Jaydn DeWald is the author of Sheets of Sound (Broken Sleep Books, 2020) and The Rosebud Variations (Broken Sleep Books, 2021). Kara Vernor’s short fiction has been selected for The Best Small Fictions, Best Microfictions, and Wigleaf’s Top 50, and her chapbook, Because I Wanted to Write You a Pop Song, is available from Split Lip Press. Elizabeth Crowder is a law librarian, an editor at X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, and co-founder of The Sartorial Geek.
(Transcript)
Welcome to Micro, a podcast for short but powerful writing. I’m your host, Drew Hawkins.
Heads excused from gravity, roaches in the coffee thermos, and the casserole people all make an appearance in this episode of microfiction involving fathers.
I’d like to take a quick second to say happy Father’s Day if you celebrate or know a dad out there. Without further ado, this first piece of microfiction imagines a father in various scenarios and finds him (or doesn’t) in the bottom of the sock drawer. It’s called “Overture”. It was written by Jaydn DeWald and published by Bull City Press in Summer 2013. Enjoy!
“Overture” (Print Only) by Jaydn DeWald from Bull City Press
Jaydn DeWald is the author of an essay collection, Sheets of Sound, from Broken Sleep Books in 2020, and a cross-genre book, The Rosebud Variations, also from Broken Sleep Books, forthcoming in 2021. You can find him on Twitter at @JaydnDeWald.
This next piece has a visual narrative arc, launching into the air and landing back on Earth with violent reality. It’s called “Am I”. It was written by Kara Vernor and published by Oyez Review on April 12, 2021. Enjoy!
“Am I” by Kara Vernor in Oyez Review
Kara Vernor’s short fiction has been selected for The Best Small Fictions, Best Microfictions, and Wigleaf’s Top 50, and her chapbook, Because I Wanted to Write You a Pop Song, is available from Split Lip Press.
You can find her on Twitter at @karavernor, on Instagram at @karavern, or on her website at karavernor.com. And check out her super cool project called Mugshot: Writers and Their Mugs on Instagram at @mugshot_writers.
Full of context and complications, this final piece of microfiction captures tumult, tragedy, and the fragility of parenthood. It’s called “The Old Baby”. It was written by Elizabeth Crowder and published by SmokeLong Quarterly on January 25, 2021. And I’d like to provide a quick content warning for the loss of a child. If you feel comfortable listening, please enjoy.
“The Old Baby” by Elizabeth Crowder in SmokeLong Quarterly
Elizabeth Crowder is a law librarian, an editor at X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, and co-founder of The Sartorial Geek. You can find her on Twitter at @lzcrowder, on Instagram at @thelizcrowder, or on her website elizabethcrowder.com.
Micro is edited and curated by Dylan Evers and produced and hosted by me, Drew Hawkins. Our theme song is by Matt Ordes. You can find all of the information about this episode’s writers, their featured work, and the publications where they were published, and a transcription of this episode in the show notes.
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Thanks for listening.