Stuart Dybek explore les paysages complexes de la vie quotidienne, en particulier dans le cadre vibrant de son quartier natal, la South Side de Chicago. Ses récits et poèmes sont imprégnés d'un profond sentiment de nostalgie, de vulnérabilité et d'une grande empathie pour les gens ordinaires et leurs aspirations. Dybek capture magistralement la nature éphémère des moments et la beauté tranquille que l'on trouve dans les expériences communes, en utilisant un style lyrique et perspicace. Son œuvre témoigne de la résilience humaine et de l'esprit indéfectible.
Set against the backdrop of Chicago's South Side, the collection features eleven interconnected stories centered on Perry Katzek and his expanding family. The narrative weaves through the lives of diverse characters, including butchers, hitmen, and factory workers, capturing the essence of urban life. Dybek's storytelling blends reality with myth, showcasing his skill in portraying the complexities of urban America and solidifying his reputation as a master chronicler of the city.
The book features a blend of gritty realism and elements of the marvelous, creating a unique narrative experience. It explores the complexities of urban life, capturing both the harsh realities and the extraordinary moments that arise within it. This juxtaposition invites readers to reflect on the profound beauty and struggle found in everyday streets, offering a vivid portrayal of the human experience.
Celebrating seven years of culinary creativity, this collection features exceptional writing from notable fiction and nonfiction authors, showcasing a diverse range of topics from humor to lyrical prose, and recipes to personal reflections. The pieces explore various aspects of food and drink, blending historical insights with contemporary experiences, all while maintaining the high-quality writing that defines the magazine. Unique in its literary approach, it stands out as the only journal with its own martini recipe, adding a playful twist to the literary feast.
Judith Slater's debut collection, The Baby Can Sing and Other Stories , was selected by Stuart Dybek as the 1998 Winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction. The Baby Can Sing and Other Stories introduces a writer who approaches the world at a surprisingly oblique angle. Judith Slater writes in a prose dance, dramatizing the lives of ordinary people who wonder what they can do to bring more passion into their lives, or at least less loneliness. The characters in these stories are a diverse bunch-a floral clerk with aspirations of being a ballet dancer, a photographer volunteering to take the pictures at his ex-girlfriendÕs wedding, a father playing the role of reluctant chaperon at his daughter's school dance-but all of them are alert to the moments of possibility, transcendence, and sometimes even magic that exist just under the surface of ordinary life. Slater is unafraid to employ the surreal or absurd in the title story, a woman creates a perfect baby in her mind; in "Phil's Third Eye," a chance encounter at a Laundromat ends in a bizarre battle of wills; in "Our New Life," a woman finds that her former therapist has decided to make the same drastic change in her own life as she had encouraged in her patient's, and a strange challenge is issued to decide who has taken the greater risk; the narrator of "Soft Money," worried about job security in the large corporation she works for, hits upon a unique solution to the problem of downsizing. In vivid, witty prose, Judith Slater presents a world where people come together and make do, as they learn to live with the odd possibilities in life. Judith Slater grew up in Oregon and received her M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her stories have appeared in Redbook, Seventeen, Greensboro Review, Sonora Review, American Literary Review, Beloit Fiction Journal , and Colorado Review , among other magazines. She is an associate professor of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she lives during the academic year. She spends her summers in Ashland, Oregon. "Judith Slater is a writer whose work rings true to her observation of the world is keen, reported
Exploring the complexities of romantic love, this new collection of short stories delves into the emotional upheavals and challenges faced by its characters. Each narrative reveals the intricacies of relationships, showcasing the author’s mastery in capturing the essence of love's trials and tribulations. Through vivid storytelling, the collection invites readers to reflect on the universal experiences of passion, heartache, and connection.
