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Brian Turner – Fear

Brian Turner Fear I swing big, with everything I’ve got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can. —Babe Ruth Let me tell you—an inside pitch can change your life. Just ask any hitter with a shatteredjawbone, busted kneecap, or broken knuckles. It’s been like this throughout the game.A hundredContinue reading “Brian Turner – Fear”

Joseph Rios – Fresno Ars Poetica

Joseph Rios Fresno Ars Poetica I see a clown juggling rings on H and Divisadero and there’s enough time at the red light for me to see him switch to bowling pins. We are outside Julia’s where my grandpa used to drink burnt coffee and eat slabs of ham shaped like the can. The clown is only wearing the nose andContinue reading “Joseph Rios – Fresno Ars Poetica”

Brian Turner – Night Game with Folklore

Brian Turner Night Game with Folklore The last place team has taken to the fieldwith the stadium only partially filled—the lowest attendance in living memory. This is a double A ballclub, and at this pointin the season, deep into the humid monthof August, the conversation among playersshifts to the offseason, winter ball in Florida,heading home toContinue reading “Brian Turner – Night Game with Folklore”

Joseph Rios – Driving to Fowler Ace Hardware

Joseph Rios Driving to Fowler Ace Hardware The half a can of beer in the holderhas gone warm from neglect. The south bound golden state highway is the samehot black tar it was when my grandfather drove it. The oleander bushes sleep on old mattressessometimes lit on fire and left to burn. The grape vinesContinue reading “Joseph Rios – Driving to Fowler Ace Hardware”

Brian Turner – The Unwritten Code

Brian Turner The Unwritten Code At the end of the corridor, where concrete gives wayto the grassy expanse of playground, the afternoon pours in harsh and flat, and I’m eleven again, I’m always eleven when I return to this moment, rendered speechless once more as I discover the school bully, a 6th grader, whose fists I onceContinue reading “Brian Turner – The Unwritten Code”