164 pages / 6.00 x 9.00 inches / no illustrations
In these essays, Gary Fincke combines a journalist’s relentless investigations into the darkest corners of the human condition with an academic’s love for arcana. In one essay, almost forgotten homeopathic recipes from the pantries of Pennsylvania Dutch country are interwoven with the panicked absurdities of elementary school health classes in the 1960s. In another, old case files of small town murders intertwine with meditations on all the fears, large and small, that accompany parenting. In The Darkness Call, Fincke plumbs the depths—child abuse, violence, illness, grief—not for their sadness but for moments of courage, hope, empathy, and light.
Gary Fincke has published thirty books of poetry, short fiction, and nonfiction, most recently The Killer’s Dog, Bringing Back the Bones: New and Selected Poems and A Room of Rain: Stories. His stories have appeared in the Missouri Review, Newsday, the Kenyon Review, Black Warrior Review, and Crazyhorse among other periodicals. Twice awarded the Pushcart Prize, Fincke’s work has been recognized by Best American Stories, O. Henry Prize series, and Best American Essays.
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