Norm Jenson
http://mostlyanecdotal.org
I began writing because I had made friends with the dead: they had written to me, in their books, about life on earth, and I wanted to write back and say “yes, house, bridge, river, hair, no, maybe, never, forever.”—Mary Ruefle
“Here I am, here to please, to knock on your heart, tug on your sleeve, and sir, do you have a moment to discuss your life goals? The state of the economy? The state that wants secession? The recession of hair, of tides? The ceasefire and the forest fire and the brand-new flavor of fire-roasted pretzels? The exegesis of today’s front-page headlines? The story of how the world will end, slash, how the world began, slash, what kind of world is this, anyway, slash, how ‘bout that certain team that plays that certain sport? How about the environment? The economy? The bathroom? As in, can I use yours? Do you like comedy? Would you perhaps consider a list of vintage novelties you played with as a child? A listicle of popsicles you ate as a child? The story of your inner child? The story of the baby and the bathwater? The story of the baby otter and the baby giraffe and their unlikely friendship? “Can you just skip the stories and give me the pamphlet?”
― Temporary
― Temporary
“HUMOR, LIKE METAPHOR, is simply two things placed side by side that don’t belong together.”
― 3 AM Epiphany
― 3 AM Epiphany
“You,” she might have said to a particular grackle. “Georgia. Is it?”
― The Souvenir Museum
― The Souvenir Museum
“Nearby was a box of thick seventy-eights, grackle black and grackle brilliant. Thea thought the cliff might come down. But the woman was goat-footed; she got to the top and came back down and handed over the doll.”
― The Souvenir Museum
― The Souvenir Museum
“That spring when I had a great deal of potential and no money at all, I took a job as a janitor.”
― Still No Word from You: Notes in the Margin
― Still No Word from You: Notes in the Margin
Norm’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Norm’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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