Tom Wolfe Has Died
by Thomas Cochran

Tom Wolfe has died, some days ago, in fact. I always think first of the suit then Junior Johnson,  Bernstein and the Panthers, flat art, The Right Stuff. My late uncle was a pilot, DC-9s for American, in from the fighters of WW II, tough in the old, good way. He once drove us around the Boroughs in a station wagon–my glamorous Long Island cousins, me and my sister (up from Louisiana) in the far back, moms in the middle, dads in the front, Bill at the wheel, my father riding shotgun, windows cracked for their Kents. This was filthy NYC, ca. 1970, and there we all were, fearless in a mile-long Olds Vista Cruiser. It was hot. The hydrants were open. My uncle drove us everywhere, even deep into the after-dark neon, mostly one-handed.

 

 

Postcard from the Forever 21 Dressing Room
by Danielle Mitchell

Temperature: 106 degrees. Song: Aaliyah’s “Try Again.” The perfect theme for my ass as it encounters a thong-cut one-piece bathing suit. This is for you. Promise to miss me after my plane crashes. I buy the rainbow frappuccino suit & go back for the orange crewneck that exposes side-boob. If at first you don’t succeed. All sales are final, but I love you so much it hurts.

 

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Thomas Cochran was raised in Haynesville, Louisiana. He currently lives with his wife in rural northwest Arkansas. His work includes three novels for young readers, most recently Uncle Drew and the Bat Dodger (Pelican).

 

Danielle Mitchell is the author of Makes the Daughter-in-Law Cry, winner of the Clockwise Chapbook Prize. Her poetry has appeared in Vinyl, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Eleven Eleven, and Nailed Magazine. Follow her on Instagram @imaginarydani.

 

 

*image for Tom Wolfe Has Died from here