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Ellen Wilbur

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Papers by Ellen Wilbur

Research paper thumbnail of Fifteen

Research paper thumbnail of Fiction: Bed Check

Yale Review, Oct 1, 2000

Marie Dunn was forty-two years old, a psychiatric nurse who worked the night shift at the V.A. ho... more Marie Dunn was forty-two years old, a psychiatric nurse who worked the night shift at the V.A. hospital. During the week she arrived on the ward by 10 p.m. to start the bed check. She walked down the long, lighted hallway, stopping at every doorway to shine her flashlight on each bed. She felt relieved to see how peaceful the men looked in their sleep with all the trouble gone, erased completely from their faces. Even the old ones looked serene and oddly young. Albert Keyes was always wide awake, waiting for her as he did each night. He was a bird-like, little man in his mid-sixties, round-eyed and painfully thin, who would speak to nobody but her. Often his pajama top was open. When she leaned down to button it, she was touched by the sight of his small chest, which looked as smooth and bony as a boy's. She tucked in his sheets and sat down on the end of his bed. She couldn't remember how the ritual had started, but she always sat with Albert for a while before he went to sleep. She sat the same way every night, gazing at the open doorway, the light from the hall illuminating her large face and heavy body, while Albert watched her from the dark.

Research paper thumbnail of The Sinner

Ploughshares, Sep 1, 2011

This special 40th anniversary issue edited by Ploughshares co-founder DeWitt Henry features new w... more This special 40th anniversary issue edited by Ploughshares co-founder DeWitt Henry features new work from former guest editors like Alice Hoffman, Sue Miller, and Maxine Kumin; an interview with Richard Yates from the archives; and poems and stories from emerging writers like James Scott and Laura van den Berg, introduced by prominent authors including James Alan McPherson and Elizabeth Spires.

Research paper thumbnail of The New Year

Research paper thumbnail of The Sailor

Research paper thumbnail of The Sinner

Ploughshares, 2011

This special 40th anniversary issue edited by Ploughshares co-founder DeWitt Henry features new w... more This special 40th anniversary issue edited by Ploughshares co-founder DeWitt Henry features new work from former guest editors like Alice Hoffman, Sue Miller, and Maxine Kumin; an interview with Richard Yates from the archives; and poems and stories from emerging writers like James Scott and Laura van den Berg, introduced by prominent authors including James Alan McPherson and Elizabeth Spires.

Research paper thumbnail of Fifteen

YR - The Yale Review, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of The New Year

Research paper thumbnail of Evelyn

Research paper thumbnail of The New Year

Research paper thumbnail of The Sinner

Ploughshares, 2011

This special 40th anniversary issue edited by Ploughshares co-founder DeWitt Henry features new w... more This special 40th anniversary issue edited by Ploughshares co-founder DeWitt Henry features new work from former guest editors like Alice Hoffman, Sue Miller, and Maxine Kumin; an interview with Richard Yates from the archives; and poems and stories from emerging writers like James Scott and Laura van den Berg, introduced by prominent authors including James Alan McPherson and Elizabeth Spires.

Research paper thumbnail of The Fortune Teller

Research paper thumbnail of The Fortune Teller

Research paper thumbnail of The New Year

Research paper thumbnail of Fiction: Bed Check

Research paper thumbnail of The Doctor

Research paper thumbnail of Listening and Speaking

Research paper thumbnail of Faith

Research paper thumbnail of Fifteen

Research paper thumbnail of The Sailor

Research paper thumbnail of Fifteen

Research paper thumbnail of Fiction: Bed Check

Yale Review, Oct 1, 2000

Marie Dunn was forty-two years old, a psychiatric nurse who worked the night shift at the V.A. ho... more Marie Dunn was forty-two years old, a psychiatric nurse who worked the night shift at the V.A. hospital. During the week she arrived on the ward by 10 p.m. to start the bed check. She walked down the long, lighted hallway, stopping at every doorway to shine her flashlight on each bed. She felt relieved to see how peaceful the men looked in their sleep with all the trouble gone, erased completely from their faces. Even the old ones looked serene and oddly young. Albert Keyes was always wide awake, waiting for her as he did each night. He was a bird-like, little man in his mid-sixties, round-eyed and painfully thin, who would speak to nobody but her. Often his pajama top was open. When she leaned down to button it, she was touched by the sight of his small chest, which looked as smooth and bony as a boy's. She tucked in his sheets and sat down on the end of his bed. She couldn't remember how the ritual had started, but she always sat with Albert for a while before he went to sleep. She sat the same way every night, gazing at the open doorway, the light from the hall illuminating her large face and heavy body, while Albert watched her from the dark.

Research paper thumbnail of The Sinner

Ploughshares, Sep 1, 2011

This special 40th anniversary issue edited by Ploughshares co-founder DeWitt Henry features new w... more This special 40th anniversary issue edited by Ploughshares co-founder DeWitt Henry features new work from former guest editors like Alice Hoffman, Sue Miller, and Maxine Kumin; an interview with Richard Yates from the archives; and poems and stories from emerging writers like James Scott and Laura van den Berg, introduced by prominent authors including James Alan McPherson and Elizabeth Spires.

Research paper thumbnail of The New Year

Research paper thumbnail of The Sailor

Research paper thumbnail of The Sinner

Ploughshares, 2011

This special 40th anniversary issue edited by Ploughshares co-founder DeWitt Henry features new w... more This special 40th anniversary issue edited by Ploughshares co-founder DeWitt Henry features new work from former guest editors like Alice Hoffman, Sue Miller, and Maxine Kumin; an interview with Richard Yates from the archives; and poems and stories from emerging writers like James Scott and Laura van den Berg, introduced by prominent authors including James Alan McPherson and Elizabeth Spires.

Research paper thumbnail of Fifteen

YR - The Yale Review, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of The New Year

Research paper thumbnail of Evelyn

Research paper thumbnail of The New Year

Research paper thumbnail of The Sinner

Ploughshares, 2011

This special 40th anniversary issue edited by Ploughshares co-founder DeWitt Henry features new w... more This special 40th anniversary issue edited by Ploughshares co-founder DeWitt Henry features new work from former guest editors like Alice Hoffman, Sue Miller, and Maxine Kumin; an interview with Richard Yates from the archives; and poems and stories from emerging writers like James Scott and Laura van den Berg, introduced by prominent authors including James Alan McPherson and Elizabeth Spires.

Research paper thumbnail of The Fortune Teller

Research paper thumbnail of The Fortune Teller

Research paper thumbnail of The New Year

Research paper thumbnail of Fiction: Bed Check

Research paper thumbnail of The Doctor

Research paper thumbnail of Listening and Speaking

Research paper thumbnail of Faith

Research paper thumbnail of Fifteen

Research paper thumbnail of The Sailor

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