Summer Fiction 1999

7/14/1999

Literature

Summer Fiction 1999
The act of writing as a remedy for whatever has you under its spell.

Absolutely Hilarious, 1997, oil on canvas by Peter Williams.

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By Metro Times staff

Spasms of the word – prosemania – poetry fever: This year's Metro Times Summer Fiction Issue presents the act of writing as a remedy for whatever has you under its spell. In this our 12th annual (the mojo-potion) edition, we deliver just under a dozen megadoses of vitamin I(magination) culled from 170 living, breathing submissions to the contest. Add a few photographs from MT's 1999 Photo Awards competition, plus work from two of Detroit's most on-target artists, Maureen Maki and Peter Williams, and this nutritious prescription is looking mighty tasty too. Gris-gris gumbo ya-ya.

PROSE WINNERS

Chapter 1 - Paul
Being a teenager really, really sucks. A good friend helps, though. Curt Waugh explains.

Chips and Salsa
When screaming kids awaken you too early on a Saturday morning, it can ruin your whole day... by Christina Parmelee.

The Old Bats
Randall Garrison takes you to a tough neighborhood where the old and weak fight back.

Sphere
One magical night with Thelonious Monk, William Bulkley says, is enough to change everything.

Stealing
A shiny silver Ford Expedition is just asking to be set free – but it's not as easy as it was in the old days... by Paul L. Bancel.

Summer Fiction Poetry by Summer Fiction Author

POETRY WINNERS

The african american experience
...is rich and deep; sometimes joyful, sometimes painful – as told by Ella N. Singer

Before the drop
Terry Cemma paints an image-laden picture of discord and decay.

creatures of the post-post modern age
That little talking pig movie is nothing compared to John Jakary's future vision.

the present rolls by at the speed of sound
Anna Vitale takes you back to a certain summer in the city – and an attempted escape.

Soo Joo
Yun-Sook Kim Navarre's haunting ode to motherhood and loss.

Trails
A sensory-rich horseback ride on an untouched piece of land... by John Freeman.

Ben
Terry Cemma's character study is brief but biting.

Bodies in Winter
From high up above, Anne Marie Hacht describes the world as cold and unreal.

The Plan: Decoding Attempt #19
It's the end of the world as he knows it – Aaron Jentzen unravels the conspiracy.

MEET THE PROSE JUDGES
Kathe Koja has been a free-lance writer for almost 15 years. A collection of her short fiction, Extremities, was recently published by Four Walls Eight Windows. She has just finished her sixth novel, entitled Breathe.

Metro Times Big Screen writer Dayana Stetco teaches film studies in the English department at Wayne State University. Her story, "Fridays with Tom," appeared in Dispatch: Detroit #2.

MEET THE POETRY JUDGES
Performance poet Kim Hunter was the host of WDET-FM's "Radio Free Earth," a kaleidoscope of world music and spoken-word adventures, in the early '90s. He is currently engaged in the U.S. Census count of the City of Detroit.

Since 1985, poet Dennis Teichman has co-edited Past Tents Press (with Deborah King), publishing some of Detroit's finest writers. His own collections of experimental poetry include Edge to Edge and V-8.

THE ARTISTS
Maureen Maki's paintings have been featured in a recent show at C-Pop Gallery and in this summer's Girlee exhibition. She is a founding member of the Girlee collective and singer-guitarist with Paper Tiger, a rock band. Her drawings in this issue are taken from a recent sketch-book. Check out her Web site.

Peter Williams, whose works appear on this week's MT home page and this page of the 1999 Summer Fiction Issue, teaches painting and drawing in the department of art and art history at Wayne State University. His paintings have been featured recently in the traveling exhibition, "Looking Forward, Looking Black," organized by Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York; in "Confetti" at Detroit's Alley Culture; and in "On the Verge of Abstraction," the current show (until July 24) at the Center Galleries, 301 Frederick Douglass, Detroit. Call 313-664-7800.