“Only through close observation can we begin to fathom the complexity of human experience,” Professor Anya Groner tells her Introduction to Creative Writing classes. “Details” is a two-part collection of oberservations recorded by her students over the course of the semester.

The man walked his kitten on a makeshift leash made out of Mardi Gras Beads. -AMBER MANINO

As I stepped off the old-style streetcar onto the misplaced modernity of Canal, I was struck by a smell of urine, alcohol and the concentrated essence of regret. -ELIZABETH NELLAMS

My neighbor uses a flip-flop as a snow-scraper. –KATLYN MCCUE

The haggard man stumbled out of the gas station, wearing a paint-spattered jacket and ripped jeans, already defensive about his early morning alcohol purchase. -ASHLEY LAY 

She passed out bananas from the fruit basket balanced on her head. -JULIE WISCHAN

On the Freret bus I heard a man say, “My brother smells like foot fungus, aftershave, an STD and Ramen noodles. He smells like home.” -DAYNA HODGE LYNCH 

Anya Groner can be reached at [email protected].