He had a broad scar that ran over the back of his kneecap. The skin was all shiny and soft, like white bread packaged in Saran Wrap.

The gas station guy said, You folks all right?

An excited murmur came to life when the audience was informed of the PhD in Biogenetics, the B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and then the sweet icing: the minor in English.
 

Before she left for Avignon, before we left for Chicago, she said, “I miss my nephew. I miss Joshua, and I... more

“I thought you were going to play football,” she says.

“Yeah,” I say.

“You’re wearing jeans.”

“Yes.”

She is folding... more

FUTURE 45

There was a pile of sticks on the edge of the world. In it, numerous things of... more

When found in this situation we realize that it is customary to provide a list of demands or a ransom note. We have discussed... more

It is noon. Very hot. The Denver sun’s pitiless spotlight pushes down upon pedestrians carrying briefcases or carryout lunches. Like... more

How he got the resort people to put these tubs out here, I have no idea.

In 2010, Michael Martone began conducting a series of interviews. Each of these interviews was written under the... more

Doesn’t it always begin with a contraction, a fluttering musclequake, birding in your heart?

The monkey breeder interviews her suitability over the phone.

A little man in a boat paddles laps around a toilet bowl.

Elizabeth Ellen looks back at Tao Lin's "The Novelist" from Hobart, Aug./Sept. '04.

Matthew Simmons looks back at Amy Minton's "Overhanded" from Hobart, May '07, and also her interviews, and just her awesomeness in general.

Jac Jemc looks back at Spencer Dew's "The Exit Colony" from Hobart October '04.

Jensen Beach looks back at Glen Pourciau's "Belly" from Hobart October '08.

Aaron Burch looks back at two Aaron Gwyn shorts from Hobart, early 2002.

"She had lost something, but she was not sure what."

"It was terrible the way we were fighting, Janine saying how many other girlfriends of yours are going to call me, pulling out the ashtray and stubbing her Doral cigarette..."

"This was the old days, back when you could go down to Tijuana without a passport."

"We go to the golf course with a case of Busch and two deep-sea fishing rods fitted with steel leaders."

It was the day after Christmas when our parents began to argue and we went down to the basement, to our new Titan... more

On the last day of her life, my grandmother woke up, went into the bathroom to brush her teeth, and looked into the mirror to discover... more

The Baby's signature sportcoat was caught in the cab door again. "Every danged time," he muttered into his coffee. He disliked being... more