PANK Issue No. 4. I've been leisurely working my way through this journal, thoroughly enjoying the stories, and while I'm not finished with it yet, I'm so excited and moved and thrilled by what I've read that I decided to go ahead and tell you about it. My faves:
"Funhouse" and "Superman And Jesus" by Katherine Grosjean
"October of Brief Empire" by Craig Davis
"Fallen" by Alicia Gifford
"Unzipped" by Aaron Burch
"Babies On The Shore" by Ethel Rohan
"Struck Dumb" by Nick Sansone
"The Twelve Times Cristina Paz Quoted Tupac" by Ryan Dilbert
"But You Don't Really Care For Music, Do You?" by Angi Becker Stevens
"When A Heart Is A Bull's Eye" by Steven J. McDermott
Look at all these great stories! And I still have a ways to go! It's well worth your time to pick up a copy and enjoy it for yourself.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Great read:
I have just finished reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and my reaction? Wow. I love, love, love it when I'm able to lose myself in a fictional world, when the characters are so real, so engaging, when the storyline is so compelling that I find myself dwelling on it even when I'm not reading it. Such was the case with The Lovely Bones.
I loved this. What I loved most was the idea of it, the story being told from the murdered child's POV, and how bits and pieces of "her heaven" were weaved in. Very creative. I have to say, also, that watching the gut-wrenching pain of a family struggling to deal with the horror and devastation of losing a child/sibling was tough. And gripping. What a testament to the author: it was so well done, the prose so delightful, so honest that I fell into the story, feeling what these characters felt, living their nightmare. The mom's pain, in particular, and how she dealt with it was rendered beautifully. That's not to say that the father's pain was any less; no, it was tender and just as painful. But there was something about the way the mother handled it -- being numb, avoiding it, never looking directly at it, running away physically, long after she'd left emotionally, coming back 7 years later to finally, tenuously, begin to heal -- that felt so real, like how I might react. So unbearable and yet you must go on.
I thought the reunion with Ray was masterful.
This was a great read. Very poignant, very moving in all the best ways.
Have you read it?
I loved this. What I loved most was the idea of it, the story being told from the murdered child's POV, and how bits and pieces of "her heaven" were weaved in. Very creative. I have to say, also, that watching the gut-wrenching pain of a family struggling to deal with the horror and devastation of losing a child/sibling was tough. And gripping. What a testament to the author: it was so well done, the prose so delightful, so honest that I fell into the story, feeling what these characters felt, living their nightmare. The mom's pain, in particular, and how she dealt with it was rendered beautifully. That's not to say that the father's pain was any less; no, it was tender and just as painful. But there was something about the way the mother handled it -- being numb, avoiding it, never looking directly at it, running away physically, long after she'd left emotionally, coming back 7 years later to finally, tenuously, begin to heal -- that felt so real, like how I might react. So unbearable and yet you must go on.
I thought the reunion with Ray was masterful.
This was a great read. Very poignant, very moving in all the best ways.
Have you read it?
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Summer
The days are perfect: temperatures in the upper 70's, no humidity, cloudless brilliant blue skies. The kind of day where anything seems possible.The weeds need pulling, vegetables need planting, the grass needs water. But, instead, I sit outside on the patio with a good book... it's what I wait all year for, what I dream about during the white, snow-filled days of winter.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Great reads:
The last few days have been miserably cold and rainy, perfect for folding the loads of laundry waiting for me. But, instead, I've been reading. Here are some stories I found, read, and thoroughly enjoyed:
From the April 2010 issue, #10, of Knee-Jerk: "The Meaning of The Hat" by Anne Leigh Parrish. Its subtlety is what makes it so sublime.
From the April 2010 issue, #5.04, of Pank: "Seven Items In Jason Reynolds' Pocket, Two Days After His Suicide, As Found By His Eight-Year-Old Brother, Grady" by Robert Startwood. This is complex, full of rich layers and beautifully rendered.
From Issue 10.1 of Night Train: "Fresh Eggs" by Jeffrey N. Johnson. This is charming and full of meaning.
Go ahead and set your own waiting laundry aside and enjoy these.
From the April 2010 issue, #10, of Knee-Jerk: "The Meaning of The Hat" by Anne Leigh Parrish. Its subtlety is what makes it so sublime.
From the April 2010 issue, #5.04, of Pank: "Seven Items In Jason Reynolds' Pocket, Two Days After His Suicide, As Found By His Eight-Year-Old Brother, Grady" by Robert Startwood. This is complex, full of rich layers and beautifully rendered.
From Issue 10.1 of Night Train: "Fresh Eggs" by Jeffrey N. Johnson. This is charming and full of meaning.
Go ahead and set your own waiting laundry aside and enjoy these.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Somewhere Warm, Like Florida
I'm thrilled to share the news that my story Somewhere Warm, Like Florida is live at Night Train. I'm in great company!
Go on... take a look.
Go on... take a look.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Great reads:
I've been all over the place reading, reading, reading, and am amazed and thrilled and inspired! by the terrific stories I've come across. These are worth your time:
From the Autumn 2009 issue of The Southern Review: "Ecumenical Bedding" by Gilbert Allen. This is wildly creative and funny in a wry sort of way.
From the Fall 2009 issue of The Pinch: "Walk Through Walls" by Steven Wingate. This is also wildly creative, with a far-out edge that I find so appealing. The subject matter is as the title suggests: walking through walls. Really. And it's done so matter-of-factly, so this-sort-of-thing-happens-all-the-time that it's believable.
From Issue 26 of Smokelong Quarterly: Pregnant With Peanut Butter by Michael Czyzniejewski. Direct and amazing. You fall right into the story without realizing it's happening.
From the Spring 2010 issue of JMWW: Prescott, Presley, Preston by Matt Bell. This is another one of those far-out kind of subjects that I so love and, man, it's a killer.
From the Autumn 2009 issue of The Southern Review: "Ecumenical Bedding" by Gilbert Allen. This is wildly creative and funny in a wry sort of way.
From the Fall 2009 issue of The Pinch: "Walk Through Walls" by Steven Wingate. This is also wildly creative, with a far-out edge that I find so appealing. The subject matter is as the title suggests: walking through walls. Really. And it's done so matter-of-factly, so this-sort-of-thing-happens-all-the-time that it's believable.
From Issue 26 of Smokelong Quarterly: Pregnant With Peanut Butter by Michael Czyzniejewski. Direct and amazing. You fall right into the story without realizing it's happening.
From the Spring 2010 issue of JMWW: Prescott, Presley, Preston by Matt Bell. This is another one of those far-out kind of subjects that I so love and, man, it's a killer.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Worm Moon
The Full Worm Moon got its name because this is the time that temperatures begin warming, the ground begins to thaw and earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins.
Other names: Full Crow Moon, Full Crust Moon, Full Sap Moon.
I often wonder what it'd be like if we had TWO moons orbiting earth... I think it'd be amazing and awesome if we looked up into the night sky and saw two bright discs shining down. Just me?
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