Alex Kudera’s award-winning novel, Fight for Your Long Day (Atticus Books), was drafted in a walk-in closet during a summer in Seoul, South Korea. Auggie’s Revenge (Beating Windward Press) is his second novel. His numerous short stories include “Frade Killed Ellen” (Dutch Kills Press), “Bombing from Above” (Heavy Feather Review), and “A Thanksgiving” (Eclectica Magazine).
Monday, December 25, 2023
Thursday, December 21, 2023
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Self Portrait at Twenty Years by Roberto Bolano
where it might take me. I went full of fear,
my stomach dropped, my head was buzzing:
I think it was the icy wind of the dead.
I don’t know. I set off, I thought it was a shame
to leave so soon, but at the same time
I heard that mysterious and convincing call.
You either listen or you don’t, and I listened
and almost burst out crying: a terrible sound,
born on the air and in the sea.
A sword and shield. And then,
despite the fear, I set off, I put my cheek
against death’s cheek.
And it was impossible to close my eyes and miss seeing
that strange spectacle, slow and strange,
though fixed in such a swift reality:
thousands of guys like me, baby-faced
or bearded, but Latin American, all of us,
brushing cheeks with death.
Friday, December 8, 2023
the sweet gentleness of Europe
"I was a little shaken . . . in fact, I'd had rotten shock! . . . that's right, a shock . . . the whole of Europe on my ass . . . yes, the whole of Europe . . . plus my friends . . . my family . . . all competing to see who could grab more away from me . . . not leaving me time to say boo . . . my eyes! . . . my nose! . . . my fountain pen . . . the ferocity of Europe! . . . the Nazis were no lovebirds, but don't tell me about the sweet gentleness of Europe . . . I'm not exaggerating . . . that little warrant . . . and all those public prosecutors . . ."
Sunday, November 26, 2023
a delicious kabob
"Between wild fits of laughter, Johnson shouted orders. Samuel Doe's heart was removed. One of the officers ate some human flesh to make himself look more cruel, more brutal, more barbarous and inhuman — real, genuine human flesh. Samuel Doe's heart was put to one side for the officer so he could make a delicious kabob out of it."
~~ from Allah Is Not Obliged by Ahmadou Kourouma
Friday, November 24, 2023
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In theory, a book isn't alive unless it's snuggled comfortably in the reading bin in the bathroom at Oprah's or any sitting Pres...
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Reading Little White Duck: A Childhood in China led me to Wuhan, China, a large sprawling city dissected by a huge river that Chairman Mao ...
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And Duffleman has the nerve to think he has problems! Is he a homeless man breaking into and reopening a bar? No. Is he earning over $10K a...
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I've been reading Zone by Mathias Enard, tired sometimes and spacing out, but always some vivid description or series of incisive fused...
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I stumbled upon a couple articles on Atlantic City's current casino "contraction," here and here , and it sounds like the bea...
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It's always a bit disappointing to see these somewhat simplistic articles get a shiny new website when my more developed and nuanced n...
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" Frade Killed Ellen " is featured at GoodKindles today and received a full review at Goodreads earlier in the week. Look ... -
Two articles on retail work in America recently caught my eye: here and here .
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Marcus Hayes, along with the comments that follow, pretty much sums up the brutality, angst, glory, forgiveness, sin, exploitation, joy, pai...
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Lavinia Ludlow's Single Stroke Seven drops on March 1, and I had a chance to ask her questions about the writing life, unaffordable ho...