Issue #27, 2005
Writing It Short
This issue features highlights from the online journal Brevity, which challenges writers to do their best in fewer than 750 words. Writers including Robin Hemley, David Shields, Brian Doyle and Brenda Miller tackle (briefly) topics like moth-collecting, gun shows, green plastic buckets and much, much more. The "Best of Brevity" is anchored on both sides by some terrific new writing by prestigious and highly respected writers, beginning with "New Century," by Natalie Goldberg—poet, novelist, essayist and author of the impressive and popular "Writing Down the Bones." "Money for Nothing," by Kevin Holdsworth, is a meditation on risk-taking. "The Slashpile Inventory," by David Oates, tells the story of a summer spent splitting rails out West and trying to make money. In "Rock Hounds," David Rompf traces a lifelong obsession with rock collecting. "Going, Going, Gone," by Floyd Skloot, combines the themes of the Dodgers, Brooklyn, moving, playing baseball, writing and growing up.
This issue is out of print.
Table of Contents
FROM THE EDITOR: Writing It Short Lee Gutkind ... read more
New Century Natalie Goldberg
Money for Nothing Kevin Holdsworth
SPECIAL SECTION: The Best of Brevity
Introduction Dinty W. Moore
Winter Count, 1964 Stuart Lishan
Genesis Bret Lott
Her Numbers Brian Doyle
Romancing the Light Maureen P. Stanton
Hochzeit Debra Marquart
A Brief History of Sex Education Kate Flaherty
Prince Valiant Robin Hemley
Sam at the Gun Show Greg Bottoms
Alive Laurie Lynn Drummond
Green Plastic Buckets Anjana Basu
A Bilingual Halloween InSuk Jo
Planet Unflinching Kelly Cherry
You'll Love the Way We Fly Lori Jakiela
Thumb-Sucking Girl Sonja Livingston
My Mother's Tongue Alexis Wiggins
Singing Like Yma Sumac Cheryl Merrill
Melting Susan Kushner Resnick
Boat People Michael Perry
The Ugly Friend Lynn Kilpatrick
A Preview of Coming Attractions David Shields
Split Brenda Miller
Drink It Patricia Ann McNair
Dumber Than Lee Martin
Chop Suey Ira Sukrungruang
Free Tibet, Man! Dinty W. Moore
Loving Bald Men Rebecca McClanahan
Fish Nicole Walker
The Paranoid Nurse Philip Gerard
My Mother's Toenails Marcia Aldrich
Dessert Matthew Gavin Frank
The Slashpile Inventory David Oates
Rock Hounds David Rompf
Going, Going, Gone Floyd Skloot
COVER TO COVER: Reviews of New Books
Contributors
Marcia Aldrich
Marcia Aldrich is working on two essay collections, The Mother Bed and a case study of a suicide, The Substitute Teacher. Girl Rearing, a... read more
Anjana Basu
Anjana Basu writes fiction, poetry and featuring stories for the local newspapers and for Cosmopolitan. She has had a book of short stories... read more
Greg Bottoms
Greg Bottoms is the author of Angelhead: My Brother's Descent Into Madness (University of Chicago Press), an Esquire "Book of the Year" in... read more
Kelly Cherry
Kelly Cherry is the author of over 20 books of poetry, fiction and nonfiction. Her most recent title is History, Passion, Freedom, Death,... read more
Brian Doyle
Brian Doyle was the editor of Portland Magazine at the University of Portland in Oregon and the author of many books of essays and fiction... read more
Laurie Lynn Drummond
Laurie Lynn Drummond is a former uniformed officer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the author of the linked-story collection Anything You... read more
Kate Flaherty
Kate Flaherty's essays and stories have appeared in Fourth Genre, Pennsylvania English, Prairie Schooner and other magazines. She is a... read more
Matthew Gavin Frank
Matthew Gavin Frank is the author of Barolo, Pot Farm (forthcoming 2012), Warranty in Zulu, The Morrow Plots (forthcoming), Sagittarius... read more
Philip Gerard
Philip Gerard holds an MFA from the University of Arizona. He is the author of three novels and four books of creative nonfiction,... read more
Natalie Goldberg
Natalie Goldberg is the author of 10 books, including Writing Down the Bones, Living Color, Long Quiet Highway and her most recent book,... read more
Robin Hemley
