Glimmer Train Stories 80 Author:Geoff Wyss, Jenny Zhang, Daniel Torday, Evan Kuhlman, Nona Caspers, Olufunke Grace Bankole, Daniel Wallace, Ken Barris, Interview with Debra Monroe Literary short stories by established and emerging writers.Excerpts:Geoff Wyss — Saints and Martyrs — Don was still using Speed Stick then, the cinnamon kind, and his morning smell always made me think of medieval times, cuts of meat preserved with holiday spices. Jenny Zhang — We Love You Crispina — When we moved to Bushwick, we all slept on the s... more »ame mattress again, because there wasn't any room for my smaller mattress, and because the hoods on our block stole it before we even had a chance to drag it up the stairs to our new apartment. They also stole my dad's car radio every few weeks, and then sold it back to him on the street corner by the Jewish deli. Daniel Torday
Twins
"Or what if there were two events?" Jonah said. "What if there were twice as many events, instead of none?" Evan Kuhlman
Toy Soldiers
The Sunday barbecues Rusty held during the summer were strange affairs. He'd have his army buddies and their wives and kids over for cheeseburgers and hot dogs, and we'd have to give the appearance of a perfectly normal and happy family. Daniel Wallace
The Mailman
Type love and it's just a word; write it, and the letters resolve into feeling. Nona Caspers
Ants
The ants arrived with the rains a week earlier, only a few, scattered on the windowsill, trekking up and down the sill, a reckless band of nomads. "Ants," Michelle said that first day, staring at the windowsill as if she'd forgotten ants existed. Olufunke Grace Bankole
26 Bones
Old women's hands, wiry with age, become thinner still, with endless clasping and twisting. How high the elbows are raised, the quickness with which they are dropped again, reveal what can be done or perhaps that there is nothing at all to do. "We can only hope tomorrow is a better day, can we not?" Debra Monroe
Interview by Victoria Barrett
I've closed every novel or novella with a group scene. There are practical reasons it feels so archetypal. I didn't invent it, any more than Shakespeare or George Eliot invented it. It's part of our narrative heritage, and for good reason: it works well to create closure in a story with a big cast of characters. Ken Barris
Life Underwater
Lunch on Sunday is chicken and roast potatoes, as usual. The family bickers, as always. The southeaster howls in the afternoon, which is unexceptional. After lunch, the Baruchowitz family sits in the study drinking filter coffee, as they so often do.« less