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.
January 7, 2016

Missing Links — Literary Magazine Rankings

I was wondering why my Home Page was getting so many hits, but now I know. Because of a WordPress glitch, I had to…
January 7, 2016

2015 Reading: The Glimpse Traveler by Marianne Boruch

The Glimpse Traveler (Break Away Books) by Marianne Boruch I read this travel memoir a couple of months ago (hence the “2015 Reading” label) and…
January 6, 2016

Stepping Down as Editor of Prime Number Magazine

In the fall of 2009, just as my first book was coming out, I had an idea for a new project. “What if we…
January 5, 2016

2016 Reading: My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

My Name Is Lucy Barton: A Novel by Elizabeth Strout I’m inclined to love anything Elizabeth Strout writes. She was one of my teachers in…
January 5, 2016

2016 Reading: The Time of the Monkey, Rooster, and Dog by Charles A. Hobbie

Forty years ago today, on January 5, 1976, I traveled from my parents’ home in Indianapolis to San Francisco to join the “staging” for my…
January 4, 2016

2015 Reading: Miracles and Conundrums of the Secondary Planets by Jacob M. Appel

Miracles and Conundrums of the Secondary Planets by Jacob M. Appel I had previously reviewed Appel’s novel, The Biology of Luck, in Prime Number Magazine, so…
January 3, 2016

On Stage: The Life of King Henry the Fifth by William Shakespeare

Every year the American Shakespeare Center‘s Touring Company returns to Staunton for the month of December. They perform A Christmas Carol and support the…
January 2, 2016

2016 Reading: Continuum: New and Selected Poems by Mari Evans

Continuum: New And Selected Poems, Revised Edition by Mari Evans The poet and activist Mari Evans recently won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Indianapolis…
January 1, 2016

Literary Resolutions, 2016

I won’t bother anyone with my perennial New Year’s Resolutions (lose weight, clear away household clutter, be a nicer person, etc.), but I thought…
January 1, 2016

2015 Reading — Catching Up

In the first part of 2015 I did a decent job of keeping this journal about my reading, but as the year went on…