NER fiction editor Ernest McLeod speaks with contributor Sam Simas about combatting cultural exclusion, imbuing queer fiction with new life, and the flawed narrator of his story “Simple Instructions” from issue 45.2.
Sam Simas
Simple Instructions
Harold is hacking the onion with a bread knife, again. I pass him the santoku and say, “Use this.” He sighs. He sighs because I have promised to allow him to make his own mistakes. After all, I have no claim on the proper way of dicing an onion. I am no chef. To be honest, I have never pursued an interest far enough to define myself by it . . .