All posts of Mia Pohlman

from the editor: Spring 2023, “ask”

Writing teaches me to be bold. It’s a free pass to seek out people who can help me learn about topics I’m interested in, to talk with compelling people and to ask questions I’m wondering about. It helps me to step outside of my comfort zone, to act on my curiosity. And that transfers to […]
2 years ago

The People Who Know Our Names: Let’s get to know them.

On many Thursdays, members of the flourish crew go to Burrito-Ville for lunch. It’s a ritual we call Burrito-Ville Thursday, and amidst the orange, yellow and red-muralled walls, we break bread — or burritos and tortilla chips — together and find a sanctuary of friendship. There each week, we’re greeted by the people who work […]
2 years ago

from the editor, Winter 2022: Interact

For a long time, I was hesitant to claim the title “writer;” I thought I maybe kind of sort of was, but I wasn’t sure. I wrote. And I wanted to be. A writer. When I saw or heard or read others whose published work amazed me, I would feel it. This gnawing inside of […]
2 years ago

This Book Changed Me: Reflecting on the power of words

I have loved books ever since I memorized Dr. Seuss’ “Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?” at age two and fell in love with “Itchy Itchy Chicken Pox” and “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” at age five. I loved the rhythm of the words placed next to each other, how they sounded and felt coming out […]
2 years ago

Paper Dolls: Design your own

When I was younger, I loved playing with paper dolls. I loved the beautiful colors and patterns of the clothes, finding new ways to match and mismatch skirts and shirts and pants, imagining the possibilities they represented. Now, paper dolls interest me because they convey more than the trendy clothing styles of a time period: […]
2 years ago

from the editor, Fall 2022: Stay

Camping is about surrender. That’s what I reflected on as I sat on my favorite rock in a valley of the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rocky Mountains on a recent packtrip with my dad. When camping, you wake up when it gets light and go to sleep when it gets dark. You talk, […]
2 years ago

Eating Together

A meal starts with a desire: to eat and be nourished. To know and be known. To slow down and grow in body, spirit and mind. In his book “The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection,” Robert Farrar Capon teaches us how to have a dinner party. His main theme — from the guest […]
2 years ago

meet along the way: Nora Speight

This story was first published as “Faces of Southeast Missouri: Nora Speight” in the July 2022 issue of “The Best Years.” Nora Speight’s love of flowers comes from her grandfather she calls “Paw Paw.” He lived on a farm in Marston, Mo., where Speight got paid $3 to pick 100 pounds of cotton as a […]
2 years ago

from the editor: movement, Summer 2022

I used to think I had to do everything I wanted to do in my life before I turned 30. Now, as I leave behind my 20s and move into a new decade, instead of feeling like a closing, life feels like it is opening up. And I’m pretty delighted by the surprise of that. […]
3 years ago

Taking a Step: All-female drumline leads band at Perryville High School

Drums are loud. They are visual. They are large and cumbersome, and they keep the band together. Historically, they are a male-dominated position within the band. But the Perryville High School Marching Buccaneers Drumline in Perryville, Mo., is changing that. During the 2021-22 school year, the drumline has been comprised of all female drummers, and […]
3 years ago