Isaac Pickle

Isaac Pickle grew up in the paperback section of his father's used bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI. He is currently a PhD student down the road in Detroit, where he teaches writing and scribbles down stories during lecture. Isaac also publishes poetry, has taken a seat in all fifty states, and can smell old paper from blocks away. Before pressing send on this short, I had the same worry that must trouble the makers of many near future dystopias: how to raise concern over the direction we're headed without reifying or even glorifying the warning, without making it into a blueprint. In 1500 words or less, this challenge is more acute. Who can be written with compassion or treated with care? How can systems be skewered without making characters two-dimensional heels? I don't think I've done it right, but I hope we keep trying.