Early ReviewersJack Matthews

Stories about messy emotions, troubled families and damaged personalities. 11th Story Collection.

Over his lifetime Jack Matthews (1925-2013) wrote over 200 stories, many of which were published in literary journals. Although stories varied widely in subject and style, they often could be described as urbane, philosophical, poetic and sardonic.

Stories in Boxes of Time were mostly published between 1965 and 1980; they feature characters who are troubled or unsure of themselves trying to deal with life’s usual disappointments. Stylistically, these stories are polished and carefully written, but they deal with messy emotions, troubled families and damaged personalities. The characters may not be as educated or self-assured as the people in his other collections, but they still manage to figure out interesting things about themselves and the people around them. Stories from this period focus especially on the emotional stresses that separate parents from their children.

This ebook contains 30+ stories by Jack Matthews which have never been collected, making it the author’s largest story collection.

In this provocative and immensely irritating comic play, the Sphinx from ancient Greece is interviewed in modern times as though she were a celebrity pop star. The problem is she never answers any questions—never directly, anyway. Instead, she prefers just dishing the dirt on everybody.

This witty 67-minute audio play stars Jill Brumer as the Sphinx and Neal Gage as the interviewer. Part Tom Stoppard, part Monty Python, part Oscar Wilde, this play by Jack Matthews combines philosophical paradoxes with fast-paced verbal pyrotechnics. It offers the perfect antidote to people who remembered ancient literature as nothing but stuffy and melodramatic characters with hard-to-pronounce names.

Neal Gage is a Houston actor and teacher who has appeared in several features and comic sketch videos on Funny or Die. Jill Brumer has an MFA in Media and Performing Arts and teaches theater at Houston colleges. Jack Matthews (1925-2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, playwright, and former professor in Ohio.

Did Edgar Allen Poe fake his death? That’s what a Baltimore doctor needs to figure out in the title tale for this 11th story collection by Jack Matthews. As one critic wrote, “Matthews stories are like friends from small towns: They are honest, warm, occasionally lyrical and as strange and idiosyncratic as the rest of us.”

Characters face all kinds of improbable situations in this collection. A US army battalion finds itself locked in an absurd stalemate with German troops at the end of World War Two. A second-string college football player inexplicably receives an athletic prize. A middle-aged man discovers that random women around his neighborhood are walking around nude. A man witnesses a car falling out of the sky into a supermarket parking lot. A book collector and his wife concoct a mad plan to outbid a mysterious competitor for a 17th century manuscript.

In the novella-sized title story, Edgar Allen Poe’s doctor investigates the mystery of Poe’s disappearance from his deathbed and the very real possibility that Poe (or someone purporting to be him) has fled to Louisiana and been sending enigmatic clues. As author of several novels set in 19th century America (Gambler’s Nephew, Sassafras and Soldier Boys), Jack Matthews (1925-2013) writes about early America with gusto and insight.

In contrast to previous story collections (which lean more to the cerebral or poetic), the Matthews stories collected here are down-to-earth yarns: gently satirical and reminiscent of John Cheever’s fiction. Most are like pleasant strolls through Midwestern neighborhoods, glimpsing random people at backyard parties, cafes and parking lots.

Did Edgar Allen Poe fake his death? That’s what a Baltimore doctor needs to figure out in the title tale for this 11th story collection by Jack Matthews. As one critic wrote, “Matthews stories are like friends from small towns: They are honest, warm, occasionally lyrical and as strange and idiosyncratic as the rest of us.” 72,000 words.

"Matthews stories are like friends from small towns: They are honest, warm, occasionally lyrical and as strange and idiosyncratic as the rest of us." (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER) During the last decade of his life, author Jack Matthews wrote a series of 1-2 page prose pieces (which he dubbed "Abruptions" or "very short stories that end abruptly"). Matthews had already published over 20 books of fiction with an astonishing variety of characters and plots. This last volume hints at a lot of characters and plots without trying to resolve them. Each abruption -- which rarely takes more than 5 minutes to read -- sheds light on something unexpected, whether it be a character's view on life or the reader's notions of how the world ought to work. Many episodes read like contemporary fables or sketches of quirky people from small midwest towns. Other stories sound like wild fairy tales. Some stories simply ponder the imponderable. Matthews explains in the book's preface that abruptions "can reach down to dimensions of wonder and speculation that are commonly thought to be the proper domain of poetry." These stories are a fitting coda for Matthew's career as a storyteller. As deep and dark as these abruptions can become, they are told with simple language, flashes of humor and a sage's sense of wonder and irony. (Read more ).

