Welcome to November, friends, and to the latest installment of our web exclusive series. It’s so nice to see you here. This month, we present Tien-Yi Lee’s “Penetration”—and we couldn’t be more thrilled. It’s a challenging piece, about damage irrevocable and endured, but rewarding, too, and very, very beautiful. It’s one of those stories that stills the world for a moment, and leaves you, we hope, in the hush of something complicated and new. You’ll find “Penetration” on the ASF website, and … [Read more...] about Online Fiction: Interview with Tien-Yi Lee
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Penetration
Jack has been at it for thirty-six minutes. Sulie knows, because it’s been windy all night, and the power snapped off and reset the clock radio to twelve, and the red numbers are flashing in the reflection of his horn-rimmed glasses whenever he lifts his head to breathe. (He’s made it down there, and still, he’s wearing his glasses.) Sulie likes Jack, especially in near-dark, because his tongue tastes like oranges, and his chest is smooth, and she can avoid looking at his scrunched up face. And … [Read more...] about Penetration
Online Fiction: Interview with Aubrey Hirsch
Ever play that game Two Truths and a Lie? Well, this month’s web exclusive is a little like that. Blurring the line between fact and fiction, Aubrey Hirsch’s “Albert Arnold Gore” will keep you guessing. Rendered in clear, keen prose, this set of three linked shorts offers portraits that are inventive and intriguing—and ultimately poignant and revealing. Read “Albert Arnold Gore” and check out our Q&A with the author, below. MO: This piece is part of a series of what you’ve … [Read more...] about Online Fiction: Interview with Aubrey Hirsch
Albert Arnold Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Sr. Al loses his first race in 1930. The election is for county superintendent of schools, and he loses by a margin so wide that the shame and anger send him back to the farm in Possum Hollow. The farm has fallen into disrepair since he last saw it. His father tells him he put all the money in different banks—a kind of insurance, he says. He didn’t expect all the banks to fail. Now the family is getting by on warm eggs and fresh milk. They are ill clothed and ill. Al’s father … [Read more...] about Albert Arnold Gore
Online Fiction: Interview with Alexander Lumans
Hot? Yeah, so are we. Luckily, our August web exclusive is the short fiction equivalent of diving headlong down a Slip ‘n Slide: a brief-yet-exhilarating trip that’s guaranteed* to lower your core temperature a degree or two. With snow, glaciers, and a cameo by South Pole-navigating Sir Ernest Shackleton, “The Unicorns” by Alexander Lumans is no-holds-barred fun and all kinds of cool. So go on, dive in, read “The Unicorns” on the ASF website. Plus, learn the story behind the story in our … [Read more...] about Online Fiction: Interview with Alexander Lumans