Monstrous—that was how I felt! It is impossible to convey how this sentence spoke to me, how it seemed to capture my own predicament. To this day, I consider it the greatest opening in all of literature. It presents the story’s fundamental premise without preamble or build-up. It is practically a short-story in itself! But again, what kind of story?
The Man in the Rain
Finding no-one in the backyard, the officers asked to search the inside of the house. Eneas followed them as they looked through every room, even the bathroom. On a glass shelf in the bathroom stood the little frosted crystal bottle with the round cap—his father’s lemony cologne. His father called it “Ger-lane” and had often said that no true Cuban man would ever wear any other scent.
Forget it Jake, It’s Hollywood – Editor’s Pick
L.A. waiters and cops and clerks still have screenplays in their back pockets and auditions at 9am which make them call in sick at their day jobs.
Prospectors; On the Quays; Life; Too early; Discovering charles
I remember;
early on in college
and discovering charles
bukowski – I worked
after class
in this office by the river
selling windows,
and sometimes
I'd show up early
and sit in a bookshop opposite,
drinking coffee from a paper cup
reading Factotum
and Dog from Hell – eventually
I even bought a copy.
Breaking Even
Right away he started waving the gun around and hollering about his wife, how she was no good, he never should have trusted her, he loved her, his best friend Ronnie was a no good bastard, the cops are probably looking for him, it was all over, he was gonna kill Ronnie and anybody who got in his way.
Getting Here
Afternoons in a well-worn wooden chair at the Allentown, Pennsylvania Public Library reading Dr. Seuss register as happy memories in an otherwise chaotic early childhood. Reading and writing felt as natural and welcome to me as running wild on the playground.