The Ten Thousand Swamp Things

These old (what? poetry? prose? creative nonfiction? confessional?) manuscripts vex me. Written prior to any focused literary study, hard wisdom, or sense of the publishing "business," today I can bring myself neither to revise the material nor pass it to anyone, and yet I have an undeniable fondness for each one. The Ten Thousand Swamp Things.

I also cannot deny: I once composed, and even revised, with an unfettered earnestness that is often difficult today to find. And these manuscripts do not include the screenplays.

Gateway to the Rest

I am heartened my short story "Gateway to the Rest" was a finalist in Glimmer Train's Short Story Award for New Writers. You may see the list of winners and finalists here. Glimmer Train is a great literary journal, Susan and Linda are strong editors/readers, and it's nice know the work means something to someone. I feel a bit old to be in the running for anything called new, but such is the complex nature of literary fiction, late blooming, and life. The work continues. "Gateway to the Rest" remains in revision and I hope one day it finds a place to be, where you might read. A whole body of new stories and poems are in revision, searching for places to be.