About this item
Olivia Clare's delightfully strange and tender debut collection traces the impact of larger-than-life forces on everyday people. From siblings whose relationship is as fragile as glass, to a woman grappling with both an emotional and physical drought, to a superstitious spouse fearful of misfortune, Disasters in the First World explores the real and the imagined, environmental and man-made calamities, and the human need to comprehend the unknown. In "Pittsburgh in Copenhagen," a man and a woman confront infidelity and estrangement as they share one last night together. "Ptur" tells the tale of a son who takes his mother on an Icelandic vacation only to be stranded there by a volcanic eruption. "Rusalka's Long Legs" follows a young girl's treacherously long walk through the woods with her unpredictable mother.
About the Author
Olivia Clare is the author of a book of poems, THE 26-HOUR DAY (New Issues) , and a book of short stories, DISASTERS IN THE FIRST WORLD (Black Cat/Grove Atlantic) . In fiction, she is a recipient of a 2014 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer's Award and a 2014 O. Henry Prize. In poetry, she is a recipient of a Ruth Lilly Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation and the Olive B. O'Connor Fellowship from Colgate University. Her stories have appeared in The O. Henry Prize Stories, Granta, Southern Review, n 1, Boston Review, and elsewhere. Her poems have appeared in Poetry, Southern Review, London Magazine, FIELD, and other journals. She is currently an Assistant Professor in Creative Writing at Sam Houston State University. www.olivia-clare.com
