Short Story at REDUX

REDUX, a literary journal whose aim is to give further exposure to worthy stories that previously appeared only in print, has published my story "The Jaws of Life." It first appeared in CONCLAVE
in 2012.  My thanks to Kenneth Fleming, Asst. Editor Fiction, for selecting the story and also to
Leslie Pietrzyk, novelist and Editor of REDUX. You can read the story HERE.  Thanks.

INNER VISIONS

Painting by William Hawkins

INNER VISIONS

On October 12th, Colby-Sawyer College in New London, NH opens a show of selected work from the vast collection of Beverly Bernson, New England's most prominent collector of "outsider" art.

Inner Visions, on view thru December 10th, is the inaugural exhibition in the college's new Art + Design Center and includes work by William Hawkins, Sam Doyle, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Howard Finster, Moses Tolliver, Bessie Harvey, Milton Avery and myself. Opening reception Friday, October 13th from 4-7 pm. Show continues through December 10th.

 http://colby-sawyer.edu/news/center-opening

WISER

Truth Serum Press, from Australia, has published a new anthology of stories, poems and essays. A story of mine, These Hallowed Halls, is included.

Other writers with work in this volume include Paul Beckham, Claudia Biershenk, Mark Hudson, Len Kuntz and Sophie Van Llewyn.

Paperback edition can be purchased HERE.


Kindle and ebook formats will become available soon.

SHOWTIME

On Friday, September 1st from 5-8 pm Carver Hill Gallery in Rockland, Maine will open a two-person exhibition of my paintings and those of David Hornung.

The opening coincides with Rockland's Friday Art Walk events. The gallery is at 338 Main Street, close to the Farnsworth Museum.

More info.










"And the Winner is...."  2012.  Flashe on canvas.  48" x 24"

NEW STORY AT LOWESTOFT CHRONICLE

Lowestoft Chronicle, an online literary magazine, has published a short story of mine, Rome 1973.

Genre? Goofball Noir.

If you'd like to read the story and others in the issue, click HERE and then "Read our Summer Issue."

Sincere thanks to Nicholas Litchfield, Lowestoft's Editor, for choosing the story.

GROUP SHOW: An Eclectic View

Meredith Moses has curated an exhibition at the Abigail Ogilvy Gallery in Boston. An Eclectic View will open this Saturday with a reception from 5 to 8 pm. The gallery is located in the heart of the SOWA district, at 460 Harrison Avenue, #C7. Meredith has included a painting of mine and work by, among others, Sqeak Carnwath, Jaeok Lee, James Aponovich, Mary Bero, Andy Freeberg, Peri Schwartz, Jane Smaldone, and Michael Stasiuk.

ABIGAIL OGILVY WEBSITE

Pure Slush Anthology

Pure Slush Books from Australia has published tall...ish, a volume of short stories, essays and poems.

The anthology is edited by the legendary Matt Potter and includes work by Paul Beckman, AJ Huffman, Jennifer Fliss, Shayla Hawkins, Gary Percesepe, Jolene McIlwain, Larry Lefkowitz, Susan Tally, Nancy Stohlman, Adina Sara and others.

My own contribution, Hawaii, may be the dumbest story I've ever written. How, I can hear you asking, could he choose the dumbest from among so many deserving candidates?

You can purchase paperback version HERE

You can purchase the Kindle version  HERE

New Paintings at Gallery NAGA

   
   Todd McKie

            Suitable for Framing 

    May 6 - 28

            Reception:  Friday, May 6,  6-8 pm

   Gallery NAGA

            67 Newbury Street, Boston

            617 267 9060  

            mail@gallerynaga.com

            www.gallerynaga.com

            

            

        

        

                                                                                                           

