Santa Barbara Literary Journal released ‘Bellatrix: Volume 3’ in June 2019, which among adventurous fiction, poetry, essays, and lyrics, features an excerpt of psychic-animism fiction, Medicine Walk by Jack Eidt. See below for an excerpt. Buy the book!
Announcing Santa Barbara Literary Journal, Volume 3: Bellatrix
Excerpt from Jack Eidt’s “Medicine Walk”
The desert wanted him to stop at blinking lights. Needing fuel, he pulled off the highway at a place called Casino WildWest.
Beyond the gigantic self-parking lot, he limped toward the blinking porte-cochère, sore from sit-driving, confident no one would see nor recognize him here. He would rest his auto and purchase a cold drink, then continue toward the high alpine, to heal himself.
Yet Bon was mistaken about his anonymity, as the Gambler with two beautiful young women spotted him immediately. “Welcome, son, to the WildWest,” the old guy said, cowboy hat tipped, giant bulbous red whiskey nose, sunken eyes barely visible under the white felt hat, blue jean material covering the rest of his body. “These’re my daughters,” the Gambler said, referring to the young, lithe blondes wearing tight-fitting bright-colored shirts and shorts, with athletic shoes and hose. Bon immediately fixed his wind-blown hair, buttoned his sweat-drenched striped blue shirt to his neck. Lady-luck was changing, oh yes, desert wind-sun-earth delivering him beyond the slow-lane mental-poverty-stricken existence greenhouse-heating-encased in that sad mobile he possessed the keys to. The process of healing involved doing things you would never do. He hated playing cards, gambling casinos, cigar-smoked-sports-betting, but imbibing the magic of a road trip required him to open his mind to everything and listen for messages.
Neither daughter spoke, only daddy ushered them down to the blackjack tables. “Try your luck, you ‘n me, boy,” the Gambler said, bloodshot eyes crow-cold on him, his scent was clearly alcoholic, gin and tonic. Not nice people, not nice place, Bon wondered about the prudence of an indiscriminately open mind. “Thinkin’ that job of yours back home gonna pay for real living?” the Gambler continued. “You want the wide-open land, then stop fooling yourself and sit on down here.”
STORY: Corridor of the Surreal: Silver Webb and Jack Eidt Talk ‘City of Illumination’
From SBLitJo
Fiction
STORY: Courting Delirium: Max Talley and his Dark Zeitgeist
A landscape in need of medicine. Photo by Jack Eidt
Humor
Poetry
Lyrics
Look up in the sky! Photo by Jack Eidt
Non-Fiction
Editrix
Editors
Volume 3 is available for purchase on Amazon!
Bellatrix: Volume 3. SBLitJo. Cover art, “Lady Autumn Takes the Air,” by Max Talley.
Brainchild of Editrix Silver Webb, the Santa Barbara Literary Journal is a biannual publication available on Amazon in both print and kindle format and was inspired by and birthed from the 2017 Santa Barbara Writers Conference which will celebrate its 47th year on the beach in Santa Barbara from June 16th – 21st.
Updated 29 December 2020
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Big Fan! Jack can write his ass off!
You are awesome, Mary. THANK YOU!