UFR Weekly Newsletter #8: Building Houses
David Cotrone
Mud Luscious Press sent us a couple of forthcoming books to review. A pair of UFR contributors are currently reading them and I can’t wait to see what they have to say. Looking to the future, if any of you are interested in reviewing, respond to this message. We’d be happy to work with you.
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I’m thinking of a moment that occurred years ago, in a Wal-Mart that has since been abandoned. My father shopped as my brother and I crossed to the other side of the store to play in the clothing racks. In front of us, a big man with brown hair and glasses fell straight back, grunting on the way down. We watched, amazed and confused, the crack of his body against the ground still hanging in the air.
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Lacey Martinez is on Facebook by Lacey Martinez
Ryan Scott Oliver talks with furniture, saying, “I build songs like they’re houses, once a structure is set and a draft (the walls, as it were) has been established, I don’t often make much global revision. Instead, there will be tweaks to the smaller, decorative parts — a few notes or chords here, a word choice or a phrase there.”
Three poems by Liz Masi
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“In writing you work toward a result you won't see for years, and can't be sure you'll ever see. It takes stamina and self-mastery and faith. It demands those things of you, then gives them back with a little extra, a surprise to keep you coming. It toughens you and clears your head. I could feel it happening. I was saving my life with every word I wrote, and I knew it.”
- Tobias Wolff, In Pharaoh’s Army
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My brother and I never told our father about what we saw. How could we? The thing about oblivion is that it doesn’t make a sound.
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Thank you for reading each other’s stories, for contributing, for submitting, for your support. For anyone who hasn’t heard back about the status of his or her submission yet, thanks for your patience. We’re reading as fast as we can. For anyone whose work has been declined, please do submit again.
Be well,
David