by Joe Clifford In the introduction for his brilliant collection of short stories, The Angel on the Roof, author Russell Banks writes, “The death of a parent [when we are an adult] is a terrible thing, but because our parents usually have not been a part of our daily lives for years, most of […]
Headstone
by Joe Clifford At the print shop that day, the new kid Roger Maple had hired to run the shipping department had come to him in tears over problems he was having with his girlfriend, which had caught Roger off guard, because this kid had seemed like such a tough kid, riding to work […]
The Onus
by Joe Clifford Across the water from Oakland’s burning hills, behind granite slabs of freeway masonry and the filth of bottle return machines, the promise of barley fish water, potatoes and tea attracts a noonday crowd of the ham-hocked and converted. Faith