Jeff Fleischer
Jeff Fleischer is a Chicago-based author, journalist and editor. His fiction has appeared in more than sixty publications including the Chicago Tribune’s Printers Row Journal, Shenandoah, the Saturday Evening Post, and So It Goes by the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.
He is also the author of non-fiction books including Votes of Confidence: A Young Person’s Guide to American Elections, Rockin’ the Boat: 50 Iconic Revolutionaries, The Latest Craze: A Short History of Mass Hysterias, and the upcoming A Hot Mess: How the Climate Crisis is Changing Our World (2021).
Visit his website: jefffleischer.com.
Found Art, Lost Art
written by Jeff Fleischer
Art and business collide in Found Art, Lost Art, a tale of a hapless artist and a very shrewd, if not entirely scrupulous, marketing executive. Davis Javits, a struggling creator of sculptures made entirely from pieces he’s foraged from dumpsters, is just barely getting by when he receives a mind-boggling offer that he can neither believe nor refuse. Will he or won’t he accept it? Art “gets the business” in a story that begs the question: What makes a piece of art worth anything?
Originally published in Chicago Tribune Printers Row Journal.
© 2014 Jeff Fleischer | Recording © 2020 Rivercliff Books & Media. All rights reserved.
Read by A. S. Freeman
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Stitcher | Email
Jeff Fleischer is a Chicago-based author, journalist and editor. His fiction has appeared in more than sixty publications including the Chicago Tribune’s Printers Row Journal, Shenandoah, the Saturday Evening Post, and So It Goes by the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library.
He is also the author of non-fiction books including Votes of Confidence: A Young Person’s Guide to American Elections, Rockin’ the Boat: 50 Iconic Revolutionaries, The Latest Craze: A Short History of Mass Hysterias, and the upcoming A Hot Mess: How the Climate Crisis is Changing Our World (2021).
Visit his website: jefffleischer.com.
Watch Our Interviews with Jeff
Q&A with Jeff
Tell us about your story...
It concerns a found-object artist who has never sold one of his pieces suddenly receiving what could be a life-changing offer.
What was the inspiration for this story?
What is your favorite word?
Inevitable.
What are you most looking forward to, post pandemic?
Coffee or tea? Whiskey or Wine?
I like all four, but usually go with coffee. Whiskey or wine is situational.
If You Enjoyed This Episode…
give these a listen!
Rubbish
FICTION | FRANCIS DUFFY
Rubbish is a short story about Joe Nickerson’s cross-country hitchhiking adventure as he’s on his way to serve in the Vietnam war. As Joe waits for rides, holding a sign that reads “TO WAR – VIA L.A. – U.S. Marine Corps,” he recalls his draft-dodging father, his lioness of a mother, and how his youth in Catholic schools with hard-knuckle nuns made his transition to boot camp easier. Then, when the draft from a GTO passing at 70 mph spins his sign, he has an unexpected encounter with a raven-haired woman named Rita.
Dancing to Go On
FICTION | PATTY SOMLO
A former dancer and about-to-retire choreographer is surprised to receive a letter from a foreign country. The short, handwritten note rekindles memories of a love affair, and a separate friendship, decades before in Nicaragua. Her recollections spark insights that hadn’t been apparent to her so long ago.
Unlearn
FICTION | FRANCIS DUFFY
In this beautifully told story, Francis Duffy’s main character reflects on a boyhood steeped in dogma, patriarchy, and racism. His alcoholic father is often absent, and his admiration is for his “lioness” of a mother who never missed work, and put three kids through parochial schools. Before welfare, Ms. Magazine, and #MeToo.