God please forgive please. Athena was a lot slimmer than me in those days but still could pack a punch. At first I thought she took out my left front tooth but when I put my hand there to feel, it was only blood. Reasons for needing my tooth included Shanelle’s Big Homecoming Party where …
Carolyn Ferrell is the author of the short-story collection Don’t Erase Me. Her work can be found in Best American Short Stories 2018 and 2020, and in The Best American Short Stories of the Century, among many other places. She currently teaches both undergraduate and MFA courses at Sarah Lawrence College. Her story “Something Street” …
I. What is greatness? Funny dad sweaters, a sentimental nose, adorable crunkles in the corners of one’s eyes. Hilarious tales of the old country, Somethingville, North Carolina, when men were men, women women, etc.—long-shouldered negresses being a special commodity, like lucky dice or a prize-winning calf. Fifty-four years ago, directly after our nuptials, Craw Daddy …