"Things" by Peter Cherches

Things known and unknown. Story as thing. The soul of things. The essence of narrative. Bare bones. Blind alleys. Unanswered questions. And poems, a few pantoums and haiku too. Forty things by Peter Cherches.

When Peter Cherches writes about ‘things,’ you can be certain those things may or may not be: serious, humorous, logical, nonexistent, eternal, or shaggy herrings. Imagine Gertrude Stein doing borscht belt standup and you might get a hint of his cryptic yet lucid style. With a terse, reductionist approach, Cherches teases us with the anomalies, quirks, and contradictions of both the English language and daily existence.

—Elliott Sharp, composer, author of IrRational Music

I read Things, Peter Cherches’ latest compendium of short prose, with the pleasure and keen anticipation I once took in digging through a box of Cracker Jacks in search of the prize. There are nuggets of truth and wisdom disguised as wisecracks on every page. In the first text, titled “Cornered,” he pinpoints the reason to write: “I find myself in a corner … in a room of words.” And in another text, “Scream,” he sums up the essence of the literary pursuit and invites the reader to join in: “It is better to scream than to be screamed at, So go ahead and scream!”

—Peter Wortsman, author of Borrowed Words and Epiphany of a Middle-Aged Pilgrim

Peter Cherches’ droll humor and philosophical intelligence make Things a real delight to read, elliptical as Zen koans, almost as if the poet is letting us in on a secret, or as if we are sharing a private joke.

Charles Rammelkamp (London Grip)
April 3, 2023

Peter Cherches

Peter Cherches (photo by Elder Zamora)

Called “one of the innovators of the short short story” by Publishers Weekly, Peter Cherches has published seven volumes of fiction and nonfiction since 2013. His writing has also appeared in scores of magazines, anthologies, and websites, including Harper’s, Bomb, Semiotext(e), and Fiction International, as well as Billy Collins’ Poetry 180. His new book is Things (Bamboo Dart Press, 2023), a collection of experimental short prose and poetry. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he is also a jazz singer and lyricist.

Facebook: @PeterCherchesWriter

Website: cherches-tracks.blogspot.com