Allegra Hyde on Leaving Communes

I kind short circuited my own castle of protections and just did something really impulsive, which was in this case eating this random mushroom that I found. Almost in an Alice in Wonderland type of way. Like, “Maybe this will make me grow giant? Or become a hippie?”

Allegra Hyde is the author of Eleutheria, as well as the short story collection, Of This New World. A recipient of three Pushcart Prizes, Hyde’s writing has also been anthologized in Best American Travel Writing, Best Women’s Travel Writing, Best of the Net, and Best Small Fictions. Her stories and essays have appeared in Tin House, American Short Fiction, Kenyon Review, New England Review, The Threepenny Review, and many other venues. She currently teaches at Oberlin College.