Author Archives

Bill Pearse publishes memoir, travel journals, poetry and prose, and lives in the Pacific Northwest.

• Voodoo Doll

  By Bill Pearse on January 20, 2013 • ( 5 )

  

  Kendra was so beautiful she made me uncomfortable in my house. Even though she was with her boyfriend John, her beauty (and my attraction to her) would prevent us from ever having a normal relationship. They came up from Philly… Read More ›

• The South Side

  By Bill Pearse on January 19, 2013 • ( 10 )

  Blanche told Shana she could fire a tiny laser beam from her fingertips if she pressed her palms together and focused, just right. If she were to fire a laser beam, it would be at TED, the unofficial mayor of… Read More ›

• Rolfing the Theme

  By Bill Pearse on January 18, 2013 • ( 4 )

  

  It’s hard to know the theme before you start writing. For me, theme emerges over time. It’s as though you know the theme sub-consciously, but need to go through an exercise requiring time and effort before it’s fully realized. I… Read More ›

• Cover Letter

  By Bill Pearse on January 17, 2013 • ( 5 )

  

  I started in coffee 20 years ago at a small shop called Analysa’s HavaJava. It was the only café in town. I said to the owner, I like it here. Are you hiring? I learned the ropes with the espresso… Read More ›

• Dreams and Despair

  By Bill Pearse on January 16, 2013 • ( 23 )

  

  Dreams and despair are inseparable, that’s the contract. You want to dream? You get the risk that comes with it, that you won’t make it. You don’t like the risk? Pare back the dream or leave it, and get nothing… Read More ›

• Course Navigation

  By Bill Pearse on January 15, 2013 • ( 4 )

  Your life is a series of lefts and rights. Go that way, keep going…turn here, stop. The artist picks the destination and decides when you’ve arrived. It’s done. They see life a certain way: life worth imitating through art, life worth… Read More ›

• Traffic

  By Bill Pearse on January 14, 2013 • ( 0 )

  They used to put up signs in our old neighborhood saying “Football Traffic,” on Saturdays. Our friend Jim said these were his two least-favorite words, together on one sign. Traffic is only good on the Internet. I’ve been reading about… Read More ›

• Ultimatum

  By Bill Pearse on January 13, 2013 • ( 6 )

  Utah Avenue is a sad, crooked street that runs up the back side of Seattle’s industrial district. I’ve been walking this street for 17 years now since it’s where I work. It’s where I go to clear my head, get… Read More ›

• Prism

  By Bill Pearse on January 12, 2013 • ( 0 )

  The prism is a piece of cut glass we hang in our window, to catch light and cast colors. It only works in the right conditions, when the sun is at the right angle, and it doesn’t last long. But… Read More ›

• Polaroid, 2013

  By Bill Pearse on January 11, 2013 • ( 2 )

  In the dark, in the morning on my way to work passing the line of kids at the bus-stop: All their faces look like jack-o-lanterns by the glow and the flicker of their smartphone displays.