short stories

Two Stories by Andrew Sacks

flash fiction

The world is changing, and the worlds of fiction and poetry are changing with it.

With scores of other kinds of media now in existence, other options for the individual, reading needs to be quickly accessible. Upon being read, the story or poem should give the reader a quick high or kick. It’s the only way the literary art can compete.

Among the innovations coming from new writers and websites are short shorts and flash fiction. Stories shorter than the traditional story. Instead of 5,000 words, 500. Or 150. When done well, the new works become more compressed, more powerful, more impactful– ending at times with modernist abruptness.

Today we present two such works by Andrew Sacks, who’s as adept at the form as any writer out there. We hope you enjoy them.

Now a more “serious” engagement presented itself, in the mutual celebration of her birthday. David knew something special had to be done. There would have to be a gift, and a meaningful one. Chosen wisely. Chosen for a woman of taste and a certain obvious refinement.

Clarity

Pop Lit Fiction

Our mission is to publish terrific fiction.

Today we present a short story, “Clarity,” from one of the best story writers around, Alex Bernstein. The title of his story is apt, because Bernstein writes with distinct clarity– clarity of thought and clarity of style, which makes him one of the sharper commentators on the American scene today, combining humor with understanding. See if you agree.

“Julie – you can’t be happy with that guy. He takes undead hair scraps from people’s armpits and buries them in their scalps! He makes beer in his living room! Is that what you want?”

No Faith to Lose

Pop Lit Fiction

Summer reading for Labor Day weekend– for the last lazy days of summer.

We’ve been obsessed with poetry of late. Fitting that our feature story, “No Faith to Lose,” would be– marginally– about a poet. But it’s really about traveling. No, it’s about a relationship. It’s about the choices we make in our lives. It’s a story that just is, a slice of life, and we see in it what we want.

AN Block stories have been appearing across the Internet. We thought we’d grab a good one for ourselves. Hope you like it!

“You have pictures of me wearing what?” she asked, the following week. “Lavender tinted glasses? Purple lipstick? I never turned on all that much, one puff made me loopy. Oh, right, and cough my guts up.”

*******

(Meanwhile our Fun Pop Poetry  feature is hopping.)

 

 

Benjamin Franklin and the Witch of Endor

Pop Lit Fiction

The wild election season is heating up.

To celebrate the madness, we’re running a new short story by Washington D.C. Beltway expert Tom Ray– giving us an entertaining inside look at the struggles staff handlers and party officials go through trying to manage what are increasingly unmanageable politicians. Any familiarity to real life? Naw!

Read Tom Ray’s “Benjamin Franklin and the Witch of Endor” now!

The word was out that Hathaway was still a buffoon, so there weren’t a lot of applicants for the position. Despite Patricia Hathaway’s seeming hostility toward me, I was hired.

***

(Also keep up on our new Fun Pop Poetry feature.)

The Old Neighborhood

Pop Lit Fiction

The long and lazy summer! A time for reflection– for memories of childhood, of the old homestead, days past. Simpler times. The friends you had. The girl you knew.

Can we go back to those days? Should we go back?  These questions are raised by Andy Tu’s bittersweet story, “The Old Neighborhood.” We think you’ll like it.

She’d always been somewhere in the bottom of his mind, covered by the office romances and two long-term girlfriends. She’d been there, like a buried treasure, unlocked and waiting for him to free it from beneath the sands, to simply open it and look.

***

(REMINDER: Our Fun Pop Poetry feature is underway at our New Pop Lit Interactive blog. We need fun poems!)

Diminutives

Pop Lit Fiction

(“Premonition” by Walter Nessler copyright Royal Air Force Museum.)

***

Our month-long Hemingway celebration continues with a striking new story by Samuel Stevens, “Diminutives,” whose setting of Paris is a nod to Ernest Hemingway and the Lost Generation. But so is its style. Few writers understand what Ernest Hemingway was fully up to when he revolutionized writing. Stevens is one of them.

Note how Stevens’ story is like a Modernist painting– a collage of parts expressing the fragmentation of our time. As if helplessly riding a bus about to crash, we’re replaying– reliving– that broken insane world Hemingway experienced. Around us is a sense of foreboding. Imminence. Chaos.

Stevens’ story is simple but at the same time it’s a mix of impressions and ideas. A splash of confusion, or a slap in the face. The story is there in front of us, like a painting. Right there. It’s very short, but there’s enough in it to like or dislike. Or hate.

Provocative and topical.

But what do you think?

There were no subjects to write about any more, either in America or here; the world was too mixed up to really stop and look at it.

Tunnel Vision

Pop Fiction

What happens when you mix homeless veterans, a subway system, and a shady-but-not-all-bad lawyer?

Our new tale, “Tunnel Vision.” Summer reading from Steve Slavin. American reality with a heart.

I ain’t no Robin Hood. Yeah, I do take from the rich and give to the poor, but I’m really in this just for myself. And let me level with you: I make out OK. In fact, more than OK.

***

(Photos c/o Marie Curie via Untapped Cities.)

The Lawn

Pop Lit Fiction

Summer is upon us! Lawn season. In keeping with the season we have a story by writer/musician Jeff Schroeck called, appropriately, “The Lawn.”

We live increasingly in a society about regulation, order, and conformity. Do this! Don’t do that. Follow the rules. Please comply. Aaarrggh! “The Lawn” is a metaphor for that conformity– presenting a situation with which many of us can identify.

I looked over my own copy of the agreement. They had no authority over my property but made sure that it was unpleasant for me to have disagreed with them.

 

Prattlegate

Pop Lit Fiction

The power of media is something we witness every day. We’re bombarded by it, from television screens to Yahoo news feeds and supermarket tabloids. all of them screaming insane headlines on all sides. Fear! Scandal! Hysteria!

It becomes more and more impossible to know truth from imagination from PR.

This is the premise of “Prattlegate,” a great new story by Ken O’Steen. It may give you a moment of perspective on what you’re daily experiencing.

Richard made the final click, and the story was disseminated.

“Thirty seconds already?” Raymond asked.

“About.”

“Shit. We’re already past a minute. You’ve got to take it down. Yikes,” Raymond said, clutching at his hair with both of his hands.

Ergo Propter Hoc

Pop Lit Fiction

What makes a great short story? What elements create an unforgettable reading experience?

Part of the proper mix has to be character, setting, and reality– crafting a place in space so visceral and authentic you can jump into it with your mind.

Part of it is simply hooking the reader like Hemingway hooking a marlin. Then keeping the reader hooked on the narrative line right to the end.

We believe Scott Cannon achieves this with his newest story for us, “Ergo Propter Hoc.” Why the unusual title? Well, the story has to do with the legal profession, and a process server, a lawyer; a search and a situation. . . . But read the story!

The guy half turned to him. His hand on the bar next to Eddie was the size of a small ham. Dime shaped scabs covered the first three knuckles. “Ever been to San Francisco?” the guy asked.