February 4th, 2010 / 2:30 pm
Author Spotlight

The Postman’s Mother by Megan Savage

The postman has never penned a letter. Not on paper. For the postman a letter has always been a prayer sent upward from head to heaven. He has also never left home. Now, Mother rests abed, breath labored, bedsores hot. For supper, he serves her mashed potatoes and coleslaw, and afterwards he reads from Pearl S. Buck.

— from “The Postman’s Mother” by Megan Savage, published in Spork, 2006

There are no letter “i”s in this piece, a convincing nod to George Perec’s A Void, which I find very impressive. Try to write just one sentence like this; it is very difficult. This was originally published in 2006, but deserves a fresher read. Read the rest here.

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10 Comments

  1. mts

      Wow, instead of saying “in bed” she says “abed”. Impressive indeed. Interesting that there’s a Mrs. Chen in the story.

  2. mts

      Wow, instead of saying “in bed” she says “abed”. Impressive indeed. Interesting that there’s a Mrs. Chen in the story.

  3. dk

      Only carefully can such a sentence be made.

  4. dk

      Only carefully can such a sentence be made.

  5. Trey

      Yes, you must be very careful when you make such a sentence.

  6. Trey

      Yes, you must be very careful when you make such a sentence.

  7. Matt Cozart

      We concur—one must construct carefully, lest eagle-eyed readers catch an error!

  8. Matt Cozart

      We concur—one must construct carefully, lest eagle-eyed readers catch an error!

  9. Jimmy Chen

      good job people, for i cannot pen such a sentence

  10. Jimmy Chen

      good job people, for i cannot pen such a sentence