Over the decades, Jack Matthews collected memoirs and personal correspondence by actual U.S. Civil War soldiers. Eventually this interest led him to write a group of stories from the vantage point of teenage soldiers. Philosophical in nature, these short stories are less about specific Civil War battles or the horrors of war than about ordinary adventures and heartbreaks of young soldiers. It’s about how ordinary teenage boys who were soldiers during the Civil War experienced it as a part of growing up and learned to face mortality early on. Despite the historical backdrop and the tragic dimension of the Civil War, these stories capture the humor and sense of adventure that is typical for teenage boys. The stories are suspenseful, humorous, contemplative and evocative of 19th century life. Jack Matthews wrote these stories in his later years; they reflect his continued interest in 19th century life and show a master short story writer at the height of his storytelling powers. This volume is the first of four story collections which Personville Press will publish as ebooks over the next two years. Ohio author Jack Matthews (1925-2013) published more than 20 books in his lifetime. Seven of these books were story collections positively reviewed in New York Times Book Review, London Review of Books, LA Times, Washington Book World and USA Today. Soldier Boys is his first story collection to be published since 1993. For more about this author, check the author's Wikipedia page . .

Ohio author Jack Matthews published more than 20 books in his lifetime. Seven of these books were story collections positively reviewed in New York Times Book Review, London Review of Books, LA Times, Washington Book World and USA Today. Soldier Boys is his first story collection to be published since 1993. It’s about how ordinary teenage boys who were soldiers during the Civil War experienced it as a part of growing up and learned to face mortality early on. Despite the historical backdrop and the tragic dimension of the Civil War, these stories capture the humor and sense of adventure that is typical for teenage boys. The stories are suspenseful, humorous, contemplative and evocative of 19th century life. Jack Matthews wrote these stories in his later years; they reflect his continued interest in 19th century life and show a master short story writer at the height of his storytelling powers. This volume is the first of four story collections which Personville Press will publish as ebooks over the next two years. For more about this author, check the author's Wikipedia page or the book description page .

In this provocative & immensely irritating comic play, the Sphinx from ancient Greece is interviewed in modern times as though she were a celebrity pop star. The problem is, she never answers any questions -- never directly anyway. Instead she prefers just dishing the dirt on everybody. ON HOMER: "I never was exactly sure which one Homer was. I'm positive he wasn't the blind one, though; that was just a silly story they started telling a few centuries later". ON OEDIPUS: "Eddie was terribly conceited, you know … of course he was smart and handsome and, oh, just had a way of carrying himself that impressed everybody. In spite of his foot." Bit by bit the Interview learns that what happened in Greek legend didn't happen exactly the way Sophocles described it. Fortunately, the Sphinx offers the Interviewer another riddle ... if only he could figure out what exactly it is! Part Tom Stoppard, part Monty Python, part Oscar Wilde, this play by Jack Matthews combines philosophical paradoxes with fast-paced verbal pyrotechnics. It offers the perfect antidote to people who remembered ancient literature as nothing but stuffy and melodramatic characters with hard-to-pronounce names. In 2013 an audio version of this one act play was produced by Personville Press. This ebook contains the complete script used for the 2013 audio production plus another expanded two act version of the same play. This expanded two act version is titled "Dr. Freud and the Sphinx," and includes Florence Nightingale and Sigmund Freud characters (who serve as the Greek chorus). Playwright JACK MATTHEWS is the author of 10+ plays and 20+ books (including short stories, novels and essays). Winner of the Guggenheim, a play competition and several arts grants, Matthews has been anthologized widely, translated into several languages and nominated for a National Book Award. Matthews was distinguished professor of Fiction Writing at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio for over 4 decades. "Mr. Matthews is a master of prose conversation and deadpan charm. He is ironic, cool, and shrewd, and he writes a lucid prose." (Tim O'Brien, New York Times)

