Stories by Colson Whitehead, Lydia Davis, Pasha Malla, Marisa Silver, and Stephen O’Connor

In our Autumn 2009 anthology, Colson Whitehead charts the rise to fame of a truth-telling comedian. Stephen O’Connor transports us to a cabin in the woods, where a young woman attempting to finish her dissertation in solitude becomes increasingly convinced she’s not alone. Pasha Malla follows a young writer as he explores how tragedy influences art-and how life falls short of it. Marisa Silver tells the tale of three sisters who perceive the truth about their parents through the eyes of some unexpected visitors, and Lydia Davis’ solitary narrator acutely details the behavior of three cows who live in a pasture just across the road.

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“The Comedian” by Colson Whitehead

One time on a talk show, before he made the change in his comedy, the comedian was asked why he started telling jokes. He took a sip from his mug and responded that he just wanted some attention. As a child he’d felt unseen. He was a handsome baby (photographs confirm) but his impression was that no one cooed at him or went cross-eyed to make him smile. Common expressions of affection, such as loving glances, approving grins, and hearty that-a-boys, eluded him. His mother told him, Hush, now, when he came to her with his needs or questions and he frowned and padded off quietly. He received a measly portion of affirmation from grandparents, elderly neighbors, and wizened aunts who never married, folks who were practically in the affirmation-of-children business.

“Love” by Stephen O’Connor

As she and Ian peered off across the water toward where the boat had overturned, Alice noticed something moving in the high grass at the far end of the lake’s western shore. As she squinted, what had seemed a tall, weathered tree stump suddenly morphed into a stocky, gray-haired man, half-crouched and looking right at her.

The Slough” by Pasha Malla

He had felt, lately, that his life had become a raisin–if only he’d gotten to it sooner, when it was ripe from the vine and bursting with juice! But, no, it had shriveled. If he handed out his life to trick-or-treaters at Halloween, a retributive bag of feces would appear flaming on his doorstep. Or maybe someone would just pee onto his mail.

“Three Girls” by Marisa Silver

The tow truck maneuvered back and forth until the car broke free of the snow bank. When the truck drove off, the car followed along like an unwilling child. Connie realized that had the car not become stuck, it would have gone off the edge of the road and fallen down the embankment that led toward the river. She remembered how fragile the ice had been the day before. Now she imagined the car sliding beneath the water, and the ski hats–blue, green, and yellow–floating out of the window and rising to the surface, their tassels wavering atop the water like small flags, wile below, three girls sat in the back seat of the car holding hands. They would have been a help tp one another, they way sisters can be.

“The Cows” by Lydia Davis

The third comes out into the field from behind the barn when the other two have already chosen their spots, quite far apart. She can choose to join either one. She goes deliberately to the one in the far corner. Does she prefer the company of that cow, or does she prefer that corner, or is it more complicated–that that corner seems more appealing because of the presence of that cow?

Cover Artwork: Within a Given Day by The Clayton Brothers: Rob Clayton & Christian Clayton

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