Winner of the G. S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction, selected by Billy Lombardo
Ramspeck's debut collection abounds with flawed families, tense confirmations, and unlikely moments of grace... These precise and resonant stories chronicle humble lives and unspoken traumas, making for a subtle and moving reading experience
Kirkus Reviews
Excellent reading for those who value meditative, beautiful storytelling. (starred review)
Barbara HoffertLibrary Journal
One is tempted, in describing Douglas Ramspeck’s new collection, to use the word "unflinching"—and indeed, these fictions tackle crises that might tempt many to avert their gaze: dead, missing, or decamped fathers, tragic accidents, romantic disappointment, childhood trauma, awkward aftermaths of all kinds. The problem is that "unflinching" gives the viewer, or the writer, special credit for not looking away. But flinching is for those who have a choice, and the characters in these spare, close-to-the-bone stories do not. What Ramspeck succeeds in here is to show us, in poignant, lyrical, but never fussy prose, what everyday fortitude looks like, what it’s like to look hardship straight in its eye and keep pressing on. These are flawed, sympathetic, fully human characters, and this is a sad, dark, terrific book.
Michael GriffithTrophy
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Doug Ramspeck
Doug Ramspeck teaches at the Ohio State University at Lima. His prizes include the John Ciardi Prize for Poetry, selected by Leslie Adrienne Miller, the Barrow Street Prize, selected by Mary Ruefle, and the Michael Waters Prize from Southern Indiana Review Press. A graduate of Kenyon College and the University of California at Irvine, he lives in Lima with his wife, Beth Sutton-Ramspeck. They have a daughter, Lee, who lives in North Carolina. The Owl That Carries Us Away is his first fiction book. He is the author of five books of poetry.