By WILLIAM PRENTISS WARNING: See end of post! Donny, his real name, was a debutante and gay as the day was long. He didn’t come from money, but he sure as hell knew how to marry it. The Deb, as he was known behind his back, didn’t want to just acquire money and Southern social […]
Rickles: The Greendale Arsonist
September 22, 2011 1 Comment
DELTA SHORTS: Rickles: The Greendale Arsonist By WILLIAM PRENTISS Any similarity between the arsonist at work in Clarksdale, Mississippi at present and this sordid tale of one delusional man’s poor understanding of scripture and what constitutes “loving thy neighbor” is purely fictional and coincidental. There are two tales–one real one not. The real […]
David “Straight” and Adelaide
September 15, 2011 9 Comments
DELTA SHORTS: David “Straight” and Adelaide By WILLIAM PRENTISS WARNING: See end of post! David was always a good boy and now was a fine man. The self-effacing farmer/historian was an anomaly among modern Delta planters. He only took one drink before dinner, and that more out of habit; he didn’t hunt or fish, […]
Blue: King of the Walking People
September 9, 2011 9 Comments
DELTA SHORTS: Blue: King of the Walking People By WILLIAM PRENTISS WARNING: See end of post! Blue didn’t give a damn what folks thought. He had carved out a nice living for a 45-year old, uneducated black man in the Mississippi Delta. He didn’t have much, but he didn’t owe much, except whatever he […]
Eddie: The Right Pope of Bongwater
September 2, 2011 4 Comments
DELTA SHORTS Eddie: The Right Pope of Bongwater By WILLIAM PRENTISS WARNING: This story, though ultimately shrouded in redemption, does portray some characters in their basest state, including coarse language, non-gratuitous graphic sexuality, and internal dialogue and behaviors, which include obvious incidents of racism, sexism, and behaviors unbecoming those seen in a moral and […]
Genevieve
August 25, 2011 2 Comments
DELTA SHORTS Genevieve By WILLIAM PRENTISS WARNING: This story, though ultimately shrouded in redemption, does portray some characters in their basest state, including coarse language, non-gratuitous graphic sexuality, and internal dialogue and behaviors, which include obvious incidents of racism, sexism, and behaviors unbecoming those seen in a moral and polite society. Please read no […]
Carlene
August 5, 2011 12 Comments
A DELTA SHORT: By WILLIAM PRENTISS WARNING: This story, though ultimately shrouded in redemption, does portray some characters in their basest state, including coarse language, non-gratuitous graphic sexuality, and internal dialogue and behaviors, which include obvious incidents of racism, sexism, and behaviors unbecoming those seen in a moral and polite society. Please read no malicious […]
Where’d He Go? … A New Delta Short which begs for Delta Bohemian Writers to respond!
May 26, 2011 5 Comments
DELTA SHORTS Where’d He Go? Thanks to Jimmy Carter, brother of the Delta Bohemian website guru and all-around great guy–Cal Carter with Gulf Shores Condos, the picture accompanying this will be the basis for a DELTA SHORTS story to be published next week. Delta Bohemian readers are encouraged to write what they think happened to […]
Alligators and Off Switches
April 21, 2011 2 Comments
DELTA SHORTS Alligators and Off Switches By WILLIAM PRENTISS Impetuous Pablo thought he still possessed the agility and grace of the old jungle cat he used to think he was–mobile, agile, hostile, in search of the nubile. Alas, he was measured and found wanting: he was merely fragile, docile, senile, and non-facile. Getting […]
Juke Joint Love
April 14, 2011 3 Comments
By WILLIAM PRENTISS It had been over a year to no avail. Simone and Darryl never met, even then. She had been on stage and he had been hungrily eyeing her– not a morality-leaching hunger, but one of expectancy laced with awe–from behind the fellow in the crazy-ass hat. Simone had never been stopped dead […]
Delta Delusions: Faces
March 24, 2011 3 Comments
By WILLIAM PRENTISS CLARKSDALE, Mississippi I see faces everywhere and in everything, always have, but I had never seen them in second story windows–not until recently. I doubt I am alone in fearing hollow faces peering out from lonely windows! I see faces in clouds, trees, rock formations, paintings, and just about any collection of found […]
Delta Delusions: Ain’t No Bugs On Me
March 3, 2011 Leave a Comment
DELTA SHORTS: DELTA DELUSIONS Ain’t No Bugs On Me By WILLIAM PRENTISS My grandmother ruined me. I never had a chance against a bug. She used to give me an old metal bug sprayer and tell me, “Get that bug Bill!” She meant, “Bill, you better get that bug before it gets you!” […]
Delta Delusions: Reflections at Cutrer: A Ghost from the Past
February 24, 2011 4 Comments
By POOR WILLIAM CLARKSDALE, Mississippi NOTE: The following fictional story was the winner in the 2008 Delta Writer’s Association’s Tennessee Williams Festival Writing Contest. It was published in the Clarksdale Press Register in October 2008. What is it about familiar spirits—a Judeo-Christian concept, which holds that evil spirits can and do present themselves to select […]
Delta Delusions: The Stabbin’ Cabin
February 3, 2011 Leave a Comment
By WILLIAM PRENTISS The name, Stabbin’ Cabin’, was supposed to be a Delta joke. Hell, nobody was supposed to get hurt. The early spring evening was pleasant, but there was a hint of turmoil riding the gentle winds. No gunfire or disturbances had been noted in Friars Point, a Delta hamlet just north of Clarksdale […]
Delta Delusions: Black on Black
January 25, 2011 Leave a Comment
By William Prentiss Can sounds kaleidoscope? I remember as a child looking into the viewfinder and seeing multi-colored striations, small geometric shapes, and reticulated patterns making sense and no sense at all. I was drawn to the twisting patterns of the kaleidoscope as a moth is to the flame. Sounds are buzzing in my ear. […]
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