Latest Submissions
A Hair’s Breadth, Part 1
I. “Mu….m! Mu…m!” a little voice cries out from the backyard. But apparently mum is busy on the phone, in the living room. It’s her husband calling…
“Traffic Jam,” “Cash Machine,” and “Getaway Car”
Traffic Jam a white sail hitch-boat floats up [outside my rolled down windows] in front of me [a canary-yellow Honda] pumps the brakes as we work…
The King of Taps
In McDowell, West Virginia, birthplace to the King of Taps, the company houses built by U.S. Coal and Coke held an inch of breath between them. One…
Parole and the Path to Enlightenment
As Breezy walked through the 16-foot-tall mechanical iron gates, he felt the weight of steel bars, razor wire, and 120-year-old bricks fall from his…
“Santa Monica Chicken Hawk,” “Creation,” “El Tres de Mayo,” and “Up from the River”
Santa Monica Chicken Hawk Twink, twink little star Suck me off in my car Take your twenty Go away I’ll be back next week Same day. Creation This kid…
Cracking Up
I’ve suffered from panic attacks most of my life, some self-induced and some not. It was Regina’s 35th birthday party. We drove up with our…
6 to 6: Grocery Day
Francisca Verdugo needs to go to Food City. I’m a few minutes early, so I sit in my cab and wait for her to come out. The sun shines down on the big…
Sub Neon
A languid summer’s rain pours from the sky. The evening advances, the temperature drops, the neon glow of Sixth Avenue adds an illusion of warmth to…
Etymology and Extracts
ETYMOLOGY // Supplied by an idiot tourist who / in the grip of a yearlong concussion / during which he had to learn to speak again / got it into that…
The Ring of Gyges, Part 1
I. WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! Seymour Stackhouse was disciplining his son Adam under the watchful eyes of his wife, Beth. Adam was lying in the prone…
