Snapshots by Eileen Keane

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Photo © Linda Raymond

"I feel disengaged from my life, as if it is a series of stills from a film, or moments captured in images that I offer to the earth. I spread them out there and examine them and rearrange them as if by doing so I might somehow find answers. The older ones seem faded and when I look at them it’s as if my head fills with noise, but when I focus on the ones that link to this place, the din fades and the mellifluous sound of the clarinet takes its place."

Long Story, Short Journal's July 2015 edition is a unique tale from Hennessy-award winning writer Eileen Keane. 'Snapshots' examines tensions that affinity for one's 'home-place' can create in a relationship, while offering 'snapshot' portraits of the endurance and strength that can be drawn from love.  CLICK HERE TO READ 'Snapshots'.

The Shawl

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© Jenna Weaver

"They found the shawl on the back of a chair in a bar, forgotten or discarded by its owner. It was beautiful, golden, with many coloured threads woven into it. Robert saw it first, and showed it to Helen .... Robert watched as Helen simply folded it neatly and placed it in her bag."

​'The Shawl' is a dirge of the ties that bind our relationships; the clutch and release in the power struggle to keep hold of the ones we love. This new work is by Brian Kirk, a writer who is as accomplished in poetry as he is in the short story. His image of 'the shawl' will stay with readers, long after they've finished reading. CLICK HERE TO READ 'THE SHAWL'.