Robin Hemley is the author of seven books of fiction and nonfiction and the winner of a number of awards including two Pushcart Prizes, the... read more
Kevin Holdsworth
Kevin Holdsworth lives in Green River, Wyo., between the Wind River and Uinta ranges. His first book, Big Wonderful, is forthcoming from... read more
Lori Jakiela
Lori Jakiela is the author of a memoir, Miss New York Has Everything. Her chapbook, The Regulars, was published by Liquid Paper Press. Her... read more
InSuk Jo
InSuk Jo received her MFA in creative nonfiction from Goucher College and teaches English at the University of Southern Indiana. She writes... read more
Lynn Kilpatrick
Lynn Kilpatrick’s essays have appeared in Ninth Letter and Brevity. Her short story collection, In the House, was published by FC2.... read more
Stuart Lishan
Stuart Lishan's work has appeared in Kenyon Review, Arts & Letters, Bellingham Review, Antioch Review, New England Review, In Posse... read more
Sonja Livingston
Sonja Livingston’s first book, Ghostbread, won the AWP Award for Creative Nonfiction and has been honored with awards from the... read more
Bret Lott
Bret Lott is the author of nine novels, three story collections and two books of essays: Fathers, Sons and Brothers and Before We Get... read more
Debra Marquart
Debra Marquart is an associate professor of English and the author of three books, including Everything's a Verb: Poems (New Rivers... read more
Lee Martin
Lee Martin is author of the story collection, The Least You Need to Know, (Sarabande Books, 1996) winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize in... read more
Rebecca McClanahan
Rebecca McClanahan has published The Riddle Song and Other Rememberings, four volumes of poetry and two writing texts, including Word... read more
Patricia Ann McNair
Patricia Ann McNair teaches undergraduate and graduate students in the Fiction Writing Department of Columbia College Chicago. Her work has... read more
Cheryl Merrill
Cheryl Merrill lives and works in Port Townsend, Wash. Her publications include poems in Paintbrush, Northwest Review, Willow Springs and... read more
Brenda Miller
Brenda Miller is the author of five essay collections, most recently An Earlier Life. She also co-authored Tell It Slant:... read more
Dinty W. Moore
Dinty W. Moore is author of the memoir Between Panic & Desire and many other books. He has published essays and stories in the Southern... read more
David Oates
David Oates writes nonfiction, poetry and fiction about the paradoxes of nature and culture. His book City Limits: Walking Portland's... read more
Michael Perry
Michael Perry is a freelance writer and humorist whose work includes the memoir Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time... read more
Susan Kushner Resnick
Susan Kushner Resnick is a health reporter for The Providence Journal in Providence, R.I., and the author of the memoir Sleepless Days: One... read more
David Rompf
David Rompf's essays and stories have appeared in Harvard Review, Missouri Review, Berkeley Fiction Review and many other publications. He... read more
David Shields
David Shields is the author of 10 books, including Reality Hunger: A Manifesto; The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead, a... read more
Floyd Skloot
Floyd Skloot's memoir, In the Shadow of Memory (Nebraska, 2003), won the PEN Center USA Literary Award. The sequel, A World of Light, will... read more
Maureen P. Stanton
Maureen P. Stanton's essays have appeared in Fourth Genre, Creative Nonfiction, American Literary Review, The Sun and other magazines and... read more
Ira Sukrungruang
Ira Sukrungruang is the author of three nonfiction books: Buddha’s Dog & Other Meditations, Southside Buddhist, and Talk Thai:... read more
Nicole Walker
Nicole Walker is the author of two forthcoming books, Sustainability: A Love Story and Microcosmology. Her previous books include Egg,... read more
Alexis Wiggins
Alexis Wiggins is a young American writer living in Spain. Her work has appeared in Rivet, Dimsun, Flashquake, Lime Tea, FRESH YARN and... read more