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“Hair Loop” by Blake Butler
Blake Butler started writing lists as a way of killing time at— as he called it in a Willow Springs profile— “a shitty desk job.” He says, “I sat down then and typed out a list of 50 thoughts, mostly...
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“Color by Numbers” by Stacia St. Owens
Stacia St. Owens‘ Willow Springs profile covers not only the mix of familial and autobiographical experiences that inspired her story “Color by Numbers,” but also the purpose of the its unique...
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“The Receiving Tower” by Matt Bell
In his Willow Springs profile, author Matt Bell details the origins of his uncanny story, “The Receiving Tower.” Once he’s described his decisions regarding the story’s language, voice, and its...
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“Our Own Kind” by Ann Pancake
Ann Pancake considers herself primarily a fiction writer, but Bark republishes here her essay “Our Own Kind” from Willow Springs 71, the opening paragraph of which both hooks the reader and...
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“The Putting Down of the Mint Julep” by Matthew Gavin Frank
According to his 2015 Willow Springs profile, Matthew Gavin Frank’s “The Putting Down of the Mint Julep” is part of “this weird, lyrical, anti-cookbook cookbook of sorts” still in progress, where...
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Three Short Pieces by J. Robert Lennon
Of the husband and wife in his”Marriage” short-shorts, J. Robert Lennon says, “I adore the poor fuckers.” They are “two awful people who are perfect for each other… responsible for some of the most fun...
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“Prey” by Maxim Loskutoff
Maxim Loskutoff grew up in small-town Montana, and in his Willow Springs profile he says he was exposed there to Native American folk stories from a young age and found beauty in the roles animals...
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“Fellowship” by Susan McCarty
Nostalgia is a tricky thing to wield,” Susan McCarty says in her Willow Springs profile. “It can be a touchpoint for emotion, but it can also be schlocky, or worse, boring to everyone who is not you,...
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“Copycats” by Lucas Southworth
Lucas Southworth in his Willow Springs profile says, “I wouldn’t describe writing as fun. I wouldn’t describe my stories as fun.” He admits, however, that the subject of “Copycats” is a fun one,...
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“Hourglass” by Clare Beams
In her Willow Springs profile, Clare Beams, writer of ‘Hourglass’ (originally published in WS 68) and former high-school teacher, asks, “What if the idea of shaping others, which is at the heart of my...
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