Birds and Other Things We Place in Our Hearts by Timmy Reed

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Last week, to celebrate short story month, Flavorwire posted the 5 short stories they thought everyone must read. The list included, Calvino, O’Connor, Kafka, Coover…and Reed.

Timmy Reed.

Who is Timmy Reed? Well, he’s from Baltimore. He has a collection out called  

And he can write an opening like a motherf–cker:

After our chests hollowed out, we filled them with birds.

Humans all over the planet filled their ribcages with birds to simulate their hearts, which had shrunken over generations, finally disappearing altogether. We had evolved past having hearts but no one was ready to admit it.

No wonder had this to say of the most contemporary story on their list:

Sometimes you’ll be reading things online, coolly clicking on links in a daze, and then suddenly you’ll stumble on something that grabs you by the collar and blows hot life in your face.

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