M. A. ISTVAN JR. worked as a janitor at his high school during high school. Interventions from scarved liberal whites with gluten allergies sent him on a trajectory that, despite failed attempts to snuff out his pimp-drag step and his New York Ebonics, culminated in his earning a PhD. But with the bleak academic job-market, together with a family too ravaged by illiteracy and homelessness to provide any sort of safety net, it looks like he might come full circle. There are signs that he is well on his way. While he has not yet gone back to McDonald’s dumpsters, he steals whatever he can from supermarkets and more and more of his daily calories are coming from sugar packets and those mini jelly trays. His creative writing is currently forthcoming at the following magazines: Mobius: The Journal of Social Change, All Roads Will Lead You Home, Quail Bell Magazine, Bitterzoet Magazine, The Gambler, Futures Trading, Right Hand Pointing, and One Sentence Poems. Visit Istvan’s page at https://txstate.academia.edu/MichaelIstvanJr.
“Visiting Elizabeth” – FLAPPERHOUSE #11 (Fall 2016)
FLAPPERHOUSE 