“We’re stuck tonight, Yo – Joslyn James is a no-show and Chelsea Handler, that bitch, bailed at the last minute. It’s two minutes till show time! We have no choice.” “Damn, damn, damn. I can’t believe it’s come to this. All right, as much as I hate to do it, bring her out.” “Five, four, [...]
Diamond Dandruff
As a grizzled sportswriter, I’ve seen many a fine athlete throw away a promising career. Druggies, boozers, womanizers. Gamblers, overeaters, brawlers. There aren’t enough shrinks in the free world – nor enough Prozac – to cure all the mental midgets I’ve been paid to write about. During the Vietnam War, I can recall a group [...]
The Art of Self-Hitting
In an empty house, The poet sits alone Listening to the still of night As the plants about him breathe. He pictures a barren yard, A boy alone, With Wiffle bat and ball, pretending to be accompanied By a friend. He sees a crowd in a frenzy, Popcorn, beer… As he watches the delivery, Time [...]
Some Indian
Author’s Note: The story that follows was written in longhand 12 years ago (I know, how quaint) on Enchantment Resort letterhead. It’s a work of fiction (sort of). ********** We had been drinking. The red rocks of Sedona were glistening from an uncommonly hard rain. It was nearly dusk and the sun had finally surrendered [...]
Beacons, Muses and Literary Heroes
Raymond Carver never taught Charles Bukowski a lick. I, on the writing hand, am guided by these dead writers, these gifted, troubled souls. What links me to them, you ask? Profound simplicity. Graphic, disturbing realism. Life. Connected, our thoughts travel a course designed to enlighten, enrich and empower. I am whole through their works. I [...]
Clean Sweep
The short story presented here originated from the author’s experience as a student teacher in the undergraduate elementary education program at Temple University in Philadelphia. It is the first in a series of previously unpublished stories to be posted regularly on this web site. He sits in the back of the classroom, a shaggy sheep [...]
A Gathering of Like-Minded Literary Folks
I just returned from an inspiring weekend in New York City where I attended the 22nd annual Indie & Small Press Book Fair hosted by the New York Center for Independent Publishing (CIP) at the General Society Library, pictured above. The too-little-advertised event featured some 50 exhibitors, along with dozens of writers and other trade [...]
Guzzling the Writer's Kool-Aid
To improve as a writer, you must do three things each day: listen, read and write. It helps if you’ve lived a good bit and perhaps suffered along with it, but there’s really no equal to listening closely each day to interior and exterior dialogue, reading good writers and knowing how to identify the difference [...]
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Randall DeVallance: Short Stories Are Catnip for Amateurs I remember reading somewhere, about five years ago, that more than half of all Americans ... -
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