Politically Inspired

by Stephen Elliott, Sim Kern, Annabeth Albert, et al.

Book Overview

The news media can't help but leave out a certain personal element from every story. Reading fiction gives us the freedom to envision unlikely connections between characters, overhear conversations in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1931561583
• ISBN13: 9781931561587
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: MacAdam/Cage Publishing
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 1.26 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

The Coolest, Freshest Collection I Have EVER Read!

Wish I had something to say about a flaw in this book but I can't think of any. I never wrote one of these letters so bare with me.OK.Stephen Elliott, the kind of teacher one could only dream about if taking any kind of writing course, has got to be the quintessentail California cool guy and arbiter of great "new millinieum" taste to put together a collection like this. It is bar none, the best fiction anthology I have EVER read. OK, I'm only 31, but I do read a lot of anthologies. This one is original, fast paced, original and every single story I read pulled me in and kept me interested til the end.Off the bat, I can think of Charles Baxter's "Innocent" and "da bomb" and Brian Gage's Vampire story as being the best ones. There is another one too about this guy that killed his whole family in an Arab country and got celebrated for it. Those ones blew me away. This dude F.S. Yu came pretty hard too, although I was at a party recently and someone whispered in my Orson loving ear that F.S. Yu has a seceret identity. Great story, though. But like I was saying I couldn't get enough of this book. Let me get it.O.K. got it. I liked everything in here. Ann Urso's story was like a little movie skit, really funny. JOan Wilking pissed me off, but hey, that's what a good story does. Peter Rock rocked. David Rees had me laugh'n but not with some serious thoughts. That's what I like aobut this book, they cut out all the b.s. and just let it roll. The story I read when I want a good laugh over and over again is by Mistress Morgana. She tells you how her day went as a dominitrix and if you go to her web page in real life she's a hot woman, so that made me totally believe her story. A pleasant surprise was to see L.A.'s own Ethiopian fatwa writer Kola Boof in the lineup after listening to her radio appearances last year on KPFK Radio and ABC NEWSRADIO. She wrote a tight story about this black girl singer whose boyfriend was cheating on her and got blown up in the WTC. The cracks on President Bush and Clinton are priceless too. I still don't know what the story was about, but out of the women's stories, hers was the best.This is a cool book. It's spacey and it expects you to expect the unexpected. As a writing student and over all HAM I hope to someday have my name posted in lights with a group as talented and imagination as the old gang here. Top drawer politics. Sexy. Smart. I give it two thumbs up.Peace

A Must Read

Can art be relevant in the post 9/11 era? Can any fiction do justice to these fictional times? Apparently, yes. Michelle Tea captures the surreal emptiness of 9/11 mindless jingoism chillingly. Amanda Eyre Ward carefully portrays the overwhelming power of fear. Otis Haschemeyer writes a chilling story of the Iraq war that none of the imbedded journalists would ever tell. Charles Baxter dissects American culture all too well. And,for comic relief, Mistress Morgana gives a few public figures a much needed spanking.Even better, this manages to be a great read (I read the whole thing in one night) with well-crafted stories that are better than any Best Of anthology I've seen.This is art for the times, as someone said below. We need this.

Great Read!

This book was a pleasent surprise. I couldn't put it down. Some real gems in here as far as short stories go. Check out the stories by Anne Ursu, David Rees, Nasri Hajjaj, and Brian Gage. I don't think there was one story I didn't like, but those authors were my favoirtes. Even the unknown authors wrote fantastic stories. Special mention: Anthony Swofford - a very provocative and funny story.

Lit for the Times

I was knocked out by this anthology. The editor is a genius for putting it together. It's time for political art now, and I hope this is only the beginning. Favorite stories include Paul LaFarge's brilliant "Lamentation on the Destruction of Ur," Anthony Swofford's "Freedom Oil," and Alicia Erian's "The Winning Side." This is one of the best anthologies I've ever read.

Rock Solid Anthology

This is a fabulous anthology. Not one story is weak. All of the authors are at the top of thier game, and the idea of an anthology with political fiction is well worth the read. Two stories of note: 1. The President's New Clothes by Anne Ursu. A very clever and funny story - I could see this as a movie. 2. The Vampires of Draconian Hill by Brian Gage - very creepy dark fairy tale worthy of resting next to my Edgar Allen Poe collection. Hats off to all the authors!