"In Marie-Helene Bertino's 'Carry Me Home, Sisters of St. Joseph,' we meet Ruby, who is decidedly not religious, has lost her boyfriend, a lawyer-turned-Lone Star Steakhouse rodeo clown, to a waitress also under Lone Star employ. She is hired by the Sisters of St. Joseph as the new groundskeeper and general helper of the convent. For her, the job is part necessity, part therapy. Bertino is a deft comedian and writes with the kind of empathy that would melt a grudge or warm a broken heart. This story appeared in a different form in American Short Fiction Spring Issue of 2010, and in the author’s debut collection Safe as Houses, published by the Iowa University Press in 2012. We are thrilled to revitalize the piece now; it is a rare talent that can distill into a single story comedy and loss, sanctuary and journey, the power of both independence and desire, and the universal need for survival, whatever that might look like." - Lucie Shelly
About the Author: Marie-Helene Bertino is the author of the novel 2 A.M. AT THE CAT’S PAJAMAS and the story collection SAFE AS HOUSES. Awards include the O. Henry Prize, The Pushcart Prize, and The Iowa Award for Short Fiction. She teaches at NYU and in the low-residency MFA program at IAIA (Institute of American Indian Arts) in Santa Fe and is Editor-at-Large for Catapult. For more about dancing nuns, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A37BMm5zrfs
About the Publisher: About the Publisher: Electric Literature is an independent publisher amplifying the power of storytelling through digital innovation. Electric Literature’s weekly fiction magazine, Recommended Reading, invites established authors, indie presses, and literary magazines to recommended great fiction. Once a month we feature our own recommendation of original, previously unpublished fiction. Recommended Reading is supported by the Amazon Literary Partnership, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. For other links from Electric Literature, follow us, or sign up for our eNewsletter.
Genre: General Fiction
About the Author: Marie-Helene Bertino is the author of the novel 2 A.M. AT THE CAT’S PAJAMAS and the story collection SAFE AS HOUSES. Awards include the O. Henry Prize, The Pushcart Prize, and The Iowa Award for Short Fiction. She teaches at NYU and in the low-residency MFA program at IAIA (Institute of American Indian Arts) in Santa Fe and is Editor-at-Large for Catapult. For more about dancing nuns, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A37BMm5zrfs
About the Publisher: About the Publisher: Electric Literature is an independent publisher amplifying the power of storytelling through digital innovation. Electric Literature’s weekly fiction magazine, Recommended Reading, invites established authors, indie presses, and literary magazines to recommended great fiction. Once a month we feature our own recommendation of original, previously unpublished fiction. Recommended Reading is supported by the Amazon Literary Partnership, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. For other links from Electric Literature, follow us, or sign up for our eNewsletter.
Genre: General Fiction
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