"Kawai Strong Washburn’s ‘On the Swish and Roar’ is a story of fraternal rivalry, of two brothers jockeying to be good sons, and of Dean, a high school basketball star, struggling to get a read on his fiercest opponent: himself. The comparison between sport and storytelling is not a new one in literary commentary: a game is a narrative unfolding in real time, there are loyalties and disappointments, a host of characters, villains and heroes. This particular story unfolds during a high school basketball season, a context seemingly ripe for such melodrama, but the comparison is insufficient. And in that way, this piece does what great stories should do. It captures more than a battle; it expresses a whole life wherein the ideas of ‘winner’ and ‘loser,’ ‘start’ and ‘finish,’ ‘fair’ and ‘cheating,’ fall short." - Lucie Shelly
About the Author: Kawai Strong Washburn was born and raised on the Hamakua coast of the Big Island of Hawai’i. His work has appeared in Best American Nonrequired Reading, McSweeney’s, and Mid-American Review, among others. He was selected as a 2015 Tin House Summer Scholar and 2015 Bread Loaf work-study scholar. He lives with his wife and daughter in the Bay Area of California and is hard at work on a novel and short story collection.
About the Publisher: Recommended Reading is the weekly fiction magazine of Electric Literature, publishing here every Wednesday morning. In addition to featuring our own recommendations of original, previously unpublished fiction, we invite established authors, indie presses, and literary magazines to recommend great work from their pages, past and present. Follow Recommended Reading on Medium and never miss the latest issue, or become a member for full access to the archives. For other links from Electric Literature, follow us, or sign up for our eNewsletter.
Genre: General Fiction
About the Author: Kawai Strong Washburn was born and raised on the Hamakua coast of the Big Island of Hawai’i. His work has appeared in Best American Nonrequired Reading, McSweeney’s, and Mid-American Review, among others. He was selected as a 2015 Tin House Summer Scholar and 2015 Bread Loaf work-study scholar. He lives with his wife and daughter in the Bay Area of California and is hard at work on a novel and short story collection.
About the Publisher: Recommended Reading is the weekly fiction magazine of Electric Literature, publishing here every Wednesday morning. In addition to featuring our own recommendations of original, previously unpublished fiction, we invite established authors, indie presses, and literary magazines to recommend great work from their pages, past and present. Follow Recommended Reading on Medium and never miss the latest issue, or become a member for full access to the archives. For other links from Electric Literature, follow us, or sign up for our eNewsletter.
Genre: General Fiction
Used availability for Kawai Strong Washburn's On the Swish and Roar