Pascha Sotolongo's Blog

So honored to announce that my essay, "Comfort Animals," was published today (online) at one of my favorite journals, CRAFTLiterary. I can't put the link here, but it's easy to find.

The essay ponders the (somewhat puzzling) presence of all the animals roaming my story collection, The Only Sound is the Wind, as well as the ways other authors populate their writing with animal characters.

Wanted to share!

I've been browsing the wonderful Narrative Magazine today and re-discovered Ted Kooser's stunning poem, "Exercise." I rarely cry at the things I read, but this one brought tears to my eyes, not because it's sad, but because it's tender and incisive and spectacularly generous.

Ted's poetry is so gorgeous and moving, but I marvel most at his generosity, never over-determining his reader's experience, always letting us have the astonishing pleasure of making the final, striking, connection ourselves. I am in awe of this man. He used to teach in my own department, and every time I saw him in the hallway or at a meeting, I sensed genius, and then he'd floor me with his kindness.

Wow.

To read "Exercise," just go to narrativemagazine.com and type "Exercise" in the search box.

SO honored to share that my flash story, "Spot the Stations," is being featured this week and next as a Story of the Week in Narrative. You can read it for free at: Narrativemagazine.com

Oh, and I should mention that this story comes from my new collection, The Only Sound is the Wind (W.W. Norton, 2024).

Thanks, everyone!

So honored to share information about the virtual launch of my debut story collection, The Only Sound is the Wind! I'll be talking with author Timothy Schaffert and hosted by Francie & Finch Bookshop in Nebraska.

Thank you so much for following me on goodreads. I hope you can attend!

Registration and attendance are free—here's the registration link (it's a zoom webinar):

https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_P...

Happy reading!