Pretty Good Interviews — Public Works
Public Works is the stage name denoting a Midwest emo musician from Ocean County, New Jersey. His debut EP “Pocket Knife” releases June 27.
Untitled Lesbian Spaceship Story
When the newspaper girl started to walk her home from school, her parents would say nothing. On the contrary, she’d talk at length: some about war, some about trains that passed through town — mostly, above all, about the stars.
Miss Agatha
Her father melted into the pinewood, his ashes rooted in the charred, blackened remains — in those spaces she could once call home.
The Trial of the Demon King
“I detest your God, yes. Though, He was not the one to turn Heaven’s Gate on me. It was you. You humans that have banished me here.”
Letter from the Editor: For a Pretty Good Friend
Something as simple as the small comfort of her still being discussed in the present tense serves as an unshakable reminder of this, of the power our voices hold when we seem to have control over nothing else.
It’s Just a Question
Britt had three answers prepared. She fired out the first one that felt right.
Unfortunate Affairs: Reviewing Netflix’s Ashley Madison Documentary
Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal directed by Toby Paton is a three-episode docu-series on Netflix about the birth, evolution, and demise of Ashley Madison, the app for extramarital affairs.
Pretty Good Interviews — Paolo lacovelli
Paolo Iacovelli is a French-Italian-Colombian writer born and raised in New York City. He received his MFA from Columbia’s School of the Arts. The King of Video Poker is his debut novel.
Letter From the Editor: Pretty Good Liar
Truth be told, there’s a lot of moral gray in this month’s issue: all the stories we’re publishing happen to carry the same undercurrent of deception.
One-Woman Act
The most famous showgirl in New Chicago spent intermissions on the balcony alone. On chilly days like this one, she hid inside a fur coat that hadn’t yet shaken off the factory smell.
Love in the West — Part Three
I wanted to celebrate your courage, but I resented you for the lie. I had been a secret for a man ashamed of his sexuality before. I had been told elaborate, falsified stories about early sexual experiences before. I fell in love with you because you were confident, honest, and comfortable with being gay.
you, my
my best friend’s father taught me how to ride a bike and i remember my own parents being vaguely disappointed…
Pretty Good Interviews: Althea Davis
“There is something about driving that really clears my mind in a way, and makes background ideas come to the forefront of my mind.”
Letter from the Editor — Pretty Good, Pretty Bad
“Break” seems like a generous word for this stretch of time… I haven’t met a single student who’s had a relaxing December.
Love in the West — Part Two
Somehow I noticed you hadn’t saved my name in your phone yet…
A Tower No Longer — Part Three
He drew in a shuddering breath. “I — I don’t want to live through that again.”
Still Life w/ Neck
When I was little I put my hands around my neck, just to see what being choked felt like. The next minute, I felt embarrassed for having tried it.
Reparations
She looked at me from across the room with a cold and intrusive glare. From anyone else it would be rude, offensive even, but I knew her better than that. The same face pierced my every childhood memory, but unlike then I wasn’t…
Road Kill
I think I’m clean, hung out to dry like white linen shirts and silk sheets. But I know I’ll always be a mess to men who don’t understand the washing machine cycle of life.
Pretty Good Interviews: Michele Weldon
This month’s Q&A focused on Michele Weldon of River Forest, Illinois — an author, journalist, and Northwestern University assistant professor emeritus.
Love in the West (where the sun sets) — Part One
We used to talk about those first few seconds often. “I knew it would be you,” I used to say. “I knew from the beginning.” And I did, I trusted that initial surge from my gut, it motivated overzealous writing about you, it reassured me when you didn’t answer texts saved me from the anxiety I’d grown used to in previous relationships.
A Tower No Longer — Part Two
“You can stop watching me now, Anthony, I know you’re there.” The words sounded like a reprimand, but I could hear the laughter in his voice.
Up in Flames: Reviewing Netflix’s ‘Fyre Festival’ Documentary
Throughout the Fyre Festival documentary, I grew more sympathetic toward his employees—in reality, they were nothing more than pawns.
Peace Lily
It’s all green and blue today. It’s gray, really, but the leaves are greener than they’ve ever been. Trees reach out to each other with broad, leafy hands. They want to touch and play like the blackbirds across the street. They take off into the lazy light of a gray-blue sky which makes the road […]
Edgewood Heavy on the Merit of Controversial Art
Edgewood Heavy, a “rock and soul” band from Atlanta, speak on what it means for music to be controversial, and the value of provocative art
Where am I?
“You are alive,” it whispers. Beckons.
You feel its breath on your ears.
Aren’t you here? Aren’t you alive?
A Tower No Longer — Part One
I ducked my head but was unable to avoid the bullet as it sunk into my shoulder. I let out a muffled curse, hand pressing to my side, and threw myself behind a boulder.
Waldheim: A True Indie Organic
I can count on one hand the occurrences of shows that truly felt like the totality of the audience, musicians, music and ambiance existed in a conjoined and natural state.
His Last Cigarette
“He’s the type of person who you can tell is getting depressed when he starts making his bed in the morning.”
Pretty Good Beginnings
These students have shown me how much fun writing can be when it’s not brimming with citations or journalistic jargon.
