Fiction |
“The Other Side of the Dock”
“Looking at the sea too long made me nauseated, thinking inevitably of biology classes, of the teacher’s amphibious hands, explaining the cycle of life and of all those fish reproducing themselves so close to me, in a lukewarm salty broth.”
Fiction |
“Grayscale”
“The Polaroid is about capturing a moment when something in the body snaps, dislocates, tries to find its way back. It’s about maintaining a standard.”
Fiction |
“John Anise”
“This is how he was in life, curt, convinced we could read his full thoughts from one gesture. And then, he comes.”
Fiction |
“My Life in Animals”
“When I woke with unspeakable fear in the middle of the night, Elizabeth came close and told me stories of the cats in the woods and how they were protecting me.”
Fiction |
“Pierogi”
“I say, my mother is currently playing the part of a cool pal — not asking too many questions — whereas once, she said of herself: grandparent TBD.”
Fiction |
“Having Spoken”
“And through my own eyes having known the clumsiness of a life bearing out, the labored O of a mouth mouthing ‘born, born, born.'”
Fiction |
“Grad School” and “The Graphic Canon”
“You write your thesis on how to tell the no-wooden-toys-no-vaccination moms at your daughter’s daycare that you work part-time at Arby’s because teaching 160 first-year college students doesn’t pay all the bills.”
Fiction |
“Quiet Street (Neighborhood Watch Meeting #131)”
“Bassists hide behind their hair. Black is all the bassist wears. The bass will reach our kids long before it sneaks into our weak, tin ears.”
Fiction |
“Solutions”
“‘What, exactly, were you doing with the knife in the pawn shop less than an hour after you left the fundraiser, if you didn’t steal it?’ the police sergeant later asked the temp …”
Fiction |
“Sham Couple”
“Nathanael’s mother isn’t dead, she’s just suffering from dementia, but her husband, Achim, is already planning her burial. To be fair, he’s planning his own, too, and even his girlfriend Julika’s …”
Fiction |
“Boats” and “Cove”
“A boat might or might not object to what you name her. And you cannot control what she calls you.”
Fiction |
“Reading the Cards”
“My ex and I had gotten high on MDMA and stumbled upon her shop. The psychic made him wait outside …”
Fiction |
“Winter” and “Forgetting”
“Of course, I am all for understanding, speculation, and commiseration — just not too soon …”
Fiction |
“Curio”
“He thought that this object must be to the cats what the crucifix in the kitchen drawer was to him.”
Fiction |
“His Odette”
“Back in his apartment after seeing Swan Lake for the ninth time, after Dzerzhinsky was toppled, Pete undressed, brushed his teeth without turning on the bathroom light, and lay on his light blue sheets.”