Find the full text of “Ossification,” winner of the 2015 Michael Steinberg Essay Prize, in Issue 18 of Fourth Genre.
An excerpt: “On Saturday mornings, my mother used to wake us with the radio and the sound of the vacuum cleaner while my father started the lawnmower in the backyard; pollen drifted in the screens of my open windows with the sunshine. I did not care for sweeping or scrubbing floors, so my tasks always included the dust cloth, removing picture frames from shelves in the living room. A ritual of attention, looking at family members underneath the glass frames, momentary versions of the people I loved, rubbing them lightly with my open hand before returning them to their place.”