Phillip Sterling

Amateur Husbandry Phillip Sterling

Poetry. Literary Nonfiction. Hybrid Genre. How the narrator of AMATEUR HUSBANDRY manages to maintain a sense of calmness and well-being as he deals with the rather unruly and chaotic natural world is remarkable. Married to a yellow horse of Xantippe-like qualities, he is nonetheless the go-to guy for fatherly and sane advice, whether dealing with an unneighborly woodchuck, a panhandling bear, or one of his many fosterlings (like the goat that wants to dress up as a U. S. President), all the while maintaining a sense of humor and empathy. Call them what you willâ microfictions, prose poems, fables, field notesâ these brief observations of nature (human and animal) are those of a backyard zoologist, anthropologist, mythologist, and literary executorâ all amateurishly wise, playfully insightful, and often very funny. There is a heartbreaking vulnerability in Phillip Sterling's strange, sly micro-fictions replete with talking animals. I can't think of anyone since Russell Edson who so effectively uses the absurd and surreal to explore the complicated dynamics of family and interpersonal relationships. The pieces in AMATEUR HUSBANDRY do what short-short stories do bestâ they push beyond their compression to create a fully realized world, putting both our foibles and our mercies on display.â Marc J. Sheehan What a great read! From the playful title to the domestic dramas, AMATEUR HUSBANDRY captures the absolute normalcy of life IF you are married to a horse and your world is populated by badgers and wolverinesâ among other creaturesâ all with the problems any household encounters. These stories of domestic life are elevated with wit, humor, and a stable of articulate and smart characters.â Elizabeth Kerlikowske Phillip Sterling's AMATEUR HUSBANDRY is a sleek, sly, and occasionally silly collection of domestic fables and playful micro-fictions. An unexpected menagerie of delightful creatures, human and otherwise.â Dinty W. Moore