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This Excerpt from My Novel Was Also Published Years Ago

10/4/2010

7 Comments

 
Nothing Can Remain Unchanged
by Dana Crum

This excerpt from my novel At the Cross was published in Bronx Biannual: The Journal of Urbane Urban Literature (issue no. 1) in 2006.

Picture
Sidney had just graduated from high school; and beyond the gleaming limestone columns of D.C.'s Constitution Hall, people he didn't know were commending him for his valedictory. His speech also elicited reactions from his friends. Jamal patted him on the back. Jamal's brother, D'Angelo, looked away, then muttered that he was going to get the car. Sidney watched his brawny frame, clad in khakis and a burgundy knit top, recede into the throng, where black caps and gowns abounded.

The darkness swelled with heat, and many graduates began to step out of their gowns. But Sidney kept his on.

"How's ya moms?" Jamal asked.

"She's doing better. She'll be home soon."

"I know she feel bad about missing this."

"Yeah." Before graduation Sidney had gone to the hospital to see her. He strode through the halls and through the strong smell of Lysol, and once inside her room he sat in the orange plastic chair beside her bed. They talked for a while. Then she asked him to read his speech. As he read in the weak glow of the single working light, she lay with the bleached sheets drawn up over her short rotund body. Her eyes glistened wet. "I sure wish I could be there," she said when he was done. She smiled and touched his hand. "It's beautiful."

His gown fluttering in the useless breeze, he realized there would have been a scene if she had been able to make it: she would have refused to ride in the same car with D'Angelo and Jamal.

Read the rest of this novel excerpt.
7 Comments
booklover
1/26/2011 03:31:58 am

This first issue of “Bronx Biannual: The Journal of Urbane Urban Literature” features an array of writers -- talented music journalists like Michael Gonzales, veteran fiction writers like Adam Mansbach and one of hip-hop's finest, KRS-One. My favorite piece is your short story, "Nothing Can Remain Unchanged." The descriptions put me right there, and the psychological portrayals of the different characters made me care about them and their struggles. Though the story thoroughly depicts the inner city, it also deals with those universal themes (friendship, abandonment, change) that unite us all. As for the first issue as a whole, my only complaint is that there was so little poetry. Given the poetic nature of the best hip-hop lyrics, there should be a fair amount of poetry in any hip-hop literary journal. Hopefully, we'll get more poetry in the next issue. All in all, this first issue is a strong start. And what better title for a hip-hop lit journal than "Bronx Biannual." The Bronx gave birth to hip-hop music. The music has spread all over the world, but it all started in the Boogie Down...

Reply
Dana Crum
1/26/2011 03:33:14 am

Hey, booklover. I’m flattered that you enjoyed my piece! Actually, though, it’s an excerpt from my novel, “At the Cross.” But that you called the excerpt a story suggests that maybe I succeeded in making the excerpt read like a self-contained work, like, well, a short story. If you’re at all interested, you can check other published fiction of mine on another page of my site: http://www.danacrum.com/published-work.html. Like “Nothing Can Remain Unchanged,” most of those pieces are excerpts from my novel.

Reply
booklover
1/26/2011 03:45:58 am

So where can I find "At the Cross"? I couldn't find it on amazon.

Reply
Dana Crum
1/26/2011 03:49:51 am

Excerpts from my novel "At the Cross" appeared in a book, a magazine and some journals (including "Bronx Biannual"). The entire novel hasn't appeared in book form. At least not yet. So far only excerpts have been published. Right now I'm working on a book of poetry, but I have started a new novel. The new novel is on the back burner for now, though.

Reply
Maria Guzman
2/3/2011 02:08:28 pm

This short expert is incredible. While reading this, I felt like I was hearing guys on the street talking to one another. The language and the way these characters speak to one another is the same way people talk to each other nowadays. There were a lot of good descriptions in this short story. I love that Sidney knows when D'Angelo is upset. It shows that they are close. I would like to know more about Sidney's mother. I wanted to know what happened to her and why she is in the hospital. It made me sad that she wasn't able to attend her son's graduation. I could relate to the way she acts because my mother also wants the best for me. I know my mother wouldn't want me hanging out with people that are a bad influence. It's a mother thing. I can tell that these characters are well developed. They all have a specific want and need. Sidney, for example, wants to be successful so that he's not a stereotypical image of a young man living in the hood. He wants to do good things and prove others that he can do good and bring it. This information was clear to me. I want to read more of this short excerpt. It was very good.

Reply
Dana Crum
2/3/2011 04:48:48 pm

Hi, Maria. Thanks so much for your thoughtful response. You sound like a book critic as you discuss my novel excerpt.

Reply
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