Jack Young

Writer Phillip Lopate described the essay as ‘an open-ended adventure, an invitation to doubt and self-surprise’. The essays in this special issue use the form as a platform to allow a multitude of voices to ring clear, inviting us to explore topics as varied as nature, trauma, last lines of poetry, and Esperanto.Featuring writing by Tom Bailey, Susmita Bhattacharya, Bonnie Lander Johnson, Constance Kresge, Christopher Linforth, Zachary D. Shell, Rob McClure Smith, Charlie J. Stephens, S.Y. Tam, Jack Young, and Anna Vaught

On a snowy Thanksgiving eve the latter day Fensetters gathered in the failing town that bears their name. But the occasion had an ominous note, for the family fortune has shrunk to an alarming level. In the best genetic tradition, the inheriting sons resolve to swindle each other and enlist outside help to do the job. So with a voluptuous "interceding" gypsy and a sinister, semi-retired hitman moving into the old mansion, the future of Fensetter Falls is about to be decided. Or is it? What ensues, as church and state conflict, will be under the watchful eye of Doris Pilkerson, whose devotion to the town is all encompassing.A tale set in the foothills of New Hampshire's White Mountains, these same hills will play an intriguing role in the fate of this odd hamlet. Fensetter Falls knows both good and evil...and the townsfolk wonder now...which is which.

Detective Gil Conroy doesn't like the looks of his future. Forced into early retirement by a gunshot wound, he finds himself in a double-wide trailer in the woods of upstate New York, collecting rocks and enduring visits from his womanizing neighbor Glenn Stiles. But a chance meeting with the strange Pastor Brumestead at the St. Aldo New Mind Center challenges Conroy's professional nature. He senses that the secluded setting conceals something deeply evil. Amidst an odd collection of players including the local constable, a shadowy Mohawk, his own ex-wife, and Stiles' latest conquest, Conroy sets out to expose the insanity that is ruling the New Mind Center. The truth proves more ghastly than he imagined, and his struggles to convince others will push him into dark places.