By Brian Fanelli

This fall semester, when I introduced the Transcendentalist writers to my American Literature students, I asked them how many heard of Ralph Waldo Emerson, causing one or two to raise their hands, while the rest shrugged or slouched in their seats. As soon as Henry David Thoreau was mentioned, however, several students stated that they at least heard of him. One asked, “Isn’t he the dude who lived in the woods for a while?”

A liberating effect

Fiction

By Suzanne Heagy

When Andrew’s stealth job search landed him a phone interview, he was excited. When it led to an invitation for a face-to-face interview, he was thrilled, not least because it included a trip to Tampa, all expenses paid. He pondered life in central Florida, land of alligators, swamps, and bikinis; no winter to speak of, no shrink-your-balls Chicago winter. The job wasn’t his dream job, but relocating to Florida would give him a fresh start and a solid reason to break up with Jessica.

By David P. Kozinski

When photographer Ron Howard and I visited Wayne G. Brown in his Rose Valley home recently, we didn’t realize it was his birthday. When I asked the artist about his birth he replied, “83 years ago today, in Philadelphia – Germantown Hospital.”  Brown has been creating art – painting, sculpture and printmaking – most of those years. His output has been prolific, especially considering he had a full-time career in business that included administration, finance and marketing.

By Evalyn Lee, Joan Colby, Robert Brian Mulder, and Luray Gross

Have you been curious about the poetry we publish? If so, look no further. Here you will find selections from our Fall 2016 issue of the Schuylkill Valley Journal's print edition. Continue reading to find out more.

the patient as mobile device

fiction

By Thaddeus Rutkowski

One good thing about being fired from my job was that I got three free therapy sessions as part of my severance.

I was distraught, no doubt about it, and I wanted to use my last perk. I wanted to speak to a professional, at no charge, about my personal crisis.

At first, I had a hard time finding a therapist. Maybe the therapists I called didn’t like the idea of giving free therapy sessions. Maybe they didn’t want to talk with losers, among whom I certainly belonged. But wasn’t that a therapist’s job, to work with losers?