Crafting a short story is when I am most in the zone as a writer.
My stories are created in much the same way the characters in my paintings are born, making marks on a surface, building layers and texture, all rising from some subliminal or past life encounter buried deep in the recesses of my soul.
As both a visual artist and a writer I am most inspired to capture a simple moment, thought, gesture of the ordinary and mundane while suggesting that an extraordinary and mysterious sanctuary lies just beneath the surface. This contemplation is my constant source material.
As a word junkie, the vast swirl of expressions from the Sufi poet Kabir and insightful ruminations of the Persian poet Rumi to contemporary writers and poets like Don DeLillo, Jeanette Winterson, Mary Oliver, Jane Hirschfield, Barbara Kingsolver, Toni Morrison and Arundhati Roy and so many others spark my fire. The visuals of artists like photographers Diane Arbus, Walker Evans, Henri-Cartier Bresson and the Expressionist schools also feed my literary explorations. I seek awakenings, revelations and epiphanies within my characters’ lives.
I am currently working on a book set of short story collections for publication. I am also a member of the Reedsy.com writing community. In January 2021, I was included in the select group of Top Fiction Writers for Medium.com.
Please enjoy reading a small sampling of my short stories in this section through the drop-down menu of the main menu or from the links provided below. You will find stories categorized by collection title as well as additional stories that have been published.
I add – and subtract – stories from this online collection often, so check back for updates, new stories, recently published works, etc. To read more short stories not included here, please contact me directly by email. Thank you for taking the time to read them!
More Stories – Miscellaneous Collections
mary corbin writes 