i'm obsessed with shorts. short. stories.
i’m pleased that my book of shorts HOW TO PICK UP A MAID IN STATUE SQUARE has placed on the long list for the ReLit Awards! for more info on the award and all the nominees, check here. and read a short story, any short story, will you? they deserve attention. http://www.cbc.ca/books/zoe-whittall-jordan-abel-among-writers-shortlisted-for-relit-awards-1.4611186
my father’s work gloves rest on the handles of the wheel barrel; they hold the shape of a man’s hands, worn from splitting wood and stacking it in the shed, raking and burning leaves. my father’s work gloves are marked with blood, earned when he lost his footing on the wood pile; the chainsaw bucked. my … Read moremy father’s work gloves
this year i’m giving short stories their own list because they fucking deserve it.** and besides, there’s too much of an emphasis on novels. but keep in mind that i don’t always read collections in their publication year. i mix it up. some of the collections i read this year are older (like 20 years … Read moretop 5 short story collections of 2017
i read a lotta books in 2017 but i lost track, didn’t properly record them. the year was too much, too much. i’m working from memory here; please forgive my omissions. 2017 was an absolute shit show from a reading perspective because, as a news junkie, i read a ton of on-line news articles and … Read moretop 10 books of 2017
ciphers obscured by clouds shooting, failing at shining, losers wearing ripped euro-trash jeans and scuffed biker boots streaking across a velvet curtain smoking hand-rolled cigarettes in the lounge at the airport in Rome impervious to the fake gods that named them typical teenagers planets are the real deal, solid
i take a room or it takes me. i bring one suitcase, that is all. i own little. trinkets from the war. these i leave at the bottom of the suitcase, in an old tin box. with mary’s papers. mary’s papers. an old tin box. i am an old tin box. or do i wish i … Read morei take a room
jet lagged. in the middle of the night, on Italian TV, a subterranean dream. i click through the channels to find: Whitney Houston music videos. there’s always Whitney Houston videos on Italian TV, i don’t know why; chaste adverts for pleasure devices; a sexy demonstration of a non-stick frying pan; an Italian commentary about a … Read moreat the monastery
not the shy tourist, hopping up the salty steps of Rome. the shy man, sitting on the steps by the Piazza di Spagna, waiting for your Lothario. transparent feelings stream, stream, stream past: curiosity, desire, a wish to know it all. but all of it as it is not. not tall enough, not strong enough, … Read morea response to John Ashbery’s Abstentions
it’s time for a writing loop. see you on the other side.
at the pool, there’s a man with a beautiful front crawl; each stroke flows effortlessly into the next and he breathes on the count of four. his turns are perfectly timed. at the end of the open swim, he ducks under the ropes, crossing the lanes until he reaches the ladder. that’s when the lifeguard … Read moreman, falling