Story Behind the Story
The Story Behind “Streets Of Bakersfield” by Kelly Shire
Today’s post is written by Kelly Shire. We published her creative nonfiction “Streets of Bakersfield” in our Fall 2017 issue. I wrote the first incarnation of “Streets of Bakersfield,” in the mid-1990s in a creative writing class taught by writer Barry Hannah at the University of Mississippi. (How I, a native of southern California with…
Read MoreThe Story Behind “Shuang” by Kevin McGeary
Today’s post is written by Kevin McGeary. We published his short story “Shuang” in in our Fall 2017 issue. To quote Mark Twain, “The only difference between reality and fiction is that fiction needs to be credible.” When searching for ideas for new stories, I decided to take the seven most salacious news articles from my time in the…
Read MoreThe Story Behind “Daffodils in January” by M. J. Arlett
Today’s post is written by M. J. Arlett. We published her poem “Daffodils in January” in our Fall 2017 issue. “Daffodils in January” was a direct response to Sylvia Plath’s “Poppies in July,” the title being an obvious play on hers, as well as the word “little” in the first line. I wanted to explore the image of…
Read MoreThe Story Behind “Two Poems” by Laurinda Lind
Today’s post is written by Laurinda Lind. We published two of her poems in our Fall 2017 issue. It’s hard to say what makes poems coalesce—sometimes words just want to come out to play, and sometimes insights demand means of expression. One of these two poems came from observation, and one came as a response…
Read MoreThe Story Behind “Siren” by Chaya Bhuvaneswar
Today’s post is written by Chaya Bhuvaneswar. We published her short story “Siren” in our Fall 2017 issue. Congratulations, as well, go out to Chaya, the recent recipient of the Dzanc Short Story Collection Prize. Please follow her on Twitter for updates on the book or if you would like to read your fiction, poetry or…
Read MoreThe Story Behind “Bypass Instructions” by Marion Agnew
Today’s post is written by Marion Agnew. We published her essay “Bypass Instructions” in our Spring 2017 issue. “Every illness is a narrative.” –Rebecca Solnit, The Faraway Nearby “Bypass Instructions” came about for many reasons, all of which are probably familiar to most writers: But it was really the chainsaw that kept me interested in revising…
Read MoreThe Story Behind “The Suicide Dogs” by Telaina Eriksen
Today’s post is written by Telaina Eriksen. We published her essay “The Suicide Dogs” in our Spring 2017 issue. “The Suicide Dogs” was one of the most difficult essays I’ve ever written. How do you attempt to sketch a portrait of two beloved people in a minimal number of words, but also talk about the reality…
Read MoreThe Story behind “Creatures” by Beth Sherman
Today’s post is written by Beth Sherman. We published a piece of her flash fiction, “Creatures,” in our Spring 2017 issue. I feel like I spend an inordinate amount of time searching for story ideas. For me, figuring out what to write about is the hardest part of the writing process. My life is pretty…
Read MoreThe Story Behind “bind” by Chris Murray
Today’s post is written by Chris Murray. We published two of her poems from ‘bind’ in our Spring 2017 issue. ‘bind’ is a short book, that is not quite a chapbook. It is set on peripheries, within self-imposed psychic borders and it is limited by human psychological boundaries, concerns that operate in silence for the most part. ‘bind’ takes…
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