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Benjamin J. Kirby

Benjamin J. Kirby is a writer of fiction, essays, and poetry. He is a communications and public relations professional. Cathexis Northwest Press chose his poem, Train, for their October 2022 issue. The journal Wingless Dreamer included his poem, “The Fountain of Youth,” in their 2021 Spring Anthology. CANEBRAKE, an unpublished Florida crime novel, received Honorable Mention in the 2020 Black Spring Press Crime Fiction Prize. He won first place for his prompt in the 2020 Lewis County Writer’s Guild competition, benefiting the Doyle McKim Legacy Annual Scholarship, which supports writing students at Centralia College. Benjamin worked in collaboration with acclaimed cellist Natalie Helm exploring Johann Sebastian Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello. He wrote a short story, “The Queen’s Cookfire”, inspired by the music, and read it before a live audience at the Sarasota Contemporary Dance Company. Born in western North Carolina and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Benjamin lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his his children and his dog.

The Pure Sons of Liberty

I. The Alliance, the last of the war frigates, bound tight to the dock by the tie-lines, held fast and creaked against the sharp chop off the harbor. A brackish mix of brown-white froth assailed her starboard. The thick ropes... Continue Reading →

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Boris

His eyes glanced at the polished desk to the right of the fireplace, papers stacked meticulously. A green lamp, a set of gold pens. Something that looked like some official stamp. Some envelopes. A gun.

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Salvation Through Art

This has not been the easiest post-election week. I predicted a Hillary blow-out, for whatever that's worth now. And as the Democratic Party -- and the nation -- goes through a sort of reckoning, so too am I going through my... Continue Reading →

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I’m With Her: Election Day

I've been involved in politics and campaigns for a long time now. Hillary Clinton is going to be a remarkable president. I think she is being underestimated right now, which is fine. But she has spent a lifetime shaping domestic and global policy. She understands the levers of power probably better than anyone preparing to lead the free world. This is nothing but a benefit to America. And that's a great reason to vote for her.

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The Mediocre Chef: Fried Chicken

Look, I love food. And I love Southern food. But fried chicken will be my Holy Grail. It will be my Everest, my going to be my ongoing experiment. It's going to take a little while to perfect, but when I get it right, I'll know.

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Dad Life: Play Ball

For reasons I'm not even sure I remember, I volunteered to coach Finn's T-ball team. But those reasons don't matter, because I had so much fun. I think Finn, did, too.

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The 60 of Operation Loki

In 1977, as you may or may not know, NASA launched the twin deep-space probes Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. To this day, both of them carry a gold-plated phonograph depicting the sounds of life on Earth. Carl Sagan himself helped pick out the more than one-hundred images and the music that each vessel carries. The idea is to put a happy face of life on Earth, should either of the Voyagers encounter alien life.

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The Bay

The blade goes in, fast and easy. Butter and a hot knife. One hand has a good grip, pushing the knife in-between the ribs, past muscle into the heart and the left lung. One hand on his mouth. Can feel his hot breath on my palm.

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The Mediocre Chef: Pancakes

Sure, even a mediocre chef can make pancakes. But for me, pancakes represent something a little more complicated than a some batter and a hot griddle. They are a part of the family. They are deeply ingrained in my history, my consciousness. Pancakes are in my DNA.

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