BackStory: Five Questions with KM Elkes Author of Two by Two What inspired you to write “Two by Two”? I was on a staycation, sitting at home listening to rain hammering down outside and wondering why I wasn’t somewhere warmer,…
Two by Two
Two by Two by KM Elkes They say Noah died, 350 years on from the Great Flood, as a naked, purple-lipped drunk. But some know better. The ones who have seen ancient eyes beneath brows knotted as old, sick trees.…
BackStory: Five Questions with Amy Slack
BackStory: Five Questions with Amy Slack Author of The Bathtub What inspired you to write this piece? “The Bathtub” was inspired by a visit to the Mining Art Gallery in Bishop Auckland late last year. I’d wanted to learn more…
The Bathtub
The Bathtub by Amy Slack Tommy never came home clean. He finished each shift a little heavier than he started it, what with all the soot that would settle on his sweat-soaked skin as he worked. I’d have his bath…
BackStory: Five Questions with Jennifer Falkner
BackStory: Five Questions with Jennifer Falkner Author of Professor Lazzo’s Stupendous Flea Circus What inspired you to write this piece? Proving that inspiration truly can come from anywhere, Professor Lazzo was born while I was listening to a Stuff You…
Professor Lazzo’s Stupendous Flea Circus
Professor Lazzo’s Stupendous Flea Circus by Jennifer Falkner The professor rolls up his sleeve. It’s flecked here and there with gravy, with mud, possibly with blood, difficult to tell against the coarse weave and the ancient stains. He lowers his…
BackStory: Five Questions with Michele Finn Johnson
BackStory: Five Questions with Michele Finn Johnson Author of Santo Spirito, 1577 What inspired you to write this piece? Lord only knows (ha!) what I was researching initially, but I came across a 1547 map that demarked Venice’s prostitution zones…
Santo Spirito, 1577
Santo Spirito, 1577 by Michele Finn Johnson My parents consign my eldest sister, Paola, to Venice’s Santo Spirito convent. There is no dowry for Paola and so her duty is our salvation. When they took her away, Paola’s nails dragged…
BackStory: Five Questions with K.B. Carle
BackStory: Five Questions with K.B. Carle Author of Tyn What inspired you to write this piece? Tyn, formally known as Solomon, is a character who’s always had a strong presence in my mind, knowing his strong connection to nature and…
Tyn
Tyn by K.B. Carle Tyn, a man the color of the coals that collected under his mama’s good cooking pot before turning to ash when the fire got to them, digs his hands deep into the earth, letting every bit…