This month's online fiction interview is with Jake Wolff, author of "When a Woman Thinks That her House Is on Fire." In this lyrical tale of one family's double-loss, we learn that Nasya and Ned have lost one son and we watch as they lose their house to a fire. More than a story of loss, though, the piece looks at the things that tragedy leaves in its wake. There is the memory of Henry. There's Nasya's subsequent dedication to serving the members of her synagogue. There's Nasya and Ned's … [Read more...] about Online Fiction Interview: Jake Wolff
Online Fiction
Ramona
Ramona used to say, “When it's on the outside I feel self-conscious.” We did overnights at her house that summer. After finishing the sixth grade, we had stopped calling them sleepovers. Ramona had a full-sized bed, but I still felt scrunched up next to her when we were in it. We didn't press into each other while we slept, but I think I felt pushed up against her because of what I knew about her heart. About how sometimes it flipped and somersaulted and somehow ended up on the outside of … [Read more...] about Ramona
Imaginary Enemies
Elbow and I ducked out of our nephew’s birthday party and drove to Walmart to check on ammo prices. I didn’t care about ammo prices. I was along for the ride. Elbow was married to my sister and just out of the Marine Corps. His hair was still high and tight, and he strutted around with a purposeful intensity that I had a difficult time keeping up with. He stood at the ammo display—closed and fortified with a brass lock. He peered at the inventory. “Figures,” he said. “They’re out of .22 and 9 … [Read more...] about Imaginary Enemies
Creative Writing Instructor
Evaluation Form
1. The instructor is organized.
□ Strongly Agree
□ Agree
□ Undecided
□ Disagree
□ Strongly Disagree
2. The instructor seems generally knowledgeable, at least about the subject she teaches.
□ Strongly Agree
□ Agree
□ Undecided
□ Disagree
□ Strongly Disagree
3. The instructor is for the most part coherent and sober during her lectures.
□ Strongly Agree
□ Hard to tell; she often has a “cold” and tells us not to approach her desk
□ Coherent and sober … [Read more...] about Creative Writing Instructor
Evaluation Form
Online Fiction: Interview with S. P. Tenhoff
In this month’s fiction feature, S. P. Tenhoff does to a border what Wallace Stevens did to a blackbird—he lets it write him. Tenhoff’s "Ten Views of the Border" outlines the bewilderment of a newly divided populace by detailing a scandalous cross-border birth, two intricately mirrored origin stories, and the troubling circumstances of a woman whose very existence seems the hinge on which the border depends. And yet even as Tenhoff deftly lays down the absurd workings of this people divided, … [Read more...] about Online Fiction: Interview with S. P. Tenhoff
Online Fiction: Interview with Anthony Abboreno
We're excited to publish Anthony Abboreno's story, "Filler," the first fiction post on our website in over a year. Abboreno's story is about the complicated relationship between children and their parents' expectations. There are lobsters with personalities, an ex-wife who loves New Year's Eve, and a man who tries to do his best, but falls short. "Filler" covers a lot of territory in few words. We hope you like it as much as we do. MM: I love how the daughter’s taste in food becomes something … [Read more...] about Online Fiction: Interview with Anthony Abboreno