Author Archives: John Biscello

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About John Biscello

Originally from Brooklyn, NY, writer, poet, performer, and playwright, John Biscello, has lived in the high-desert grunge-wonderland of Taos, New Mexico since 2001. He is the author of four novels, Broken Land, a Brooklyn Tale, Raking the Dust, Nocturne Variations, and No Man’s Brooklyn; a collection of stories, Freeze Tag, two poetry collections, Arclight and Moonglow on Mercy Street; and a fable, The Jackdaw and the Doll, illustrated by Izumi Yokoyama. He also adapted classic fables, which were paired with the vintage illustrations of artist, Paul Bransom, for the collection: Once Upon a Time, Classic Fables Reimagined. His produced, full-length plays include: LOBSTERS ON ICE, ADAGIO FOR STRAYS, THE BEST MEDICINE, ZEITGEIST, U.S.A., and WEREWOLVES DON’T WALTZ.

Fathers and Sons

Posted on December 12, 2018 by John Biscello

I understand that I am not only with my father and grandfather as family, but also as a writer. I am sketching them. The mechanical hand in my mind that never stops is charting and sketching and composing them. I … Continue reading →

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Swing Set

Posted on December 12, 2018 by John Biscello

   There was that day you wore your hair in pigtails.    You were thirteen. Pigtails and a pale blue summer dress. I think the dress was new.    My mother had died three days earlier.    You and I … Continue reading →

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Forever’s Youth

Posted on December 12, 2018 by John Biscello

   Anya and I had almost three weeks. The flirt and tease of a young forever.    It felt good to be with Anya in this new way. We were no longer ourselves, we were ourselves as a couple, this … Continue reading →

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Roseblood

Posted on December 12, 2018 by John Biscello

I could feel the music of a slow future dying inside me. And the past very much alive, like shimmering beatific flowers, like luscious night-thistles. The past is a changeable feast. Except it is a feast that eats and eats … Continue reading →

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Boneyard’s Way

Posted on December 12, 2018 by John Biscello

I tell myself stories in the dark, Anya. Whether or not they help is either of primary consequence or none at all. Sometimes you have to walk through the boneyard in order to reach the garden. This is what I … Continue reading →

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Viewfinder

Posted on December 12, 2018 by John Biscello

Childhood is an ongoing historical fiction that changes based on who you are when you’re examining it. Who you are in certain periods and chapters in your life, determines what your childhood is. Was would imply that childhood is fixed … Continue reading →

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The Dream Outward

Posted on December 12, 2018 by John Biscello

I tell myself stories in the dark, Anya. It helps. Or maybe it doesn’t. Maybe it makes things worse. Or keeps everything the same. Which is a different kind of worse. Anya I long to reach you only because I … Continue reading →

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The Lovers

Posted on December 12, 2018 by John Biscello

   What are we gonna do with ourselves Daniel?    Like right now?    Like ever. Are you gonna go to college?    I don’t know, but I don’t think so.    Why you’re smart?    I hate school. You … Continue reading →

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The Dark

Posted on December 12, 2018 by John Biscello

Remember when we were kids and we’d sometimes have sleepovers and listen to the dark together? That’s what you called it, Anya, listening to the dark.    Sometimes we’d pretend to be camping. We’d set up a tent and eat … Continue reading →

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Communion

Posted on December 12, 2018 by John Biscello

Excerpt from No Man’s Brooklyn:    I put on my headphones, turned on my music and hit shuffle. I eased into Nina Simone’s version of “I Shall Be Released.” I wondered about the state of Anya’s soul, and then thought … Continue reading →

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