“Chasing away from the ticking stillness of home toward some dim aura glowing over the horizon.” That’s how William Kittredge describes the ennui particular to seventeen-year-olds, which makes for sour moods and great tales. Here we offer five stories of youthful folly and high adventure. Let them take you back, or inspire your next hijinks. Either way, we’re sure you’ll love reading them.
Bill Barich
A Real Writer
All tales of youth involve a large measure of folly.
Charles D’Ambrosio
Catching Out
I loved hopping freight trains. It was cheap, dirty, and dangerous.
Tyree Daye
By Land
I miss when Sonny could do a wheelie all the way down Person Street.
2019 Whiting Award
Gabriella Deich
Youth
Three words. Never spoken.
William Kittredge
Drinking & Driving
I had use of my father’s 1949 Buick. So, another summer drive.
R. O. Kwon
Superhero
A few months after Christina renounced God she went off to college.
Maud Newton
Conversations You Have at Twenty
2009 Narrative Prize Winner
We did it in a hotel room with his mother in the next bed.
Nikki Wallschlaeger
Arguing with Myself
Wearing your heart on your sleeve is just not safe anymore.