Publish Date: February 7, 2024
Pages: 57
Dimensions: 7” x 5”
OF THE THROAT
A Short Story by Patrick Thomas Henry
Released as a limited edition, handcrafted mini book, “Of the Throat” tells the story of Sybil, a third-grade teacher haunted by a former relationship. When her student Enid Hendricks stops showing up to school, Sybil begins finding strange “gifts” left in her classroom: a pair of lacquered chopsticks, a black cat figurine, and sachets of expensive tea. Barry, the school’s truant officer, also receives his own strange “bribes,” each wrapped in paper that is bridal white. Sybil becomes convinced that a paper fortune teller is to blame for Enid’s disappearance—an obsession that forces her to reckon with a fateful prediction a psychic once delivered over soggy tea leaves.
Hand-printed linocut cover. Hand cut, assembled, and bound.
Patrick Thomas Henry
Patrick Thomas Henry is the fiction and poetry editor for Modern Language Studies. His short fiction has appeared in publications including Superstition Review, West Branch online, Sundog, Carolina Quarterly, and Lake Effect, among many others. His essays have appeared in North Dakota Quarterly, Michigan Quarterly Review, Essay Daily, The Millions, and elsewhere. His work was also selected for inclusion in Best Microfiction 2020. He is an assistant professor and coordinator of creative writing at the University of North Dakota. You can find him on Twitter @Patrick_T_Henry and online at patrickthomashenry.com.