An Excerpt From Matthew J. C. Clark’s “Bjarki, Not Bjarki”

"Bjarki, Not Bjarki"

We’re pleased to present an excerpt from Matthew J. C. Clark’s new book Bjarki, Not Bjarki — out now from the University of Iowa Press. It’s about lumber, the state of the nation, surreal transformations, and a whole lot more. “As a carpenter, I was interested in these American Dream Boards and I wanted to profile the owner, Bjarki Thor Gunnarsson,” Clark recalled in an interview with Writer’s Digest. “However, Bjarki turned out not to be who I wanted him to be—whatever that means.” Read on for an excerpt from Clark’s expansive work of nonfiction.

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Sunday Stories: “All Matter & Chemistry”

Chemistry bottles

All Matter & Chemistry
by Holly Pelesky

Adam #5 had no clue about Adams #1-#4. It wasn’t something easy to blurt out, I didn’t know how to bring it up. To my friends, my Adam proclivity (or some would say fetish) was a funny anecdote, something we could joke about as if it didn’t matter, something coincidental, harmless, humorous. But then again, none of them were named Adam. 

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