The Cleveland Review of Books only set out to be the highest-quality literary review in the Midwest, but they’ve quickly become one of the few outlets anywhere publishing good criticism. I’m excited to have a new piece out for them on the brilliant Japanese writer Osamu Dazai, OG literary sadboi. You can read it here: https://www.clereviewofbooks.com/writing/osamu-dazai-the-flowers-of-buffoonery
I wrote my first newsletter four years ago while spending the summer in Island Pond, Vermont. Back then it was a simple email list where I sent out a weekly list of good short fiction. This summer I’m renting a room in the small town of Coxscackie, New York, and nostalgia compels me to resurrect that old newsletter, at least for one week. Below are a few stories I’ve enjoyed recently:
“Two Ruminations on a Homeless Brother,” by David Means (The New Yorker, 2017)
Gorgeous, devastating, indescribable. Read it sitting down.
“Los Angeles,” by Ling Ma (Granta, 2015)
A woman lives with her husband and 100 ex-boyfriends. Part of Ma’s excellent collection Bliss Montage (2022).
“The Jester’s Privilege,” by Madeline Cash (Joyland, 2023)
“‘I’m the jester. My societal role allows me to speak truth to power. I’d say you are too but you don’t seem to participate in enough self-parody.’”
Thanks for reading and as always, feel free to reach out with comments, questions, or qualms.
- Micah