That's Not a Feeling (excerpt)

by Dan Josefson, Tom Bissell (Introduction)

Roaring Orchards is a "highly troubled school, for highly troubled children," writes Tom Bissell in the introduction to this edition of Recommended Reading, which is an excerpt from "That's Not a Feeling" by Dan Josefson. "These characters became as real to me as I am to myself, which is, I believe, the highest imaginative achievement literature is capable of."From "That's Not a Feeling":Seeing us as objects of fun let the faculty imagine we were somehow protected, I think, as comic figures are able to survive all kinds of harm. I never minded that the staff amused themselves at our expense, although I’ll resent forever the fact that I was so indifferently educated. In part that was my own fault—by the time I got to Roaring Orchards, I was pretty much a lost cause intellectually. What little I know now I’ve mostly taught myself, and it’s come complete with an autodidact’s insecurity and pedantry.About Recommended authors inspire us. But what about the stories that inspire them? Recommended Reading, the latest project from Electric Literature, publishes one story every week, each chosen by a great author or editor. In this age of distraction, we uncover writing that's worth slowing down and spending some time with. And in doing so, we help give great writers, literary magazines, and independent presses the recognition (and readership) they deserve.About the Josefson has received a Fulbright research grant and a Schaeffer award from the International Institute of Modern Letters. He has an MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and lives in Brooklyn.

358 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 9, 2012

About the author

Dan Josefson has received a Fulbright research grant and a Schaeffer Award from the International Institute of Modern Letters. He has an MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and lives in Brooklyn.

That’s Not a Feeling is his first novel.