5 by People I Know at Least a Little in Real Life

Curated by Dmitry Samarov




The Year in Mysterious West Virginia

by Juliet Escoria

I love the way Escoria makes sense of her new home through a piece of regional pop culture. Feels similar to the way I got to know some of the places I've lived.


Rainelle

by Scott McClanahan

I once had the misfortune to open a reading headlined by McClanahan. Been a fan ever since.


Fuck, Boy!

by Sam Pink

It's so shitty that it took the ridiculous episode Pink describes in his essay for me to really read his work. Better late than never.


21 Signs That You're Not Friends Anymore

by Mallory Smart

I've never been much of a list-maker myself, but this is a good one. If I were to make a list of good things that happened to me this year, making friends with Mallory would definitely make the cut.


I Keep Finding Things I Thought I'd Lost Long Ago

by James Tadd Adcox

I haven't crossed paths with Adcox in years now, but we will always be connected——along with a couple dozen other unlucky writers——because we were published by a failed press run by a crook. This old piece of his made me remember that.





About Mixtapes

These mixtapes are a way for the Neutral Spaces community to read and share each others writing.

The idea is to go through the site and select 5 pieces from 5 authors.

For Neutral Spaces authors, these get collected and you are given a space to write about your mini-collection.

On the page, the curator and the 5 selected authors have their website linked, together with the 5 external links for the chosen work.

If you run a journal, I would love to spotlight your site with 5 pieces, you can use the introduction to let people know what you're trying to do with your site.

If you want to put together a mixtape, e-mail me.