First Love, 1983 (an excerpt from The Donkey Prince)

Toronto is a new city of the mind. I think it was Samuel R. Delany who said something about the way cities change, how going to one changes the one you’ve come from, changes it in you, and changes you at the same time. Maybe it was Ray Bradbury. From the bus that morning I saw Toronto for the first time, apartment complexes and office towers of glass and steel, cavernous downtown streets and the harbor with miles of urban … Read on…

Hominid See, Hominid Do

An excerpt from The Book of Soulless Animals An insincere but nonetheless charming voice says, “Welcome to the only inter-species game show, Hominid See, Hominid Do. The only game show where different variations of hominids compete to answer questions about being the masters of their domain. ” “And now the host of Hominid See, Hominid Do, Greg Gracious. ” “Thank you Brent, ” says Greg Gracious. He is your normal looking game show host, wearing a cheap suit, with a … Read on…

Reclamation

I’m really not sure how much time has passed since my arrest. The holographic calendar in my cell blinked its final rollover long ago. I can’t even derive an estimate by counting the lines on the back of my hands. But that’s the price you pay for reclamation. You grow up, you go through the chaos of puberty to reach young adulthood, but then you stop—never aging, never dying, until that which was lost is found. Read on…

A passage from Homer’s Zoo

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
–Epicurus Read on…

The Devil Walks Among Us

Laura approached the Duane house cautiously, like a burglar, trying to silence her footsteps on the hard, crunchy snow covering the concrete walkway. The house was small, with a shingled hip roof and rusty gutters that ran next to the porch and bounced against the wooden railing after each of Laura’s footsteps. She knocked twice and Mrs. Duane opened the door and ushered her into the foyer. Read on…

On The Seventh Day

It was seven forty-five in the neighborhood, in the Jackson household. It was also Sunday in the neighborhood, in the Jackson household. Witnesses were coming in fifteen minutes–at eight o’clock. Witnesses were coming for the neighborhood. Witnesses were coming for the Jackson household. Witnesses came every Sunday–no exceptions. The Jackson family sat around a card table. Shirley Jackson was a mother. Shirley Jackson was a woman. She cooked, cleaned and tended to her husband and children. She also worked part-time … Read on…