Clickety Clack

The 2016 volume of the Clackamas Literary Review has arrived. And Clackamas says:
"This year we feature spectacular new work from artists we are thrilled to publish: Blaise Allen, Kristy Athens, Morris Collins, Asha Dore, Nausheen Eusuf, Alexis Fedorjaczenko, Ruth Foley, M.K. Foster, Jonathan Greenhause, Luke B. Goebel, Meredith Hamilton, Toni Hanner, Maya Hickman, Alex Andrew Hughes, Jamie Iredell, Michael Johnson, J.M. Jones, Cindy King, Jen Knox, Donald Levering, Jacob Lindberg, Jennifer Zeynab Maccani, Margaret Malone, Todd McKie, Mary Miller, Stacey Allen Mills, Sonnet Mondal, Jed Myers, Robert Nazarene, Randolph Parker, Ricardo Pau-Llosa, Paulann Petersen, Oliver Rice, Matthew Robinson, Ruben Rodriguez, Frank Rossini, Mike Salisbury, Cameron Schott, Adam Tavel, Ed Taylor, Katie Todd, James Valvis, Dennis Vanvick, Dov Weinman, John Sibley Williams, Joan Wilking, Andrea Wyatt, and A.R. Zarif."

Titled What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do, my own contribution, is a longer story than most of my efforts, as is that mouthful of a title. 

Overgrowth

Overgrowth, an exhibition featuring representations of prolific expansion, growth and mutation found in nature as well as the built environment will open at the deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, MA on April 1 and continue through September 18.

Overgrowth, drawn from deCordova’s permanent collection, includes  work in various mediums by more than 45 artists, including



Edward Steichen, Rachel Perry, Willy Heeks, Lee Friedlander, Todd McKie, Jean Arp, Layla Ali, Henry Moore, Jon Imber and Laura McPhee.

The exhibition’s central theme examines aspects of transformation and change that occur in nature. Many of these works also address human perceptions of the landscape and the ways in which people attempt to control and shape the natural world. 

Yikes, that sounds kinda serious, doesn't it?

More information about the exhibition and deCordova Museum and Sculpture Park.

Dysfunctional Family: Portraits

Gallery NAGA in Boston opens a group show of work by sixteen gallery artists this Friday, February 5th, with a reception from 6-8 pm.

The artists in the show include Gerry Bergstein, Jaclyn Kain, Lana Z Caplan, Gregory Gillespie, Esther Solondz, and yours truly.

Gallery NAGA  67 Newbury St., Boston

FIVE From Pure Slush

Pure Slush Press has just published FIVE, an anthology of short fiction and poetry in celebration of its fifth year. The book contains work by a whole slew of writers who have appeared in Pure Slush during the last five years.

Susan Tepper, Corey Mesler, Mira Desai, Paul Beckman, Phillis Ideal, Andrew Stancek, Jessica Clements, A.J. Huffman, Walter Giersbach, Len Kuntz, Joanne Jagoda, Matt Potter, Sally Reno, and myself are among the writers represented.

My own contribution, Cinco de Mayo, is a short, tragicomic tale of events unfolding at a Cinco de Mayo party hosted by a successful veterinarian at which the only Mexicans present are members of the Mariachi band.

An eBook version will be released soon, but FIVE is now available in paperback ($11 plus shipping). To order FIVE in paperback click HERE.

The Checkup at gravel

gravel magazine has published a story of mine, The Checkup, in its new issue. The story is a brief foray into the twisted world of medical literature.

gravel is a fine-looking publication with crisp, clean text, plenty of white space, and photographs that pop. The stories, poems, and essays are pretty good too.

Visit gravel and The Checkup HERE

STORY MAGAZINE

STORY has just published my story, New Mexico, online. Winner of the 2015 CLMP Best Debut Magazine Award, STORY publishes, in print and online, some terrific stuff, so I'm really pleased to be included.

New Mexico takes place in—you guessed it—New Mexico. Read the story HERE.

It's Already Halloween at Chicago Literati

Chicago Literati  is kicking off their Halloween Issue with my story, Green Bay, Wisconsin, Planet Earth.

A woman disappears. And then.........

Many thanks to Abigail Sheaffer, the Editor of Chicago Literati, for choosing to publish this one.

To read the story simply click on the cross-eyed gentleman to the left.

