On "Elsa's Life" by Lucia Berlin (3444 words) ****

"Elsa's Life" recounts a woman's work on art projects with senior citizens. She's the designated writer, so she takes down oral tales and writes them out for posterity. One of those tellers is Elsa, a woman who seems to have had nothing much in her life but work since coming to the United States--she does not go out. She just irons all day and comes home to watch Spanish TV. The real joys are her family from before her move and her sister, who eventually comes to live with her in a house that they inherit from a man they take care of. Elsa is not good at forging full sentences, however, and when Clarissa is tasked with putting the story to paper, she finds herself having to create, like the writer she is. Read the story here at Sniper Logic.