I danced on the beach to reggae with Mojo, a Jamaican man with dreadlocks whose name means magic. We fell asleep in beach chairs by the ocean and someone stole Mojo’s Bolle sunglasses off the top of his head. It had only been two weeks since his last pair had been stolen. A security guard brought us sweet hot tea. Mojo threw his hands in the air and shouted, “Jamaica, no problem!”
Jamaica
Karol Nielsen is the author of the memoirs Black Elephants (Bison Books, 2011) and Walking A&P (Mascot Books, 2018) and the chapbooks This Woman I Thought I’d Be (Finishing Line Press, 2012) and Vietnam Made Me Who I Am (Finishing Line Press, 2020). Her first memoir was shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing in nonfiction in 2012. Excerpts were honored as notable essays in The Best American Essays in 2010 and 2005. Her full poetry collection was longlisted for the Terry J. Cox Poetry Award in 2021 and was a finalist for the Colorado Prize for Poetry in 2007. Her work has appeared in Epiphany, Guernica, Lumina, North Dakota Quarterly, Permafrost, RiverSedge, and elsewhere. She has taught writing at New York University and New York Writers Workshop.