NANO Fiction Vol. 2, No. 1 is a collection of microfiction in which some of the selections are surreal, and others deal with everyday life. It’s full of clever short stories that shower the reader with unusual combinations of senses in a pleasant and poetic fashion.
The diversity of the stories makes this collection a good read for just about anyone. Each story was written by a talented and creative mind. In UH creative writing senior Dustin Martens’ Cleaning, the reader can almost smell deer guts after the speaker and his father skin a whitetail buck they shot while hunting.
Megan Roth’s Remembery brings to mind the art of collage. She gives the reader images of her childhood including her and her mother’s celebrity crushes.
This is NANO Fiction’s third issue. It’s printed in color, which allows the reader to fully appreciate the artwork: watercolors that complement the writing and set the tone.
Though not all the selections feel surreal, some of the stories are almost dream-like with objects or creatures evolving into new forms. Norberto Gomez, Jr.’s The Dialectic of the Chicharra said "I remember swallowing the soft dusk, a deluge, engulfing my world, the chitter-chatter of the chicharras expanding into a siren to welcome blue."
A release party/open mic will be held near the end of May (possibly the 21st) at The Mink. Everyone is invited to have a drink and read his or her work. Copies of the current NANO Fiction are available for $7 and past issues are on sale at www.nanofiction.org. They can also be purchased at Domy and Brazos Bookstore.
