Tuesday, September 16, 2025

I'm 90% sure the title isn't ironic: "The Pleasure of a Working Life" by Michael Deagler" (O.Henry Awards 2025)

›
It's a good idea in general to be on the lookout for irony when you're dealing with a title as triumphant-sounding as Michael Deagle...
Sunday, September 14, 2025

Fear, power, and the fear of power: "That Girl" by Addie Citchens

›
When we first meet her, Theo is beneath an awning on a porch that almost acts like a cave in which she is hibernating. "Underneath the ...
Thursday, September 11, 2025

Gonna be, gonna be golden (arrow): "Arrow" by Gina Chung (2025 O.Henry Awards)

›
One of the good things about blogging on American contemporary short stories for a while now is that hopefully, I've gotten better at it...
Wednesday, September 10, 2025

The role in socialization of the last thing you should do in polite society: "The Stackpole Legend" by Wendell Berry (2025 O.Henry Anthology)

›
I've blogged Best American Short Stories nearly every year for the past seven years, but I've only done the Best Short Stories antho...
Saturday, September 6, 2025

Does God still love you if your football team sucks?

›
"If there's a god, he's laughing at us  and our football team."  -from "Effington" by Ben Folds When I was young...
3 comments:
Friday, August 15, 2025

While Democrats regroup, they need to focus on more than just what it takes to win the next election

›
There are a couple of intellectual arguments out there that make me uncomfortable, because they seem to make at least a halfway convincing c...
Tuesday, August 12, 2025

No Free Road Snacks: "Mobilization" by Allegra Hyde (O.Henry Anthology)

›
Why does the first-person plural narrative voice so often give summaries of habitual actions rather than declarative sentences in the simple...