May is the month of new beginnings. It’s that month where we say, “enough already.”
We’ve grown tired of faces blurred into woolen bondage, huddled over fighting the snow, sleet, hail, rainstorms and dust-devil winds whipping us three steps back for every one step forward. We’re ready to stop staring down at our boots, racing from one building to the next. We start to strip away the layers of gray, stand upright, face the world head-on and notice each other again.
Everything is blossoming. Even here in the desert, cacti is pushing up through the cracks of the dried earth. We are primed for diversion, skipping work and getting outside to bask in the sunshine and warmth. And here at Connotation Press, in the fiction column, May is the month of the video. Time to get the visuals! Watch our wellspring of resplendent writers narrate a story from their latest sublime creations.
Our five outstanding writers in this Mid-May issue are Thomas Clayton, Jesse Bradley, Stephanie Bryant Anderson, Anatoly Molotkov and Matt Potter.
Thomas Clayton, our featured writer, delivers two ingenious, captivating stories, “What Am I Doing in the Background” and “Steeplejack,” in which outside forces frame the interior of these narratives. Watch his video reading of “What I Am Doing in the Background.”
Jesse Bradley gives us three adroit micro-flash pieces, “Hemophilia,” “Let’s Get Paralyzed” and “Fox in the Snow.” These stories are varied, shrewd diversions on the demise of a relationship. Check out his video reading of “Hemophilia.”
Stephanie Bryant Anderson brings us three beguiling poetic prose pieces, “Married Woman, and Other Degenerates,” “Vertigo” and “Fish Hook.” The language in these flash stories is mesmerizing and you feel the hypnotic pull of multi-generational women caught in the same traps. Watch Stephanie read “Married Woman, and Other Degenerates” on video.
Anatoly Molotkov presents us with his masterful, dream-like short story, “The Rainy Smile of Life,” in a surrealistic play on the perfect couple. Watch his video reading of this evocative story.
Matt Potter delivers a humorous, marvel of a short story “Dotting Every “I”.” A punctuation dominatrix takes over an office and lashes out in inimitable ways as told through the skillful prose of Matt Potter. Check out Matt’s video reading of “Dotting Every “I”.”