Meghan Phillips is the author of chapbook “Abstinence Only” and has stories in Best Microfiction 2019, 2020, and 2021. Zoe Contros Kearl is a writer and editor based in rural Vermont. J.B. Stone is a Neurodivergent/Autistic writer, slam poet, editor and literary critic from Brooklyn, now residing in Buffalo, NY. Kendra Fortmeyer lives and writes in Austin, Texas. Megan Pillow is co-editor of The Audacity, and her work has appeared or is forthcoming in, among other places, in Electric Literature, SmokeLong Quarterly, The Believer, TriQuarterly, and Guernica.
(Transcript)
Welcome to Micro, a podcast for short but powerful writing. I’m your host, Drew Hawkins.
Plastic fangs, German emperors, ghost stories and, of course, serial killers. You guessed it—our Back From the Dead special is here. We joined forces with the assortment of sentient skulls that is the lit journal Hobart After Dark—also known as HAD.
For this episode, we decided to reanimate a few spooky pieces originally published in journals that have since gone on to the other side. And though these pieces have been reinterred in the HAD boneyard, we pay our respects to the literary ghosts that haunt us.
In the spirit of Halloween, this first piece lives in the space between horror and desire. Originally published in The Mondegreen, it’s called “The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Other Things I Wish My Boyfriend Would Call Me During Sex.” It was written by Meghan Phillips and resurrected by HAD on October 25, 2021. Enjoy.
“The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Other Things I Wish My Boyfriend Would Call Me During Sex” by Meghan Phillips in HAD
Meghan Phillips is the author of chapbook “Abstinence Only” and has stories in Best Microfiction 2019, 2020, and 2021. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram at @mcarphil, or on her website at meghan-phillips.com.
Our second piece invokes the past and all its lingering consequences, peeling back layers of time, blood, and old news articles. Originally published in Public Pool, it’s called “Bloodline.” It was written by Zoe Contros Kearl and revived for HAD on October 26, 2021. Enjoy.
“Bloodline” by Zoe Contros Kearl in HAD
Zoe Contros Kearl is a writer and editor based in rural Vermont. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram at @zoecontros, or on her website at zoecontroskearl.com.
Our third piece appeals to Plato, rotoscopy, and hangovers. Originally published in Mojave Heart Review, it’s called “To the Poet Who Summoned Cab Calloway’s Ghost & Held His Hand While Revisiting St. James Infirmary.” It was written by JB Stone and, like Cab Calloway in Max Fleischer’s “Snow White,” raised from the grave for HAD on October 27, 2021. Enjoy.
“To the Poet Who Summoned Cab Calloway’s Ghost & Held His Hand While Revisiting St. James Infirmary” by J.B. Stone in HAD
J.B. Stone is a Neurodivergent/Autistic writer, slam poet, editor and literary critic from Brooklyn, now residing in Buffalo, NY where they are content with many things he never thought he would be content about. You can find him on Twitter at @JB_StoneTruth, on Instagram at @benjamin.jared, or on his website at jaredbenjaminstone.com.
Our fourth piece plays with horror movie character tropes in the way that the murderer plays with their victims. Originally published in Corium Magazine, it’s called “Disappointment.” It was written by Kendra Fortmeyer and resuscitated for HAD on October 28, 2021. Enjoy.
“Disappointment” by Kendra Fortmeyer in HAD
Kendra Fortmeyer lives and writes in Austin, Texas. You can find her on Twitter @kendraffe, or on her website at kendrafortmeyer.com.
Our fifth and final piece is a contrapuntal flash, serving horror left-to-right and top-to-bottom, straight out of the movie, Halloween. We highly recommend reading along with this one. Originally published in The Ginger Collect, it’s called “Laurie in the Closet/Michael With the Knife.” It was written by Megan Pillow and reawakened for HAD on October 29, 2021. Enjoy.
“Laurie in the Closet/Michael With the Knife” by Megan Pillow in HAD
Megan Pillow is co-editor of The Audacity, and her work has appeared or is forthcoming in, among other places, in Electric Literature, SmokeLong Quarterly, The Believer, TriQuarterly, and Guernica. You can find her on Twitter at @megpillow, on Instagram at @megpillow77, or on her website at meganpillow.com.
Micro is edited and curated by Dylan Evers, our social media is managed by M.M. Kaufman, and the show is produced and hosted by me, Drew Hawkins. Our theme song for this episode was done by Albino Ghost Monkey. Special thanks to Aaron Burch and Crow Jonah Norlander at HAD, as well as everyone who submitted work for this highly specific submission call.
You can find all of the information about this episode’s writers, their featured work, and the publications where they were published, as well as a transcription of this episode in the show notes. Find more of our shows wherever you listen to podcasts, or check out our website at micropodcast.org. And follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at podcastmicro.
Thanks for listening, and Happy Halloween.