©Photograph by Clapboard House
*BEST OF THE WEB—2008— Steve Almond, Editor
*Submissions are closed for the fall issue. The writers selected will be notified in early September. We will be accepting submissions again in December.
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Thanks to the many writers who submitted their work for this issue. As usual, we were fortunate to receive finely crafted stories and poems.
This is a double issue, featuring the undergraduate work of creative writers at Georgia Southern University. The Students of the Writing and Linguistics program submitted nonfiction, poetry, and flash fiction.
They also submitted their short stories to the Clapboard House Undergraduate Short Story Contest, judged by Dorothy Allison, acclaimed author of BASTARD OUT OF CAROLINA.
The students and faculty wish to dedicate their contributions to this issue to two professors who were tragically taken from them, David Starnes (left)—May 15, 2007 and Peter Christopher—April 15, 2008. They were beloved by the student writers they mentored and by the faculty with whom they formed a close-knit team of teachers devoted to their students. The fact that the program of which they were such integral parts endures and thrives is testimony to the legacy of their hard-work and commitment.
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Peter Christopher
2224B
(No office hours until further notice)
My office is adjacent to his
My office is adjacent to his
I leave the door open just enough to hear everything.
I leave the door open just enough to hear everything.
I leave adjacent to everything.
My office door is open just enough to hear.
He would look at Hannah, Hempel and Crews.
He would look at Hannah, Hempel and Crews.
Avoid the cliché. No lips smiling. No eyes rolling.
Avoid the cliché. No lips smiling. No eyes rolling.
Hannah, Hempel and Crews avoid the cliché.
He would look at lips smiling, eyes rolling. No. No.
Close to your bones. This hits pretty damn close.
Close to your bones. This hits pretty damn close.
He’d say fiction is writing the truth truer.
He’d say fiction is writing the truth truer.
He’d say writing is pretty damn close.
Truer fiction. The truth. To your bones, this hits close.
Avoid writing? No! The adjacent truth? My office? No!
To the open door, to your Hannah, Hempel and Crews.
Eyes rolling, look, lips smiling. He’d say this hits the cliché. I would leave bones open just enough to hear everything. His fiction is the truth truer.
So he is close, pretty damn close.
C. J. Krakeel
2009 Senior
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Our intent in featuring the GSU Creative Writing Program, and others in the future, is to highlight those turning out vibrant writers of great promise. We will be featuring another university writing program in the fall.
(Note: The archives will return after this double issue.)
