Things are getting out of hand.
I have two essays in the new issue of Sprung Formal, which has arrived.
One of them is about the movie Slap Shot, starring Paul Newman.
You can read my work and other people's stuff here: https://www.sprungformal.kcai.edu/
It doesn't happen often, and when it does it's good.
I have a new short story in South Carolina Review.
"Slipper" is about a young dude whose dying father has sent him on an errand to collect a set of objects he will take with him into the afterlife so that when he is there he can do a certain thing.
Thanks to the editors for featuring my work among that of so many great writers.
@sc_rev
You may now preorder my chapbook, HEAVENS TO BETSY, which comes out next month from Cutbank Books.
The chapbook tells the harrowing story of how last year I had to run into the street to save a pug dog from getting smashed to death by a dump truck.
I tell that story in seven parts, while also meditating on the meaning of heroism and the burdens that come with having saved a precious life.
I also imagine, in five parts, what it would be like if Betsy the pug dog were a man dying from tuberculosis in a house, and I went to visit him every Thursday, bringing him food and condescending to him.
There is other stuff in this short book as well. You will like it. It will make a great gift this season for anyone who has a dog, or who thinks fat animals should not get smashed by cars and trucks.
The link for preorders: /
Preorders For 2025-2026 Chapbooks Are Open Now!
"Heavens to Betsy is a gift. Robert Long Foreman, like Vonnegut before him, manifests himself deftly into a wild narrative because he can—because it feels right and good—and we should all be witnesses in the same way that we are witnesses when our canoe capsizes on an obstacle in the river, spilling us riders into the fizzing water. But the obstacle before us isn’t a tree or a rock. It’s a dinosaur, blinking in the sunlight. It’s not trying to eat anybody. Just happy to be here, in the river with all of us. The dinosaur can’t stop smiling, and neither should we. What a rare discovery—both lizard and book."
---Luke Rolfes, author of Sleep Lake
We had a great morning walk in Kansas City with Tippy the shelter dog. She was nervous in the car but as soon as we stepped out and got on the trail she grew more confident and even wagged her tail a couple of times when she smelled something in the woods and wanted to give chase. Thank you to the great people at @kcpetproject for letting us take her out, and for taking good care of her until she finds a home.
We are pleased to announce “Heavens to Betsy” by Robert Long Foreman as runner-up in our 2025 Chapbook Contest. The hybridity and hilarity of Robert’s chapbook excited our readers and editors, and had us cracking up. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to share a chapbook that so perfectly embodies a spirit of play, both in form and in subject.
Congrats, Robert! Check out our website for a full list of winners and finalists.
This is where I sit with my glasses on. If anyone has a problem with that you can all just deal with it. This is not the time or the place for the sky to open up and for the spirits of the earth to enter your heart, filling it with gratitude for this day and the next day. I have my glasses on, and I am using them to truly see. DM me to send money, and not because I need it.
