Politically Inspired

by Stephen Elliott (Editor)

“Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.”
—Pablo Picasso

The news media can’t help but leave out a certain personal element from every story. Reading fiction gives us the freedom to envision unlikely connections between characters, overhear conversations in bedrooms and on neighborhood streets, focus in on a child’s thoughts, and linger in unfamiliar places. Politically Inspired is a collection of thirty original short stories, cartoons, and illustrations that illuminate many of the political events and questions of our time.

Each of these inventive fictional worlds offers a new perspective on today’s politics of fear, desire, and destruction. We see the President of the United States wake up as a fifth-grader in Minneapolis, peek into a classroom where young boys wear burqas, and read an endearingly eccentric letter to a girlfriend on a hijacked plane. Both highly imaginative and deeply relevant, Politically Inspired reveals the myriad ways in which politics shapes our daily lives.

All royalties from Politically Inspired will benefit Oxfam America’s humanitarian response in Iraq.

Genres: Short Stories

276 pages, Hardcover

First published October 8, 2003

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Stephen Elliott is the author of seven books including Happy Baby, a finalist for the New York Public Library's Young Lions Award, as well as a Best Book of 2004 in Salon.com, Newsday, Chicago New City, Journal News, and Village Voice. Elliott's writing has been featured in Esquire, The New York Times, GQ, Best American Non-Required Reading 2005 & 2007, Best American Erotica, and Best Sex Writing 2006. He is the editor of Where To Invade Next and three collections of politically inspired fiction. In January, 2009, he founded the online culture magazine, The Rumpus."

Reviews

[SmarterLilac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this at the height of my own political fervor and find it (now) to be...a little flat. I appreciate that the editor took some risks in the story selections and that this was not easy in the climate this book was compiled, but a lot of these stories don't examine their subject matter in a fulsome or even meaningful way. So, not really a great work, if you ask me.

[Juliana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I casually picked up this book at the library and one of the short stories caught my attention entitled 9/11 Bookstore. It was an interesting story but not enough to make me want to read the entire book. However, I like the concept of the anthology. It was funded by Oxfam America and all book proceeds goes towards the organization.