Jim Kourlas

A Very Fine Writer of Fictions

Latest Posts

Chicago

Chicago lives on and beneath the surface of prehistoric Lake Algonquin. During heavy rains, water inundates the deep tunnel system in engineers’ futile attempt to sequester it. Mostly, the water pools on the asphalt, erupting into sewer geysers, bathing rats in oil and brine. Last weekend, I rented a Divvy bike and pedaled through my…

Ohio

You’re squeezed into your father’s Asics, their soles dyed with chlorophyl, pushing his machine in concentric strips along those old etched patterns—but you’re no boy. The father is stroked in a rehab hospital five miles away and your marriage is back in Omaha on its own gurney, well past saving. These are last rites at…

Metric Time

Two months went missing, time went metric. Twelve to ten, base ten. This wasn’t laziness, a world fell to ruin, a marriage fell apart. In January, I let the autopay expire on the engagement ring’s insurance policy on the. It seemed like a solid, adult thing to do at the time. Adults own insurance. Adults…

November 2025

Snow has come early, mean air, mean slush. What do you want me to do, dance? It takes a stronger man than me to dance in this grim. It’s a bad day, so this is all I have. I don’t want to rebuild myself. Odd shapes, stickers, tape. We must be magnanimous in our writing,…

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