Things From the Creek Bed We Could Have Been

“I was captivated from the first story to the last. The use of language was incredible, the stories diverse, the tone mesmerizing.”—xTx

“This collection is revelatory, introducing a writer already possessing a stunning virtuosity of language and inner drama. With these stories, Claire Oleson blazes an important mark on the literary landscape, and we can only look forward to more such work from her.”—David Lynn

“The dark waters that run through Things From the Creek Bed We Could Have Been, Claire Oleson’s riveting story collection, variously reveal and conceal the dangers and fantasies that lurk nearby; our families, our own backyards become sites of revelations, sometimes charming, sometimes gothic. But they always hold a mirror to our impenetrable selves: ‘The creek is glassy at its surface, but I can’t break it. Its body has memorized surrender so well that it can never lose to something like my bony knuckles.’ Oleson brings a poet’s music and precision to these subtle and memorable stories.”—Richie Hofmann