Field Notes

Caught up in the everyday dread and surreality of life in quarantine, it can be hard to remember the beauty of our past lives or the small joys the world has to offer in the strangest, most idiosyncratic ways.

In the name of productivity during social distancing, Porter House Review is republishing Matt Bell’s first exercise from his Writing Exercise Newsletter, which is based on a sentence from Carmen Maria Machado’s story, “The Husband Stitch.”

When I was tapped to give my recommendations and favorites, I felt overwhelmed, so I gave myself some rules and parameters. I had to focus on places that are easily accessible to where AWP 2020 is taking place.

Most people want to be heard. The interview, however daunting that term may seem, is essentially just a conversation in which both participants agree to dance without looking away, fielding the stumbles and rises.

On four notable occasions, I have finished writing for the day only to find the climaxes of my stories rearing their Hydra heads in my life. This has involved tornadoes, apartment-ruining fires, and other calamitous events. So, needless to say, there are some stories that I have vowed never to write.

The editorial staff here at Porter House Review couldn’t be more excited to celebrate our nominees for the 2019 Pushcart Prize. While PHR celebrates publishing every piece of poetry, prose, and art that our  wonderful contributors submitted over the past year, please join us in congratulating these exceptional artists and writers.

Porter House Review editors recommend their favorite Latinx artists, including Fernando A. Flores, Richard Rodriguez, and Valeria Luiselli.

It’s spooky season, and we made a list of our favorite haunted tales to round out the month of October.