dennis scharnberg

all together now

…not the meaning of words, but what it means to have words.

Amanda Willcoxen, ed., The Literary and Philosophical Fragments of Gregory James Sallust.

the loaned prairie

“I can tell when something is rotten, Amy. That is one thing I do know about the world.”

Benedict Elder, A Cosmopolitan Paradise.

down the hatch

“Typing out words is not thinking, James. Not quite. Not yet.”

Lawton Trumbull, The Three Days.

berry me knott

“It became evident to me that Barney had obtained singing lessons. Bad ones.”

Will Bestwyck, Letters From Mr. Palindrome.

out the door

There is something metallic about digital photos. Along with an almost legislated absence of flaws. They look like ads.

Roger Hedgecook, Stolen and Sold for Parts.

stand sit stand

Nothing today fails to be theater.

Hunter Hogarth, Raised by Wolves.

submit to animals

“I am perfectly confident in your ability to endure puzzlement.” Lord Harry was speaking to Eleanor, but he intended the remark for the entire gathering.

Jason Starling, ed., Adventures in Narrative Parsimony.

bullet dodging skills

How can we see to it that everyone suffers equally?

Godfrey Tooke, Collected Aphorisms.

dirt nap syndrome

“If he didn’t want to be dead, perhaps he shouldn’t have been in the lion cage. Did you ever think of that?”

Silas Burbage, The Adventurous Half-Life of Buddy Boyo.

money for sale

“And he told me—smiling all the while—that he was hoping for the best Apocalypse ever.”

Tristan Holyoke, A Tree Full of Monkeys.