SLR Online
June 4, 2012

Summer, Issue Five

Our Summer issue is "Don't Forget the Dust" by J.R. Corey and "Life in Miniature" by Allie Leach.

"Manic sun storms the living room where I sit in a miniature, spiral-post rocking chair, my mother ordering me to get my coat. Since the thought of never returning home fails to enter my mind, I grab only my favorite jacket - the little, red, imitation leather Michael Jackson knock-off. If I had known that I'd soon be secreted in my mother's outburst, I would have grabbed Don't Forget the Oatmeal, one of my favorite storybooks. The book details Bert's distractions as he sets out to purchase oatmeal; though he takes the proactive step of tying a string around his finger to help him remember what he's after, in the end, he fails."

read full essay here

"As I walk into the Mini-Time Machine Museum of Miniatures in Tucson, I feel like Gulliver, towering above a world of Lilliputians. I stare into rooms, the size of mailboxes, and find every day objects playing new roles inside these miniature worlds. The bottle cap is a pie pan; the gold picture frame is a table; the top of a mason jar is a chandelier; the breadbox is a house. The white leather boots and ceramic rose teapots could be earrings. The hatboxes could comfortably fit a family of four ants. The posters could be postage stamps. Women coo, couples swoon, children yelp like toy poodles, calling their parents into rooms. The museum, only two years old, a toddler itself, still has that new car smell."

read full essay here

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