Pure Slush Reading

A somewhat eerie photo of the readers from last weekend's Matt Potter / Pure Slush reading at Arts at the Armory in Somerville. Left to right: Gwendolyn Joyce Mintz, Todd McKie, Gloria Garfunkel, Paul Beckman, Susan Tepper, and a light-struck Matt Potter.

It's Snowing at CHEAP POP

CHEAP POP  is an online literary journal featuring "micro-fiction that pops." They've just published a short story of mine called Snow. 

Many thanks to Rob Russell and Elizabeth Schmuhl for including me in the eclectic mix. I'm delighted to be in such good company.

Read Snow.

Welcome to the Lit Bulb Festival

_____________________________________________________________________________

Lit Bulb Festival    new international writing 2015

Here in a cozy corner of the interwebs is my story "Thurgood," selected for inclusion in Lit Bulb, an online festival of writing from around the world. Be sure to check out a day-by-day schedule of events and links to other writers' work on the Lit Bulb Festival site. Thanks for dropping by, and help yourself to fried dough, cotton candy and a turkey drumstick on your way out.

______________________________________________________________________________________ 

Thurgood

  

Jenna is a good woman, but she has a bad cat, and because I’m with Jenna, so do I. We have a bad cat together.

The cat’s name is Thurgood and he’s big and gray and mean. When Jenna tries to brush his coat, he hisses, bares his teeth, squirms from her grasp. When I push him gently off the bed he jumps back up and rakes his claws against my arm. I look like a goddamn junkie.

When I moved in with Jenna I wasn’t too crazy about her having a cat, but it seemed a small price to pay for being with Jenna. Now I’m not so sure.

Thurgood wrecks everything. He scratches up all our furniture. Our chairs and tables and our sofa look like something you’d give to Goodwill, but that’s where they came from in the first place and I doubt they would even accept the stuff now. It would be nice to have new furniture, but with Thurgood ripping the hell out of everything, what would be the point?

Thurgood has—get this!—diabetes, so we spend a fortune at the vet. That damn cat gets better medical care than Jenna and I do. I haven’t had a physical exam in three years, but Thurgood sees a doctor once a month. He eats better than we do too. Jenna’s a vegetarian, so we eat a lot of lentils, carrots, and brown rice. Thurgood’s on a special diet too. Seafood.   

After we pay the landlord and the veterinarian, after we buy cans of seafood for diabetic cats and tofu, rice and vegetables for ourselves, there’s nothing left over for fun, forget about new furniture.

I wish it was just me and Jenna, lounging on our new Ikea sofa, sitting at a table from Crate and Barrel while we eat a meal containing actual meat, cuddling in a stylish, queen-size bed, leafing through magazines in comfortable leather chairs from Pottery Barn. 

For once, I’d like to get up in the morning and not trip over the cat, not have to open another stinking can of his greasy seafood medley, not have to listen to that awful thrumming sound he makes.

I wish stupid Thurgood would die. I’m a terrible person.

The Examined Life Journal

Issue 4.1 of The Examined Life Journal has just been released. It contains my story Giacometti's Girl, a piece that I wrote a few years ago but have rewritten, tweaked, polished, and messed about with since.

The Journal is published by the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. The new issue is an eclectic mix of fiction, non-fiction and poetry that all explore, in one way or another, the confluence of art and medicine. It's a handsome publication and I'm really pleased to be included within its pages.

You can order a copy here, and you know what they say: "Life without a copy of The Examined Life Journal isn't worth living."

Вітаю вас, українські друзі!

Я перевірив мій блог Статистика днями і був здивований, виявивши, що, після того, як Сполучені Штати, найбільшу кількість відвідувачів на цей сайт приходять з України. Враховуючи останні трагічні події у вашому батьківщини, можна подумати, ви, можливо, більш насущні проблеми, але, можливо,
ви шукаєте трохи комічного. Проте, ласкаво просимо на борт!



I checked my blog stats the other day and was surprised to find that, after the United States, the largest number of visitors to this site come from Ukraine. Given the recent tragic events in your homeland, one might be forgiven for thinking you might have more pressing concerns, but perhaps you're looking for a bit of comic relief. Nonetheless, welcome aboard!