I'm so pleased to announce that my short story "Pomegranate" which originally appeared on both the Guernica and PEN America websites as part of their joint flash series, was selected to be republished in the PEN America print journal that the organization puts out every year. There are some super heavyweights in this issue, including Yusef Komunyakaa, Joyce Carol Oates, etc... but I'm MOST MOST MOST excited because Edwidge Danticat has an essay in this journal!!

 

Back in my junior year of college, I read her short story "Children of the Sea" for the first time, and I remember specifically (in fact, have a blog post somewhere) how I closed the book and had to sit with that story for a moment. In that moment, it occured to me that this is what I wanted my writing to do — and this was before I even knew for sure I wanted to be a writer. Since then Kirk? Krak! has meant so much to me, and every time I meet Danticat, I feel like an awkward 10 year old, super shy and desperately wanting to resemble someone worth of attention for even a second.

 

So the fact that I'm in the same journal — that my name appears ON THE SAME PAGE — as Danticat's is truly a dream come true.

 

Thanks PEN America!

 

You can buy your copy here.

 

 

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