To look at Kartar Jain, you would not know that he was born of rape. His face is like a melon, his lips protrusions of wet fruit, and if there is a pit inside him, it is as soft and pliable as his little limbs and the palette of loose skin that is his belly. […]
Why I Don’t Use My Real Name in Writing
This isn’t my real name. It’s not the name I was born with. Not the name people know me by. I’m not a criminal or anything. I haven’t even got embarrassing videos on the internet that I don’t want people to see. In my real life, I’m a professional. I have a good career. I […]
The Distance, and the Damage
I am your boy, he said to the photograph at the end of the hallway. Wooden boards creaking, Deckard leaned his head on the wall. Put his hand on the glass of the photo frame. Whispered words, the etching of a remembered prayer, the fragment of a stray poem. I am your boy, repeated the […]
My Writing Contract
Today, I start putting myself out there. 2020 was great, but this is the year. I’m going to query agents about my book, Girl Island. But I’m going to make a contract with myself first, and I’m going to stick to it. The contract goes as follows: I will work harder than anyone to market […]
A Year of Writing in the Life of Trent Lewin
Preambles and Prologues I don’t know where it all comes from. I don’t. I’m a normal person. I’m sane. But for whatever reason, I write literary fiction that is bent across genres, and love doing it. Creating normalcy in and amidst the strange. The thing I have is this: I am true to this craft. […]
Hafnarfjall: Ending
Hafnarfjall Pt. I In the middle of the night, a crackling sound in the trees wakes them up. Katrin shines a flashlight into the forest. Leaves shake and twigs snap, as though an army is out there. Is it a search party from Borgarnes? Is it animals, looking for meat? Or is it an ancient […]
Hafnarfjall
The odd thing about Katrin is that she can’t masturbate. She’ll push off the wheelchair onto her bed and furiously have at it, sure that if she just increases the pace of her activities that she will eventually explode with ecstasy. But at best, she just feels a turning in her stomach, as though she’s […]
Tomorrow I’ll Try
I have almost nothing to share that’s the equal of this song anyway. It fills me up. This morning, I woke up feeling like I was going to explode with words. But regular life interrupts and here I am. Heartbroken. Committed. Burning. It’s okay to burn.
Untitled: Ending
Pt. I Pt. II Pt. III “Where are you going, then?” asks Alec, as they reach the factory. “I got business in town,” she says. “You go in and work, I’ll pick you up afterwards. Mind Peter, okay? He’s new and he’s small. Marilyn needs him to make some money, so he can’t get fired. […]
Untitled Pt. III: Consentual
Pt. I Pt. II Marilyn’s gone. Alec’s sitting down. “I went to the sea, and took a boat up the coast. Did some fisherman duties for a while, then back inland and logged. Spent time in the bush. I got all the way to Alaska, Anthea. You know what it is to be in Alaska, […]