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Jeffrey McDanielThe Quiet World In an effort to get people to look into each other's eyes more, and also to appease the mutes, the government has decided to allot each person exactly a hundred and sixty-seven words, per day. When the phone rings, I put it to my ear without saying hello. In the restaurant I point at chicken noodle soup. I am adjusting well to the new way. Late at night, I call my long distance lover, proudly say I only used fifty-nine today. I saved the rest for you. When she doesn't respond, I know she's used up all her words, so I slowly whisper I love you thirty-two and a third times. After that, we just sit on the line and listen to each other breathe.
Author's Statement
The NEA is a great thing to get for two reasons. 1. To be recognized by a group of accomplished writers is rewarding on an internal level. 2. The practical aspects of the fellowship will buy me a bit of time to work on new poems and a fiction project.
National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506
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Jeffrey McDaniel was born in Philadelphia in 1967. He is the author of 3 books of poetry: The Splinter Factory, The Forgiveness Parade, and Alibi School.
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