The Abstract Art Gallery
A writing gallery created by writers from around the world. From poetry to song lyrics, from essays to entire novels and short stories.
The narrator confesses…
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…was about to start. Everyone had either piles of paper neatly assembled on the table or a laptop that was on and chugging away. I was a new member of the group. I had nothing with me except what was stored in my head. The leader of the group cleared…
By Anita G. Gorman
Read More…liked her name. She didn't feel particularly joyful most of the time. On the other hand, for part of the time on most days she felt pretty good. She had two small children, a husband with a decent job, and she herself worked part-time in retail. She was thirty years…
By Anita G. Gorman
Read MoreShe enters an antiques store and wants to buy a painting of a clown. The old proprietor reveals why she can't buy it.
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…started looking at the walls. She had enough furniture, but she needed something on the walls of her apartment in downtown Ashleyville, Ohio. She walked to the rear of the small, crowded store and…
By Anita G. Gorman
Read MoreMagdalena has always been ignored…
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…was not sure when she realized that no one paid much attention to her. Was it in elementary school, when she would raise her hand constantly to answer the teacher's questions? Her arm would ache from shaking it, but Mrs. Alexander, her third grade teacher, would rarely call…
By Anita G. Gorman
Read MoreIrene's mother issues a…
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…Irene's mother was dying, she established some rules. "Irene, when I die, you will of course bury me in the Ashleyville Cemetery. You will visit every day. I know you will. You're a good daughter, though I can't say you always have been very good. Why you married that guy, I have no idea. At least the two of you produced a cute…
By Anita G. Gorman
Read MoreA janitor buys a …
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…had never bought a lottery ticket before. Some of his friends bought tickets all the time, and occasionally they would win something: a dollar or two, or even ten dollars. Edward didn't think that any of them were ahead of the…
By Anita G. Gorman
Read MoreWhile on a motor trip, Malcolm comes up with what he thinks is a foolproof way to kill his wife.
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…had wanted to kill his wife for a long time, but only recently had Malcolm figured out the best way to do it. Poison? No, too detectable. Ditto for guns, knives, baseball bats, or a tumble down the basement stairs. In the movies the cops always figured these things out. No, Malcolm needed another method, one…
By Anita G. Gorman
Read MoreMaxwell loses his job and learns something new about the world.
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…was a sad day when Maxwell Zetterberg lost his job. The boss had called him just after lunch. "Max, come into my office…
By Anita G. Gorman
Read MoreJanice had a serious crush on Bennie in high school. She has never forgotten him. They meet again at their 20th high-school reunion.
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…was always Bennie in high school. Bennie was handsome, smart, a star athlete, popular with everyone, and Janice loved him, or thought she loved him. At least she had a crush on him, and that must be the same as love, or so she decided when she was sixteen and a…
By Anita G. Gorman
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