In this provocative & immensely irritating comic play, the Sphinx from ancient Greece is interviewed in modern times as though she were a celebrity pop star. The problem is she never answers any questions — never directly anyway. Instead she prefers just dishing the dirt on everybody. ON HOMER: “I never was exactly sure which one Homer was. I’m positive he wasn’t the blind one, though; that was just a silly story they started telling a few centuries later”. ON OEDIPUS: “Eddie was terribly conceited, you know … of course he was smart and handsome and, oh, just had a way of carrying himself that impressed everybody. In spite of his foot.” Bit by bit the Interview learns that what happens in Greek legend didn’t happen exactly the way Sophocles described it. Fortunately, the Sphinx offers the Interviewer another riddle … if only he could figure out what exactly it is! This witty 67 minute audio play stars Jill Brumer as the Sphinx and Neal Gage as the Interviewer. Part Tom Stoppard, part Monty Python, part Oscar Wilde, this play by Jack Matthews combines philosophical paradoxes with fast-paced verbal pyrotechnics. It offers the perfect antidote to people who remembered ancient literature as nothing but stuffy and melodramatic characters with hard-to-pronounce names.

Clyde Stout is a high school graduate in a small Ohio town; he loves tinkering with cars and dreaming about his girlfriend. He has interests and aspirations, but no definite goals. He is coasting....until he discovers he has a new talent: the ability to hang from a metal bar longer than anybody! Others start calling him “Hanger,” and an out-of-town stranger, trying to help the boy to profit from this talent, organizes various “hanging competitions.” At first, Hanger goes along, but after a while he becomes suspicious of the stranger's motives; is he for real? Hanger is no longer a boy and not yet an adult – but he finds himself in a world where older adults are constantly offering advice and supervision and alleged wisdom. Until then, Hanger had always been an amiable and trusting sort; now Hanger needs to look at things through adult eyes -- can he adapt to a world which seems less safe or reliable but possibly more profound? This slender 150 page novel was first published by Harcourt in 1967 and reprinted several times. Now it is available as an ebook. Time Magazine described it as a "gentle first novel told with a fine ear for adolescent patois," and National Book Award winning poet William Stafford called it one of the most neglected works of the 20th century. Southern novelist Eudora Welty said about the book: "I like it, and warmly admire his sturdy subject and delicately restrained treatment. It seemed to me blessed with honesty, clarity, directness, proportion and a lovely humor. . . ." The book is a fun and easy read... Not too much happens, and the protagonist (we're sorry to report) is not a werewolf or vampire or time traveler or wizard or superhero ...He's just an ordinary guy. Still, this is a good book to help you remember how it felt to be a teenager ...before you needed to start worrying about more serious matters. Like life...and other stuff. About the Author 86 year old author Jack Matthews has not only written more than 15 works of fiction, he was distinguished professor of Fiction Writing at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio for over 4 decades. Winner of Guggenheim and several arts grants, Matthews has been anthologized widely, translated into several languages and nominated for a National Book Award. His own books have been praised by Eudora Welty, Anthony Burgess, Shirley Ann Grau, Tim O’Brien, Doris Grumbach, Walker Percy and a host of other famous and highly accomplished authors. In 2011 he published the novel Gambler’s Nephew (about accidental killing of a slave by an abolitionist while trying to save him) and a writing guide. See also: More about the novel, the author's Wikipedia page and a long interview with the author.

Since the early 1990s, Jack Matthews has distributed a photocopied version of this 75,000 word writing guide to students in his fiction writing classes at Ohio University. This guide offers insight about how successful writers transform raw experiences into a story and how language helps with that transformation. A Worker's Writebook offers lots of good examples and practical advice for getting a story idea off the ground; it analyzes several stories (including one of Matthews’ own) and offers several paradigms for understanding how stories work. Erudite, witty, idiosyncratic, serendipitous, mischievous, sesquipedalian, entertaining, introspective and colorful: these are adjectives which come to mind when reading this book. Read Book Excerpts Here. About the Author: 86 year old author Jack Matthews has not only written more than 15 works of fiction, he was distinguished professor of Fiction Writing at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio for over 4 decades. Winner of Guggenheim and several arts grants, Matthews has been anthologized widely, translated into several languages and nominated for a National Book Award. His own books have been praised by Eudora Welty, Anthony Burgess, Shirley Ann Grau, Tim O’Brien, Doris Grumbach, Walker Percy and a host of other famous and highly accomplished authors. NBA-Award poet William Stafford listed Matthews’s novel, HANGER STOUT, AWAKE! as his only title in an ANTAEUS series on “Neglected Books Of The 20th Century.”