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American Short Fiction

Publishing exquisite fiction since 1991.

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Ben Jackson

Karst

Ben Jackson
Karst

He wakes in the landscape of his childhood, the karst. The house is surrounded by stone that dissolves in water, limestone that becomes fissured and hazardous because of its own weakness. The clints are the parts left standing. Grykes are the absences between. It is in the grykes you find life: hart’s tongue fern, butterfly orchid, primrose. Sheltering in the sinkholes. This is a place of constant change. Changing stone. Changing light. As a child, he would go out at morning and all around … [Read more...] about Karst

MFA for All Fall 2026: New classes with Laura van den Berg, Lidia Yuknavitch, and Mat Johnson! Register now.

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Join us for Story Sessions on 9/10 at Huston-Tillotson University: featuring Tayari Jones in conversation with ZZ Packer. RSVP now to save your spot!

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