“Mama’s worried about me. She looks at me, eyes wide and round. She pulls me close, hugging me so tight I can’t breathe. I complain. She says what Old Teacher used to say: ‘Sometimes a boy needs to take a deep breath and let it happen.’”

I Know How This Dream Ends
McSweeney’s

“Simone Biles, widely considered the greatest gymnast of all time, has made a career of mastering skills that no other woman dares to try. […] She has advanced the technical side of gymnastics in unprecedented ways, yet two of her skills are undervalued by the Code of Points.”

When Black Women Are Punished for Being The Best
The Undefeated

"I wish I could tell you that I remember every second of my performance at Nationals because people keep telling me how well I skated..." —Starr Andrews

A Starr on The Rise
March 2018, Shondaland

"The classroom had no windows and every day one of the boys would close the door. Another hit the lights. In the darkness, they surrounded me, wanting to become men. In their eyes, I was nothing but the closest thing they could get their hands on."

Where Every Boy is Known and Loved
Excavating Honesty: An Anthology of Rage and Hope in America.
paper nautilus

"Long before it actually happened, I tried to tell the world I was a figure skater. I tried on Saturday afternoons, back in the nineties, when skating was on TV every weekend. I tried by..."

Finding Michelle Kwan: A Black Boy's Childhood on Ice
Awesome Sports Project

"Joanne wore a pink circle skirt and a ribbon in her hair the day her sister disappeared. She was proud of that skirt, proud that it came all the way from the sixties, dusty but intact..."

Ungrateful, Unafraid
Issue 03. Madcap Review

“But it didn’t change the slow realization, as the Reverend stood watching, waiting, and listening, that Davis, though desperately wanting to be free of his father, simply wasn’t ready. He was bruised; by whose hand was of no importance.”

Audition
American Short Fiction

"Two black boys, Johnnie and David, are holding each other. They have stolen a moment of privacy, and are looking out upon the water from the uppermost desk of a ferryboat."

The Queer Syllabus: The Outing by James Baldwin
September 2018, The Rumpus

"You were several hours from home when you started on the road, your stomach unsettled as though you knew something had happened. The traffic was heavy because the roads hadn’t been cleared."

Awst Collection
February 2018. Awst Press

"Someone will come. Sirens will sound in the distance. Lights will rise from darkness like seraphs, dancing red and blue. Salvation will be brought by men sent from God."

The Reverend
Issue 07. Apogee Journal

"Open your mouth. Sing boy. Rise up from your pew and praise Him. Take your hands off your hips. Don't dance, don't smile, just clap. Firm up those wrists and sing. Your mouth is His."

Daddy's Boy
Issue 51. SmokeLong Quarterly

"A storm is coming and Luke's made sure we have everything we'll need: enough dry food to get through the week, a bathtub filled with tap water, batteries, extra blankets. If it were up to me..."

Solitaire
Issue 106. Bound Off: A Monthly Literary Audio Magazine
Listen here. — Or read here.

Works &

PUBLICATIONS

“Mama’s worried about me. She looks at me, eyes wide and round. She pulls me close, hugging me so tight I can’t breathe. I complain. She says what Old Teacher used to say: ‘Sometimes a boy needs to take a deep breath and let it happen.’”

“Simone Biles, widely considered the greatest gymnast of all time, has made a career of mastering skills that no other woman dares to try. […] She has advanced the technical side of gymnastics in unprecedented ways, yet two of her skills are undervalued by the Code of Points.”

"I wish I could tell you that I remember every second of my performance at Nationals because people keep telling me how well I skated..." —Starr Andrews

"The classroom had no windows and every day one of the boys would close the door. Another hit the lights. In the darkness, they surrounded me, wanting to become men. In their eyes, I was nothing but the closest thing they could get their hands on."

"Long before it actually happened, I tried to tell the world I was a figure skater. I tried on Saturday afternoons, back in the nineties, when skating was on TV every weekend. I tried by..."

"Joanne wore a pink circle skirt and a ribbon in her hair the day her sister disappeared. She was proud of that skirt, proud that it came all the way from the sixties, dusty but intact..."

“But it didn’t change the slow realization, as the Reverend stood watching, waiting, and listening, that Davis, though desperately wanting to be free of his father, simply wasn’t ready. He was bruised; by whose hand was of no importance.”

"Two black boys, Johnnie and David, are holding each other. They have stolen a moment of privacy, and are looking out upon the water from the uppermost desk of a ferryboat."

"You were several hours from home when you started on the road, your stomach unsettled as though you knew something had happened. The traffic was heavy because the roads hadn’t been cleared."

"Someone will come. Sirens will sound in the distance. Lights will rise from darkness like seraphs, dancing red and blue. Salvation will be brought by men sent from God."

"Open your mouth. Sing boy. Rise up from your pew and praise Him. Take your hands off your hips. Don't dance, don't smile, just clap. Firm up those wrists and sing. Your mouth is His."

"A storm is coming and Luke's made sure we have everything we'll need: enough dry food to get through the week, a bathtub filled with tap water, batteries, extra blankets. If it were up to me..."

Follow @thedennemichele

Works &

PUBLICATIONS

“Mama’s worried about me. She looks at me, eyes wide and round. She pulls me close, hugging me so tight I can’t breathe. I complain. She says what Old Teacher used to say: ‘Sometimes a boy needs to take a deep breath and let it happen.’”

“Simone Biles, widely considered the greatest gymnast of all time, has made a career of mastering skills that no other woman dares to try. […] She has advanced the technical side of gymnastics in unprecedented ways, yet two of her skills are undervalued by the Code of Points.”

"I wish I could tell you that I remember every second of my performance at Nationals because people keep telling me how well I skated..." —Starr Andrews

"The classroom had no windows and every day one of the boys would close the door. Another hit the lights. In the darkness, they surrounded me, wanting to become men. In their eyes, I was nothing but the closest thing they could get their hands on."

"Long before it actually happened, I tried to tell the world I was a figure skater. I tried on Saturday afternoons, back in the nineties, when skating was on TV every weekend. I tried by..."

"Joanne wore a pink circle skirt and a ribbon in her hair the day her sister disappeared. She was proud of that skirt, proud that it came all the way from the sixties, dusty but intact..."

“But it didn’t change the slow realization, as the Reverend stood watching, waiting, and listening, that Davis, though desperately wanting to be free of his father, simply wasn’t ready. He was bruised; by whose hand was of no importance.”

"Two black boys, Johnnie and David, are holding each other. They have stolen a moment of privacy, and are looking out upon the water from the uppermost desk of a ferryboat."

"You were several hours from home when you started on the road, your stomach unsettled as though you knew something had happened. The traffic was heavy because the roads hadn’t been cleared."

"Someone will come. Sirens will sound in the distance. Lights will rise from darkness like seraphs, dancing red and blue. Salvation will be brought by men sent from God."

"Open your mouth. Sing boy. Rise up from your pew and praise Him. Take your hands off your hips. Don't dance, don't smile, just clap. Firm up those wrists and sing. Your mouth is His."

"A storm is coming and Luke's made sure we have everything we'll need: enough dry food to get through the week, a bathtub filled with tap water, batteries, extra blankets. If it were up to me..."

Press & Praise

Follow @thedennemichele