At the Damascus Gate: Short Hallucinations

by Elana Greenfield

"Elana Greenfield and the English language use each other beautifully. She makes little plays, stories long and short. The short ones, on another day, might have been poems. She is a lovely, lively writer."—Grace Paley This new collection of dramatic short tales is a remarkable first work by dramatist Elana Greenfield. In these stories, the author peers into the supernatural with passion, humor, irony and a remarkable matter-of-fact voice. In "Possessed by a Demon," the devil reveals himself through two women who are both the narrators and the central characters. In "Talent," Greenfield tells the story of a woman trying to transcend the elusiveness of love. And in "The Premonitions," she lyrically predicts the life of Jesus. Together these pieces work toward self-discovery and awareness, while relinquishing the need to explain the inexplicable. Elana Greenfield lives in New York City.

116 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2003

Reviews

[Jeff Laughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times I was totally lost and had to re-read and at times I instantly felt like I memorized. What else should experimental jams do? I felt things.