BRIAN BEISEI IMAGINE THE STARS WISH THAT TOO
FLASH FICTION / PROSE POEMS
JANUARY 2009
4.00
from CHAD PREVOST:
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"The key requirement for the difficult form of the literary short-short is implication, which Brian Beise executes with great dexterity in story after story. His other gifts can be seen in his displays of humorous understatement, structure, and unusual comparisons. From topics relating to pop culture, marriage (and relationships in general), the joys and pains of writing, self-referential mythmaking, to the grief of suburban life, Brian Beise’s I Imagine the Stars Wish That Too is a varied and promising debut."
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from SEBASTIAN MATTHEWS:
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"Brian Beise is poet enough to provide beautiful and surprising turns inside his images and sharp enough a writer to throw the scene up around us and let the scene play. Beise goes for it all in sharp grabs. His best stories are brave and true. I loved reading this chapbook."
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excerpt from I IMAGINE THE STARS WISH THAT TOO:
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"The walk to work is all dirt and regret. My sandal straps cut my feet. Because of this I spit in the palms of beggars. They growl after me and wipe their hands in the dirt. The sun stomps on my shoulders and on every clay roof. I hear vines hanging themselves. I hear the new bestselling gospel read aloud. My name is missing. Between errands I sneer at the population. My thumb is deep in my ear. My nose is not clean. I buy a toy from the temple steps. I break the bread unevenly and much of it crumbles. I spill wine on my master’s hands. His fist lands solid on the same ear a fisherman severed once."
