COMFORTER: Stories and Paintings comprises seven works of short fiction and twelve full-color plates of paintings of beds. The publication of this book was made possible with generous support from the Idea Fund. The Idea Fund is a re-granting program administered by DiverseWorks, Aurora Picture Show, and Project Row Houses, and funded by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.
Read a teaser excerpt from the first story here. You can read more about this book here. Thanks to all who bought a copy!
Excerpts from Short Stories
One of the myths about emergencies is that you always know when they are happening. Sometimes they happen quietly. They sneak in on their little soundless feet and just sit next to you without saying anything. Then you look up, and do a double-take.
-from Peach Story
While her mother spent her days collecting the contents of veins, Ruth’s father worked as the quality control manager at a licorice factory. Life handed her things like this. Here is a boring truth about money being made. Here is a joke about blood sugar.
-from Language of Origin
She tells a friend about how she was thinking about sea turtles at the gynecologist’s office, and the friend mentions that there is evidence suggesting babies born into stressful environments are more likely to be daughters. It has something to do with cortisol, the friend says, tracing the rim of her coffee cup with a slender finger, which is a hormone released during times of stress, which can affect embryo implantation.
She thinks about these two phenomena, and wonders about the ever-present simultaneous occurrence of conflicting elements in one container: the deftness of nature persisting alongside the daftness of people. The knowing body sitting patiently with its sibling, the unknowing brain.
-from Baby Weight