Origin Story
“I once ended an interview with the suggestion to write a poem or story like you would a prayer, and to not tell anyone what you’re doing. Really put yourself into it, and don’t hold back because you’re not going to show anyone. Print it off if it’s on your computer and delete the file so you only have the one copy. Now, go out into the world, on a hike, or on a boat, or to your local corner store, and gently tear it up. Bury it, throw it into the water, light it on fire, drop it into a large city trashcan or fold it into a paper airplane and toss it off a cliff. You made something you loved, only for yourself, and now it’s your secret with the universe. How special is that?”
Chris Kelso interviews Andrew J. Wilt.
Licorice
These labels that can inspire unwarranted fear, hatred, or indeed complete disregard all combine in Licorice’s own existence as it morphs from reality into one of myth, like the refugees. People confined not just to inhabit the various interstices that life throws up, but confined to become the interstice itself where even a birth name becomes forgotten. These interstices that are starkly imprisoning and divergent from the liberating interstice experienced by the reader when engaging with the art of this novel.
Jane Roberts reviews Bridget Penney‘s Licorice.
The Back Seat
It was unpleasant having to walk through dark passages reeking of human and dog urine, but what I worried about was the credibility of the guy I was going to meet. He was an experienced driver of about sixty who preferred an early start, his carpooling profile said. Mine said I was an experienced passenger who preferred jazz but could stand any music, if it was what helped.
A short story by Dunja Ilic.