Category Archives: Writing

April 4th, 1984

Posted on April 4, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER theyll shoot me I dont care theyll shoot me in the back of the neck I dont care down with … Continue reading →

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An odd place for a lighthouse

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

It’s always a treat to stumble upon an engaging short story and doubly so to discover a prize-winning work. The VS Pritchett Short Story Prize for 2022 was recently awarded to Kaliane Bradley’s genre-bending story Doggerland. Simultaneously humorous and creepy, the story … Continue reading →

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March Elegy

Posted on March 31, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

March Elegy by Anna Akhmatova  

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Story Typology

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

The Two Types of Stories: Expanded Edition For the NY Times Book Review. For more comics on all things literary, check out Grant Snider’s book I WILL JUDGE YOU BY YOUR BOOKSHELF.  

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English can be tricky

Posted on March 29, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

 

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We Wear the Mask

Posted on March 22, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

We wear the mask NB: If the video fails to launch please click here. We wear the mask that grins and lies. It shades our cheeks and hides our eyes. This debt we pay to human guile With torn and … Continue reading →

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The Writing Life

Posted on March 21, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

The Writing Life is a wonderful short video essay about the demands and rewards that come with the pursuit of writing as a vocation. The video is told through the films of Wes Anderson featuring clips from Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, … Continue reading →

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Monday, Monday, can’t trust that day

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

Film studio “Animācijas Brigāde” is a stop motion puppet animation film studio, producing puppet films and commercials. Working in classic stop motion technique, the Riga-based studio was founded in 1966 by a puppet film and theater director Arnolds Burovs and since … Continue reading →

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“Actually”

Posted on March 19, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

“Actually” by Joy Williams from 99 Stories of God The child wanted to name the rabbit Actually, and could not be dissuaded from this. It was the first time one of our pets was named after an adverb. It made us … Continue reading →

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like a shadow or a friend

Posted on March 16, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

KINDNESS by Naomi Shihab Nye Before you know what kindness really is you must lose things, feel the future dissolve in a moment like salt in a weakened broth. What you held in your hand, what you counted and carefully … Continue reading →

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