The Junction
(2014)(A book in the Electric Literature's Recommended Reading series)
A Story by David Means
"In 'The Junction,' the gregarious vagrant Lockjaw can't shake 'whatever was left in his memory' of home - a burbling brook, a pie steaming on the sill. Seated at the fire, he spins his yarn, a 'whopper' burnished with each pass, as the other hoboes, stomachs roaring, goad him on. The nonlinear narrative turns entirely on his tale, and its muscular American vernacular lends the story verve and authenticity, even as our narrator reminds us that Lockjaw's tale is not his own so much as an amalgamation of all of their down-and-out-of-luck stories. A connoisseur of the postindustrial American landscape, David Means draws gritty characters bound up in relationships with the desolate and beautiful places they inhabit - freight yards, farms, and forests that are always so much more than mere backdrops."
- Emily Louise Smith
About the Author:
David Means is the author of the short story collections A Quick Kiss of Redemption, The Secret Goldfish, The Spot, and Assorted Fire Events. His stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, Esquire, The O. Henry Prize Stories, and The Best American Short Stories. He lives in Nyack, New York, and teaches at Vassar College.
About the Guest Editor:
Founded in 2005 and published biannually at UNC Wilmington, Ecotone features essays, stories, poems, graphics, and maps that explore transitions and overlaps, as well as unique departments, including Reclamation, in which a modern master reintroduces a neglected story, and Correspondents, for letters between an editor and a writer. The handsomely designed publication is the only one to garner reprints in The Best American Essays, The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Poetry, The Best American Science and Nature Writing, New Stories from the South, and The Pushcart Prize.
Lookout Books joined Ecotone as its sister imprint in 2011 and made history when its debut title, Edith Pearlman's new and selected story collection, Binocular Vision, became the first to be named a finalist for the National Book Award, The Story Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Award, which it won. The boutique press publishes story, poetry, and essay collections, as well as novels, all selected from among the pool of Ecotone contributors. It seeks emerging and historically underrepresented voices, as well as overlooked gems by established writers.
About Electric Literature:
Electric Literature is an independent publisher amplifying the power of storytelling through digital innovation. Electric Literature's weekly fiction magazine, Recommended Reading, invites established authors, indie presses, and literary magazines to recommended great fiction. Once a month we feature our own recommendation of original, previously unpublished fiction. Stay connected with us through our eNewsletter (where you can win weekly prizes), Facebook, and Twitter, and find previous Electric Literature picks in the Recommended Reading archives.
"The Junction" is reprinted by permission from The Spot, by David Means (Faber & Faber, 2010). Copyright 2010 David Means.
To learn more about Astoria to Zion: Twenty-Six Stories of Risk and Abandon from Ecotone's First Decade, use the promotional code "recommended" to get it for just $12.
Genre: Urban Fiction
- Emily Louise Smith
About the Author:
David Means is the author of the short story collections A Quick Kiss of Redemption, The Secret Goldfish, The Spot, and Assorted Fire Events. His stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, Esquire, The O. Henry Prize Stories, and The Best American Short Stories. He lives in Nyack, New York, and teaches at Vassar College.
About the Guest Editor:
Founded in 2005 and published biannually at UNC Wilmington, Ecotone features essays, stories, poems, graphics, and maps that explore transitions and overlaps, as well as unique departments, including Reclamation, in which a modern master reintroduces a neglected story, and Correspondents, for letters between an editor and a writer. The handsomely designed publication is the only one to garner reprints in The Best American Essays, The Best American Short Stories, The Best American Poetry, The Best American Science and Nature Writing, New Stories from the South, and The Pushcart Prize.
Lookout Books joined Ecotone as its sister imprint in 2011 and made history when its debut title, Edith Pearlman's new and selected story collection, Binocular Vision, became the first to be named a finalist for the National Book Award, The Story Prize, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Award, which it won. The boutique press publishes story, poetry, and essay collections, as well as novels, all selected from among the pool of Ecotone contributors. It seeks emerging and historically underrepresented voices, as well as overlooked gems by established writers.
About Electric Literature:
Electric Literature is an independent publisher amplifying the power of storytelling through digital innovation. Electric Literature's weekly fiction magazine, Recommended Reading, invites established authors, indie presses, and literary magazines to recommended great fiction. Once a month we feature our own recommendation of original, previously unpublished fiction. Stay connected with us through our eNewsletter (where you can win weekly prizes), Facebook, and Twitter, and find previous Electric Literature picks in the Recommended Reading archives.
"The Junction" is reprinted by permission from The Spot, by David Means (Faber & Faber, 2010). Copyright 2010 David Means.
To learn more about Astoria to Zion: Twenty-Six Stories of Risk and Abandon from Ecotone's First Decade, use the promotional code "recommended" to get it for just $12.
Genre: Urban Fiction
Used availability for David Means's The Junction