Bud Smith

1 month ago | thebaffler.com | Bud Smith |Arielle Isack |Abdelrahman ElGendy

Out the bus window Sam saw guts gored cherry into the rumble strip. Seventh or eighth time since leaving the city. The mess reminded him of human meat he’d once seen dangling in a tree. Trembling deer peeked out from interrupted forest. He was on a trip to see an old roommate and illicit mentor, his aunt’s former mailman, Fox. Fox had been addicted to many things but now was hooked solely on the police scanner. Well that and visiting the grisly aftermath of local mutilations.

May 23, 2024 | thepointmag.com | Bud Smith

Not all the time, but sometimes, early in the morning, dawn just breaking, my car goes bling-blong and the passenger airbag indicator glows on the dashboard. This often happens on my way to work, as I ease my car onto the turnpike, passing the Statue of Liberty. The car thinks my lunch bag is a small child, but it’s not that, it’s just some canned tuna, a book I’m reading, some baked chicken, my tape measure. I don’t have any children.

Sep 5, 2023 | southwestreview.com | Bud Smith

We met in the batting cages of the dilapidated roadside amusement park off Blackthorn Highway. A foggy afternoon I’ll never forget. The place empty, just the way I like. I had an increasing problem being out in public. Easy swings I took, drove line drives where I wanted, felt all right on two anxiety meds. Muttering my mantra. Wraparound sunglasses. Pink noise in my headphones.

Jul 27, 2023 | electricliterature.com | Percival L. Everett |Katya Apekina |Mary Miller |Bud Smith

Reading Lists Drew Buxton, author of "So Much Heart," recommends buddy stories During a workshop for one of the stories in my new collection, So Much Heart, my professor said, “And now, from Drew, we have another wacky couple adventure.” I laughed, but on the inside, I suddenly felt self-conscious, thinking my stories were too similar to each other. He was right. There are a lot of duos in the book—a Tulsa couple caught in the crosshairs of the ghost of a killer whale, siblings trying to...

Jul 6, 2023 | southwestreview.com | Bud Smith |Sarah Booker

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