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Poetry
Fiction Literature
Excerpt: On Tuesday, October 5, 2049, a starship of the Zaradin Church exited Sol System's Second Gate. Not just starship; this was a Cathedral, one of nine to be found in the galaxy. Sol's Second Gate lies outside the orbit of Saturn, and far off the ecliptic; but had the Cathedral stayed at the Second Gate long enough, darkened though it was, humanity would have found it in time, through its gravitational disturbance upon the orbits of the other bodies in the Sys...
Excerpt: Is the cover letter properly formatted? Is the manuscript neat and free of grammatical and spelling errors? Does the lead paragraph or stanza make me want to read more? Is the dialogue well-written and realistic? Is the narrative properly placed? Is the quantity of description consistent with the mood of the work? Is the main character or voice interesting and consistent? Are the characters multi-dimensional? Is the problem properly developed? Is the climax cons...
Excerpt: Rapunzel Under Care Yeats Full Of Eyes Looking For The Well - Hidden, like Gretel, dead of cirrhosis at forty and nobody knowing she drank,...
Classic Literature
Excerpt: The sun still set as it had for all the thousands of years that humanity had existed. Darkness gathered at the windows, and the children of the race still shivered in their beds when the night winds brought them the scent of monsters. And because the adults were busy, too busy to tend to the children, the children turned to the machines, and the computers told them stories. On that cold, dark winter night, the little girl whose name was Cia did something she had...
Excerpt: Dear Reader, The following burlesque is dedicated to everyone who can read in Russian. I wrote it to support the tradition of composing the stories in which every word begins from the same letter. What is new with this burlesque is that it follows not the available words but the given plot (Cinderella). To fulfill such a difficult task, I had to enhance the vocabulary by using common Russian abbreviations and slang, that may be unclear for the people who did not...
Synopsis: Recently wounded while on duty as a city police officer, a young woman retreats to an isolated Blue Ridge mountain cabin to recover. Soon she meets a county sheriff's deputy, and together they begin to discover there's something all too real and sinister behind a local superstitious folk legend. 50,000 words/300 pages [Mystery/Romance] Chapter One - As Miranda Stewart pushed open the door of Martin's Market, she realized her worst fears as an officer of the law...
Excerpt: Chapter One - I am a master criminal, a jewel thief to be precise - and quite capable at my trade, if I do say so. You see, I have extraordinary powers that enable me to escape detection, that allow me to never be suspected by the law enforcement community. I am a vampire, and as such, I am empowered with talents suited to this lifestyle; after all, I can scale buildings, become a raven, and pass as a shadow to mortals...slipping easily in and out of mansions, l...
Excerpt: Naked Bulb // Tight bud - bulb // from socket, // Blake?s angels // arrayed inside // the burnished tree. // For that visitation, // he received // a beating. // For this: images // fill our heads // with secrets.
Prologue: Murdered! Both of them...dead, gone forever! How could this have happened? How could her parents be dead, when less than a week ago they'd been alive and well? Chelsea Seymour stood near the freshly dug graves, an umbrella protecting her from the softly falling April rain. She still couldn't believe they were gone. Even as the minister solemnly spoke his last words; even as the crowd of bereaved family and friends began to drift away; even as she saw the two co...
Excerpt: Here's quick explanation. The story you are about to read is the collective work of a year and a half of writing. Some of it was done for a writing class, some just for fun. It is the basis for my A Future We'd Like to See series, introducing many elements of the 'universe' I work and play in. In other words, it's a prequel to FWLS.
Synopsis: A lonely woman becomes obsessed with the sorrowful man who moves next-door, believing she can help him heal from the tragic loss of his murdered wife and child. Only when her dreams seem to have come true does she finally realize the depth of his despair. 25,000 words/150 pages. Chapter One - I always thought of him as the man who never smiled. He was grieving, it was said, but I couldn't fathom his grief, couldn't grasp the depth of his sorrow - and yet I foun...
Preface: We would appreciate any comments on this essay. Among other things, our radically systematic approach, setting a radically new direction for metaphysics, can help to better understand the axioms of Objectivism. This is done by, among other things, identifying the limits of systems and the limits of axioms. These intellectually startling essays must be read slowly, carefully, and beyond conventional limits. We consider everything that is conventionally considered...
Excerpt: In a minute I'll tell you Virginia Conn I've worked this chip into a full blown crack, trying to blend it into the pattern. There's so much I can't afford to replace, starting a list, becoming anxious as the losses mount. I realize I've included your stereo. Before you, there was my clock radio, so static with abuse I was forced to move it out of my sleepy rough reach. Without music, I am at the mercy of the El, the garbage trucks at dawn, the downstairs couple ...
Excerpt: New Orleans Poem // Brenda Bell // afterwards, lying in the dark, // with the ashtray on her stomach, // she watched him // fumble // to put out the cigarette // with only the ember for light // and thought // how too casual a touch // can lead to // burning...
Excerpt: A Nickle Peanut Patty Dad bought us all a peanut patty // five times a nickel's a quarter // Joe gave me half; // said he didn't like peanuts. // Times aren't the same anymore. // People don't care for each other. // Helping a neighbor's passe' // keep what you've got; // get more if you can // Things changed a lot in forty years. // Truck drivers get twenty dollars an hour. // Butchers make more than school teachers. // Cows still eat grass // and sometimes bea...
Excerpt: The Conversation You sketched me // at the coffee house, // we absently spoke of drawing // and literature. // I took exception to the manner // in which you drew hands, // I said // you make them look like machines. // Citing Ingres, I plotted a continuous line. // You agreed. // Critically eying the young // who hovered near decorative book stacks, // I muttered a condescending remark // about nose rings, poets, and tattoos. // But you refused to objectify or ...
Excerpt: When Cats Are Sheep The brown finch on my balcony rail // sings for his wife, who ducks // through the broken corner // of the overhead lamp cover?s // rounded square of milky glass. // With her bag-lady bits // of twig and string // she constructs safety // inside the hollow, // then lays her bottled children down. // My cats bleat like miniature sheep // around these birds // because my balcony // is twenty floors up // so they can stalk but never leap // exce...
Excerpt: Your cigarette smoldering down // A burning scroll wedged tight // Between those weathered fingers // Wounded and dark // The anvil warm, its ring // Forever in your ears // A constant reminder of why // You live, it sings // Your love is a reflection of light // Across the face of a hard mistress // Born of the earth, furnace formed // Made divine // Prometheus in work clothes firing a // Baptism at the blacksmith?s forge // Illumination of the snow, flatcar dr...