Take Care of Your Teeth, Catherine Treyz, 2013

Every now and then a writing student delivers a paragraph so so simple but rich that it could be a short story unto itself. All the more remarkable given that my students are studying the nonfiction genre I call mutant journalism. Here's one from a student named Catherine Treyz, describing a bus ride to the next town over from Hanover with concision that'd be the envy of Ben Hecht:

The bus started and I opened a pack of gum. A woman turned around and told me, "Take care of your teeth. I lost mine during rehab--opiate addiction." Her lips formed what I perceived as a smile. Her bottom lip practically tickled her nose. She turned back around and re-entered the larger bus debate about the weather. Then a man bit into an apple. "Take care of your teeth," she said.