families. But rice is also a financial instrument. It might be used to pay interest on loans between friends and family.
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Feb 5, 2024 | 
thebollard.com | Phoebe Kolbert |Todd Russell |Samuel James |Al Diamon
Hello, all, and Happy New Year! It’s been a hot minute, hasn’t it? Nearly a year, if you can believe it! I must admit I’d about run out of content. There’s only so much shit I can write about depression and the state of the world. Do you know Taylor Swift’s song “Nothing New”? There’s a line in it that goes, “How can a person know everything at 18 and nothing at 22?” (I know, I’ve been gone 11 months trying to come up with new content only to quote Taylor Swift at you.
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May 24, 2023 | 
msmagazine.com | Phoebe Kolbert
Last summer, the Supreme Court overturned the longstanding precedents of Roe v. Wade, representing the largest blow to women’s constitutional rights in history. A series from Ms., Our Abortion Stories, chronicles readers’ experiences of abortion pre- and post-Roe. Abortions are sought by a wide range of people, for many different reasons. There is no single story. Telling stories of then and now shows how critical abortion has been and continues to be for women and girls.
