A true story of unlikely salvation — In 2003 my grandfather died and left me 6,000 dollars. I was 30 years old. Never having had more than 500 dollars at one time, I went a little nuts. I quit my job at a collection agency and broke up with my girlfriend, telling her “I just want to…

King of the bums — A lot of writers bash Bukowski. It’s almost a sport, a very easy sport. Like kickball. No, Bukowski is not the pinnacle. Yes, Bukowski-worship is annoying. Worship of any author is annoying. But why is it ok to worship someone like Billy Collins or Sharon Olds? “But, but, but those…

They’re coming for you — The difficult thing about Mr. Cooper is the fact that he’s 98 years old. He’s 5 feet 3 and narrow as a bird in his gray cotton pants and blue flannel. He uses an aluminum walker and watching him move is like watching the seasons change. It’s hard to believe…

A story about things that are hidden away, a story about secrets — Dad and I stood in grandpa’s garage staring at the 3-foot-tall safe which sat on the concrete floor against the back wall. The safe was the only thing left in the garage. All the wooden shelves were empty and the floor was cleared. “Jesus Christ,” he said. It was mid-summer…

For anyone who ever worked in a used bookstore — “I’m gonna find me a hole in the wall, I’m gonna crawl inside and die.” -Marshal Tucker Band BOOKBUYER I I The sign says we buy books but then people bring us coloring books with the pictures already colored crossword books with every letter filled in. Yes, we’ve…

Lost in Port Awful — Robert was somewhere on the Oregon coast, heading North on his bicycle with the wind and rain in his face. 17 years in the desert, and now here he was in all this rain, his bicycle heavy with front and rear pannier bags. “GOD DAMMIT!” he yelled. He didn’t know…

Do you believe in God? — It was nice to be first-up at the Dog. The Dog was cabby-talk for the Greyhound bus station. Cabbies sat at the Greyhound when the radio dispatch calls were slow. We licked our lips and watched the people getting off the buses as they arrived twice an hour from Phoenix…

Only fools worry about money — Ami Xochitl-Nigeria-Rubenstein-Ferrol wakes up on her futon and rolls her head around on her Chilean duck feather pillow. She smiles at the waft of her rose-scented breath and lets out a little fart, which also has a floral aftermath. …

The outlaw poets — “Keep poetry dangerous” says the poet with his middle finger up in the camera his big bad beard armband tattoo mfa degree and his job as sensitivity trainer at Geico. Keep poetry dangerous by starting internet zines and moderating out the negative comments or by reviewing the work of your thousand friends and calling…