The Power of Being Real

October 10, 2020
by Michael
comments 12
Course Ideas

I am pleased to announce that my short story Power was released this week in Issue 25 of the Ginosko Literary Journal.

(For those of you who may be more inclined to listen to the story, I’ve also prepared an audio recording that you can stream or download.)

This is a story about honesty, vulnerability and authenticity–qualities lacking in so much of the content that bombards us today. The images we encounter are cultivated with studied precision to arouse, cajole and manipulate our sensitivities. That makes the intimate conversations we have with one another all the more special. They don’t begin and end with an agenda, and they don’t seek to convince. Instead, they are about revealing who we are to one another. They are acts of mutual discovery.

It is here that genuine riches lie.

I hope you enjoy!

12 Comments

  3. Ka Malana - Fiestaestrellas.com says

    Okay, I had to interrupt my first listen with a phrase in the dialogue, “being understood is my crack cocaine.” Pause! Loved that. So far this story is both complex and might require my reading for all the references, but I’m digging this main scene, the setting… and the “manufactured air” part had me laughing… what an interesting game.

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  4. J.D. Riso says

    Brilliant story, Michael. Oh, the joy of genuine communication, and the rare joy of being understood. It’s good to see that Ginosko is still around. They reprinted one of my flash fiction pieces a few years ago.

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    • Michael says

      Oh, that’s cool, Julie! I’m in good company! Thank you for the kind words. I really do appreciate that you have taken the time to read or listen and respond. Looking back on stories from a few years ago is always interesting isn’t it? I sometimes wonder… who the heck wrote that!? Amazing how the moment, the time, the influence shifts…

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    • Michael says

      Thank you very much, Alison! I’m glad you enjoyed it and felt this spectrum of emotion shine through. It’s interesting how a piece like this comes into being: it started with what I thought was a comical opening, and then I wondered, what the hell is this…? I had that first paragraph sitting on ice for about two weeks wondering what this was. And only then did I start in with the oncology patients, and everything shifted. That’s part of what I love about writing. It just kind of takes you away sometimes!

      Michael

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    • Michael says

      Thanks, Harlon! Nice to hear from you. I hope you are well and appreciate the kind words. I am taking care and hope you are, too, my friend.

      Peace
      Michael

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