Sean Dietrich Articles

AI

There is a lot of talk in the writing community about how artificial intelligence chatbots are going to replace authors someday. The fear is that AI will take real writing jobs and we writers will eventually be forced to live in refrigerator cartons beneath an...

Angel Eyes

The man was ordering a beer from the bartender when I noticed him staring in my direction. “You’re that writer, ain’t you?” he said. That depends. “On what?” On whether you’re with the IRS. “Brother, have I got an angel story for you. It’s divine providence that I’m...

Lake Martin

Lake Martin is flat. Mirror flat. It is a perfect evening. The sun is low. The crickets are singing in full stereo. And I’m visiting with old ghosts.  My father would have looked at this calm water and said it was as “flat as a bookkeeper’s bottom.” Only he...

Jump

I’ve never been to a trampoline park before because I prefer my groin muscles to be untorn.  Recently, we took my friend Becca — she is 11 years old — to visit a trampoline park. Becca is blind, and going to a trampoline park is a lot of fun for her.  “I...
BE KIND

BE KIND

By Sean Dietrich "I am not an artist,” said Ginni Bonell. “I can barely draw a straight line.” Bonell lives in Virginia. She is in her mid-60s, with...

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BE KIND

RIBS

By Sean Dietrich Ribs. That’s what I need right now. Big, fat, juicy, thick, obscenely greasy, dangerously smoky, cardiac-distressing, country-style...

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BE KIND

TRAILS

By Sean Dietrich Late afternoon. I am in the deep woods. It is raining. I’m riding a tricycle along the Chief Ladiga Trail, pedaling toward Georgia...

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NURSES

NURSES

By Sean Dietrich I saw you in the Publix parking lot. Your car’s gas tank lid was open. I wanted to tell you. But you were busy. You were wearing...

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STORIES

STORIES

By Sean Dietrich Dear Malcolm, I received your handwritten letter in the mail yesterday. It was written so incredibly well. And I wanted to take a...

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OLD PLACES

OLD PLACES

 A little church. It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. In fact, it’s been a long time since I’ve been anywhere. I haven’t ventured far...

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MOONLIGHT

MOONLIGHT

The middle of the night. The rural Alabama countryside was lit by the glow of the full moon. In most major U.S. cities, tens of thousands were...

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MUSIC MAN

MUSIC MAN

It is a spring evening in West Florida. Humid. The sun is low. I am watching three old men strum guitars and sing “We Shall Overcome” on their front...

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MUSIC MAN

U.S. Mail

BOW, N.H.— A sunny morning in New Hampshire. Summer is inching closer. A few rural mail carriers ride the backroads, making their rounds. A dog...

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