More terrific Ghostpine stories. A fine literary mind, Jeff raises the bar for nuanced, writerly storytelling in the fanzine genre. This issue is a collection of excerpts from some "incomplete projects I've been working on (says the intro)": a bildungsroman revisiting the unfocused politics and endearingly vitriolic comrades of his suburban punk youth, and short oral histories concerning nuns, Tennessee transplants, and plastic pumpkins saved from the garbage.

My guess is that Jeff may have been hungry while compiling this issue. Many of the stories reference food in some way: A Mongolian Barbecue, a Denny's booth, a lunch break in high school, and vegetables in peanut sauce, prepared by a lover. That's not to marginalize or pigeonhole his talent because it's still as sharp as ever. You'll read this, then re-read it, especially if you're a fan of short stories with subtle details. If you've never read a Ghost Pine, then you ought to start. Truly on of the zine classics!

Jeff has a way of crafting hand written sentences that make even the dullest moments worthy of reading about. He moves about in Canada, hears some great stories, and recites them for all of us to read about. "Closer to the city we pass the freight yard, a miniature city built of giant lego blocks labelled "CPR" or "CN", with indecipherable numbers across the side. Long trains slink slowly back and forth about the chaotic yard, taking orders from a blue and white striped control tower in the center.". This description doesn't do this zine enough justice.

Jeff serves up another great serving of Ghostpine stories. He's one of the literary masterminds of our life time and each issue is finely crafted even free of spelling and grammatical errors. This one talks about staying alone in a cabin and his friends coming to visit him, getting mugged, doing security work over night in a quiet park, and more. The stories are crafted very carefully and are quite charming; leaving a smile on my face.

Jeff has a way of crafting hand written sentences that make even the dullest moments worthy of reading about. He moves about in Canada, hears some great stories, and recites them for all of us to read about. "Closer to the city we pass the freight yard, a miniature city built of giant lego blocks labelled "CPR" or "CN", with indecipherable numbers across the side. Long trains slink slowly back and forth about the chaotic yard, taking orders from a blue and white striped control tower in the center.". This description doesn't do this zine enough justice.

Jeff serves up a collection of his odds and ends stories ( get it? "Bee"-sides!) He's one of the literary masterminds of our life time and each issue is finely crafted even free of spelling and grammatical errors. This one talks about the death of his grandfather, the WTC falling, crossing the border, going to see Godspeed You Black Emperor, a car accident in New Hampshire, a cookie recipe, and a couple more. The stories are crafted very carefully and are quite charming; leaving a smile on my face.