Zach’s Published Essays

A personal essay that Fine Lines published in 2011. Fine Lines is a literary journal that started in a high school classroom in Omaha, Nebraska. Zach was a special editor at the journal for a few years, though he wasn’t involved in the decision to publish this essay.

“Telling Time” is about that one time that Zach was hospitalized for a suicide attempt. Well, one of the times anyway.

A personal essay that The Examined Life Journal published in 2015. The Examined Life Journal is published by the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and focuses on writing that explores health and the human condition.

“An Imprecise Science” is about Zach trying to come to terms with his severe depression — what it is, where it came from, what it means about him, what it means to him.

A piece of immersion journalism that Sport Literate published in 2018. Sport Literate is a literary journal that focuses on creative writing about sports. It’s really cool and unique.

To write “Powerlifting Country,” Zach hung out at Rick Hussey’s Big Iron Gym in Omaha, Nebraska, and talked to people who could lift more weight than you can. At the time, Big Iron was widely considered one of the top powerlifting gyms in the U.S.

A personal essay that the Sonora Review published online in 2018. The Sonora Review is the University of Arizona’s literary journal. “Dig” is about Zach celebrating his first year of sobriety while he was working on an archaeological dig in southern Türkiye (Turkey). It was fun. And it wasn’t.

A personal essay that The Fourth River published in 2019. The Fourth River is Chatham University’s literary journal and focuses on creative writing about people and their environments. “Definitions” was included in a special section. Its editor, Eric Boyd, wrote this about the essay: “Zach Jacob’s [sic] remarkably formatted nonfiction piece, ‘Definitions,’ moves between poems and prose, scene descriptions and annotations, to tell his story of AA. We are finding our footing in this world made new from trauma, grabbing onto any feeling of progress we can. Jacobs called this piece ‘an accreted essay,’ a piece of writing built up by several smaller pieces. It is surely no coincidence that accretion is the process by which stars and galaxies are formed.”

A personal essay that Fourth Genre published in 2019. Fourth Genre is Brigham Young University’s literary journal, though it was housed at Michigan State University when this essay was published. Fourth Genre refers to creative nonfiction, which many consider to be the genre of literature alongside drama, poetry, and fiction.

“All the Times We’ve Died” is about conversations and experiences that Zach shared with his friend Adam when they lived together years ago. They’d talk about physics and death, about multiple dimensions and suicide. They’d even joke about it. They’re both big on gallows humor. It’s kind of a survival mechanism.

A personal essay that Hobart published in 2019. Hobart is a web journal that publishes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, fucked up modern love essays, book reviews, and, you know, other stuff.

“Some Notes on Escape” is an essay that — surprise, surprise — takes the form of a list of notes. It details some of the ways that Zach has tried to escape his life and himself. It’s short. Go read it.

A personal essay that The Los Angeles Review published in 2020. The Los Angeles Review is an online journal owned by Red Hen Press, a rad indie book publisher.

“What We Do in Quarantine” is about a bunch of things that a bunch of us did in 2020, but also, like, just stuff that Zach and his ex-wife did.

A personal essay that the Indiana Review published in 2023. The Indiana Review is the literary journal of Indiana University.

“Detail Work” is about plowing snow and about going to college and about the types of dark shit that Zach thought about when he used to plow snow and go to college.