Monica Rhor

Taking the leap from a steady job as a staff writer into the uncertain world of freelancing is terrifying, sweat-inducing, exhilarating and in many ways, oddly freeing.
Freeing in a way that goes beyond the flexibility, which allows me to continue teaching even as I keep writing.
The freedom I’m referring to comes in the sheer diversity [...]

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I really like the page design for this back-to-school food story I did for the Houston Chronicle.
To read the entire story, click here.

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This is a piece I wrote for Mamiverse.com about being a Latina teacher and what classroom diversity can bring to education.
By Monica Rhor
My tenth-grade students sat in the darkness, their eyes fixed on the grainy black and white photograph magnified on a screen in front of the classroom.
They considered the four figures [...]

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There is something very moving about religious art. It goes far beyond aesthetic appeal or brushwork technique, and appeals directly to the soul. So writing about an exhibit of Ukrainian icons for this Houston Chronicle piece was both challenging and fascinating for me.
Ukrainian Christianity through the ages
By MONICA RHOR FOR THE CHRONICLE
In the Hall [...]

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Marlen Esparza was tired when she arrived at Rudy Silva’s Elite Boxing Gym for her regular workout. I could see that right away. Weeks of training full-speed for a national bout, constant media attention, and travel had interrupted her normal routine and dampened her usual energy.
But, as soon as she got into the ring for a few rounds of shadow-boxing, [...]

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I remembered being floored and astounded by the verbal dexterity and the heartbreaking story of  ”Push,” the 1996 novel by Sapphire, which was later made into the movie “Precious.” So I was looking forward to reviewing her follow-up, called “The Kid.”
Here is the review I did for the Associated Press:
Follow-up to `Push’ provokes, disappoints
By Monica [...]

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I often walk away from interviews amazed by the strength and resiliency of so-called ordinary people. I’ve talked to people who have experienced the most horrific of traumas, yet somehow emerge whole, optimistic and generous. It never ceases to astound and inspire me.
In this Father’s Day story I did for the Houston Chronicle, I met [...]

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It is easy to get discouraged about the future of journalism.
It is easy to look at dropping newspaper circulation, reports of fading readership, and tales of waning standards and discern the death knell of the industry.
It may be easy, but it’s wrong.
I say it’s wrong because I have spent the last two weeks working with [...]

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I didn’t expect to find a Grammy nominee inside a north Houston storefront church. But that’s where I met Kim Burrell, a gospel singer who has recorded with R. Kelly and Missy Elliot and been named by Harry Connick Jr. and Whitney Houston as one of the great voices of music.
For the last nine months, [...]

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My dog, a soulful-eyed beagle mix named Machado, is my baby, my source of comfort, my daily dose of laughter. I never really knew what unconditional love was until he came into my life — the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten.
 So, when I stumbled across a billboard seeking the whereabouts of a lost poodle, [...]

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