James Bernard Short
Writing under the pseudonym Bernard James, James Bernard Short is an emerging short fiction writer, essayist, and poet. Notions of what define emotional and geographic boundaries of the diaspora are of particular interest, as well as pieces that explore the dynamics of love, loss, and personal transition. James’ work has appeared in Auburn Avenue, Callaloo, The New Guard, Blood Orange Review, The McNeese Review, and SmokeLong Quarterly among other journals and literary publications. He is a 2018/2017/2016 Kimbilio Fellow, and a 2015 Givens Writing Fellow. James holds degrees from Northwestern and The University of St. Thomas. He is a lifelong introvert, but through his words, pretends not to be.
Featured Work
Julie Mangos
Julie Mangos picks up the fast pace and tightly crafted drama delivered in Underground from Brixton with Marcella boarding a Train at Paddington Station en route to Heathrow. Brixton is no longer safe...or anywhere else in London for that matter. Marcella’s enemies have made good on their threats and based on the shocking revelations concerning the apparent identity of her father and the uncertainties that come with unearthing them, Marcella is forced to return to her native Jamaica to once and for all confront the ghosts that have inhabited her dreams since she was a child.
Will Marcella’s questions finally be answered? Will a lifetime of queries and open issues be satisfactorily resolved? Or has she barely scratched the surface of unexpected and even more shocking discoveries? Jamaica is in the midst of another election cycle, Garrison Politics permeates all facets of the Island’s commerce and the unholy dynamic between the badmen and their government handlers will ignite an inevitable confrontation that finds Marcella trapped within the conflict. The Rude Bwoys have connections across the Island and Marcella will soon discover that no place is entirely safe. Her London troubles have followed her pon di Yard... and now she will have to employ an entirely different set of rules to solve them if she ever hopes to survive.
