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The Purple Horizon: A Short Story about Dying
They asked me about the last time I spoke to the fugitive, that’s what they referred to him as. Not as Elijah, not as my son, just as the… More
Examination
For a long time I wished someone would break my nose, but nobody has ever had the guts, or, more likely, the time to do it. After a while… More
Planted in Concrete
I stood and stared at the vent on the wall above the toilet in my cell, holding a ripped piece of my sheet in my hand. I knew the… More
My Father’s Violin
My father played his violin every evening, standing by the upright piano in our dining room. Hearing him play was my first memory, and I can no longer recall… More
Tom & Gerry
CAST OF CHARACTERSTOM: Drug addict and house painter who runs out of heroin and reluctantly commits his first burglary. He is handsome but grizzled, 27 years old. His hair is… More
Siddhartha’s Loop
I been goin’ to the Jersey shore since I was a kid and ain’t never seen a condom or syringe wash upon the sand. The only thing hazardous was,… More
How I Became My Father
“Where are you going?” my father asked, stepping out of his black GTO as I approached the Mission, a halfway house my mother forced me into after bailing me… More
Catching the Setting Sun
“Mama, why does the sun go in the water?” “To let us sleep, son. To let us sleep.” “Why do we have to sleep?” “‘Cause we tired. Ain’t you… More
Case Histories: Tahar Djaout
Defending writers and advocating for free expression both at home and abroad has been a linchpin of PEN American Center since its founding in 1922. PEN American Center members… More
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