Author: Cliff

I am the author of three novels--THE LAST BIRD OF PARADISE, OLIVER'S TRAVELS, and THE SHAMAN OF TURTLE VALLEY--and three story collections--IN AN UNCHARTED COUNTRY, HOUSE OF THE ANCIENTS AND OTHER STORIES, and WHAT THE ZHANG BOYS KNOW, winner of the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Fiction. I am also the co-founder and former editor of Prime Number Magazine and the editor of the award-winning anthology series EVERYWHERE STORIES: SHORT FICTION FROM A SMALL PLANET.
June 28, 2005

>Slow Newsreel of Man Riding Train (Cont’d: Part II-5)

>5.Onto the brimming surface the pearblossom drifts downA hazel nut drops with a plump activating the green slime. With a last thrust the mallard…
June 25, 2005

>Raise your hand . . .

>. . . if you saw the piece in The New Yorker about Patrick Henry College and you’re as frightened of these zombies as…
June 25, 2005

>Waiting for Cormac

>The current issue of Virginia Quarterly Review includes an excerpt from Cormac McCarthy’s new book, No Country for Old Men, due to be released…
June 22, 2005

>On ‘The Mysteries of Pittsburgh’

>There’s a terrific article in the June 9 issue of the New York Review of Books by Michael Chabon: On ‘The Mysteries of Pittsburgh’….
June 21, 2005

>Solstice Flower

>Day lilies 
June 17, 2005

>Sun setting on Tinker Mountain

>The week is just about over. In addition to the stellar workshop with Pinckney Benedict, in the last two days we’ve had the pleasure…
June 14, 2005

>Greetings from Tinker Mountain

>I am attending the Tinker Mountain Writers Workshop at Hollins University (just outside Roanoke, VA) this week. I’m in a workshop with Pinckney Benedict,…
June 13, 2005

>Stymied in China

>I’ve been long absent because–in part at least–I went to China. I had planned to take advantage of the high-speed connection from my room…
June 3, 2005

>Measure for Measure at ASC

>I saw Measure for Measure last night at the American Shakespeare Center, which is the new name for Shenandoah Shakespeare here in Staunton, reflecting…
May 24, 2005

>Lit Mag Reviews

>A new set of literary magazine reviews went up on New Pages recently, including a review of the North Dakota Quarterly issue in which…