The faint sound through the earphones is like the buzz of a mosquito on the other side of the room when you're trying to sleep. It nags at your attention, keeping you alert. Then, when …
June 30, 2026
Stephen Dobyns wrote cover features for the Reader from 1998 through 2008, including one on illegal boats in San Diego Bay and local amputees). Dobyns’ poetic works count among them the 1971 Concurring Beasts, a National Poetry Series award winner (Black dog, red dog), and a Melville Cane Award winner Cemetery Nights). Dobyns’ novel Cold Dog Soup has been made into two films, the American Cold Dog Soup and the French Doggy Bag.
Articles by Stephen Dobyns
San Diego's metal scavengers
The Reader's Father's Day extravaganza
To commemorate Father's Day, this issue contains a collection of reflections from Reader writers about their fathers:The Last Tag Sale — Jeanne SchintoAn Air of Exoticism — Duncan ShepherdKinder Than I Would Think Possible — …
June 20, 2026
San Diego lunchtrucks start at 4:30 or 5 in the morning
In and out, in and out – it reminds me of my grandmother darning the toe of a sock as the needle came and went, except these are lunch trucks see from far away: white, …
June 1, 2026
A hired woman visits D.G. Wills bookstore
The woman is sexy but very classy. She is tall, about five feet nine, with tousled brown hair. Her skirt and tight white blouse show off her figure in a way to bring about cardiac …
May 19, 2026
Judith Moore's tough-fisted regime at the Reader
"Moore wants more," I would joke to myself.Busy Fingers Are Happy Fingers — Joe DeeganI couldn't find an angle to get my story started, I told her. "Forget all about angles," she then said with …
May 12, 2026
Mission Valley's river– a field day for homeless
We heard him screaming even before he broke out of the underbrush, crashing through the giant reeds on either side of the narrow path. The sun had just set, and the riverbed area was no …
April 17, 2026
You might know Slab City, But do you know Salvation Mountain?
My friend Rex says, "You'll love the Slabs in August. Some would call you adventurous and brave, and some completely out of your mind." The Slabs are Slab City, three miles east of Niland, between …
March 16, 2026
Strange life on San Diego's South Bay free anchorage
The Reader has started this series of its best stories from the past 52 years — 2600 cover stories and some remarkable interior features — to help make up for the loss of its physical …
February 25, 2026
Border Angels strew water bottles for migrants
Border angelsI wanted to learn about a group called Border Angels that, among other things, sets out water in the desert areas of the 66-mile San Diego sector. Usually, gallon bottles of water are placed …
October 7, 2023