Creatures of Habitat

by Alice Osborn (Editor)

Our home can house our greatest triumphs and tragedies. Is buying a home still part of the American Dream—or was it always a fantasy fueled by someone else’s desires? Why are so much of our identities tied up to where we live and how big or little our house is? Because these questions nag at me and have become a theme in my previously published work, for this anthology I chose the theme of homes and houses and selected authors who possess a keen eye.

Home is where we love, fight, and endure each other. Where we renovate or tear down—who doesn’t wish we could switch out our life as quickly as we can repaint our walls? Our home can be our largest investment and our biggest mistake. Our home can haunt us. Many times what happens inside is vastly different from what the outside world sees. As you will find in the details of these diverse stories, poems and essays from these talented authors all around the country, home is one of the most universal elements of storytelling. There’s the longing for home from someone who doesn’t have one, to the boundaries of protecting one’s home and property from outside forces, to the loss and loneliness of leaving our home or having our children leaving us.

Home is also tied to place and community. “Where are you from?” is asked by strangers who want to get acquainted. Usually first memories occur on our stairs, in our basements or bedrooms. Our childhood home may be our safest cocoon or our greatest fear—is it the place we return to or are escaping from in our dreams?

Absorb and connect with these authors and their diverse voices. Welcome the memorable characters and their driveways, gardens, porches, attics and kitchens into your space. After all, home is who we are because everyone has to live somewhere.

250 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2015

About the author

Alice Osborn’s past educational and work experience is unusually varied, and it now feeds her work as a poet/book editor and singer/songwriter on acoustic guitar. In the past decade, Alice has taught writing workshops to thousands of aspiring fiction, poetry, and memoir authors of nearly all ages from 9 to 90 both around the corner and across continents. Heroes without Capes is her most recent collection of poetry. Previous collections are After the Steaming Stops and Unfinished Projects. Alice is also the editor of the anthologies Tattoos and Creatures of Habitat, both from Main Street Rag. A North Carolina Writers’ Network, North Carolina Poetry Society, and North Carolina Songwriters Co-op board member and a Pushcart Prize nominee, her work has appeared in the News and Observer, The Broad River Review, The Pedestal Magazine, Soundings Review and in numerous journals and anthologies. Alice is the musician-in-residence for the Western Wake Farmers' Market who plays Celtic fiddle and bluegrass banjo. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband, two children and four birds. Visit Alice's website at www.aliceosborn.com and check out her music at www.reverbnation.com/aliceosborn.

Reviews

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a first read. It's a good collection of short stories. They're just the right length making for a quick and easy read. The characters are interesting and the stories are emotional and thought provoking. Recommended.