Sayantani Dasgupta’s writing has appeared in journals such as Gulf Stream, Yellow Medicine Review and SN Review, among others. Her essay "On Seeking Answers" received a 2010 Pushcart Prize Special Mention, and the essay "Oscillation" was the first runner-up for Phoebe magazine’s 2014 Creative Nonfiction Contest. She teaches at the University of Idaho and serves as the nonfiction editor of Crab Creek Review.
On a late November evening in Moscow, Idaho, my boyfriend and I are on our way to dinner. I have requested that it be at our local Thai restaurant because that’s the closest thing I can get to Indian food in our tiny university town. I can already taste the explosion of fish sauce, duck meat, peppers, pineapple, and basil. The anticipation makes me optimistic, even though the evening is the color of ash and…
