Author: Ben East
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When Writing Is Going Well…
To learn how today’s funniest flash nonfiction writers answer a few simple questions, check the news feed over at Woodhall Press. Fiction or Nonfiction? Is it harder to write funny or sad? Long form or short form? Poetry or prose? Boxers or kickboxers? Piece that you read and said Wish I’d thought of that? Cloned…
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The Impact of Public Diplomacy
Reflecting on U.S. Diplomacy. An excerpt: The next-to-last time I saw Mohamed—11:15 a.m., December 6, 2004—a blast-resistant window separated us. The day’s final applicant, he was alone in the waiting room when the high-low alarm started wailing. An Afghan male taking refuge in Saudi Arabia from the time of the Soviet invasion of his country,…
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Here Come the Floods
After take your child to work day comes take your dad to school day. What I learned on the school’s field trip to Jamestown: Fourth Graders are too cool for the luxury coach toilet. Until they aren’t. A few snide remarks went around this morning at the back of the bus. Comments on odor. Nervous…
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All Steeple, No Church
Does this structure look like a steeple with no church? My son thought so. Driving to the Nation’s capital on a beautiful spring morning, I pointed it out from the distant heights across the Potomac on the George Washington Parkway. This white symbol of the Republic can be seen for miles. The seven-year-old meant little…
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Take Your Child to Work Day
My favorite work day of the year. The cafeteria never seems so alive. The visitor hall buzzes with energy. At State our children take the same oath of service—to uphold the constitution—that we took when we came on board. “I stachername, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United…
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Finite Jests
There’s nothing pithy in the title ‘Before We Break for Lunch, Let Me Repeat Everything Already Said at This Meeting At Least Twice.’ And that’s exactly the point. By sticking its finger in the eye of brevity, this piece at the tail end of Flash Nonfiction Funny captures everything that’s beautiful and funny and sad…
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Titles for World Book Day
Re-posting these titles I wish I could find on Amazon, with a few more. Happy reading, writing, and whatever else it is you do with your books. The Novel Is Dead—A Murder Mystery The Novel Is Dead. Long Live the Novel: An Arthurian Legend The Attorney for the Attorney Representing the Client’s Attorney—A…
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A List of People Who Also Should Be Armed
Amid all the fury and debate over whether or not to arm high school teachers in order to prevent the next deadly shooting spree, several relevant employment categories are being overlooked. A review of other recent abuses of heavy firepower in public places suggests the United States can only protect itself from itself by requiring itchy…
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Books Not Presently Up at Amazon
OtheRs We Must Arm & Why—ESSAYS ON FEAR-MONGERING FROM THE NRA The Attorney for the Attorney Representing the Client’s Attorney—A Legal Thriller Balzac’s Listicle of SCOTUS Decisions on Penal Reform Nantucket: Beyond the Limericks Dirty Rhymes, Inappropriate Puns, & Other Reasons Dad Shouldn’t Drink So Much Dr. Pepper Treats Sgt. Pepper’s Chest Wound: a tender…
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Turns Ten. Turns Us In.
The kid set us up, big time. He gets a bat and balls and batting glove, bowling and pizza and chocolate cake, and this is how he repays us? All week long we put little signs around the house noting his tenth birthday. Ten of them to be exact. Or, make that 12 or 13,…
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