Monic Ductan’s writing has appeared in Southeast Review, Shenandoah, Appalachian Heritage, South Carolina Review, and various other journals. Her essay “Fantasy Worlds” was listed as notable in Best American Essays 2019. She lives in Cookeville, Tennessee, where she teaches literature and creative writing at Tennessee Tech University. Monic is at work on her first novel, a book about a Gullah girl coming of age and leaving her South Carolina sea island.
When tornado relief efforts intersect with a global pandemic
In my family, the women of generations past—and sometimes present—often found themselves without choices or options, hemmed into lives they could not escape. I recognized them in the pages of Lee’s novels, and I was able to better comprehend their experiences. But I also heard whispers in her chapters, invitations to escape and understand, yes, but also to imagine..