John Jodzio, "The Decade I Kept on Getting Stabbed"

It’s December 20. John Jodzio, author of If You Lived Here You’d Already Be Home, can cut straight through a tin can, just watch.

How would you describe your story?

JOHN JODZIO: My story is called "The Decade I Kept on Getting Stabbed" and it's about a narrator who keeps on getting stabbed, mostly in bizarre and funny ways.

When did you write it, and how did the writing process compare to your other work?

JJ: I had the title of this story a while ago, but pulled it together last year. The story is pretty indicative of my work—some strangeness and some humor mixed in with some poignancy.

What kind of research went into this story?

JJ: There was exactly zero research needed for this one.

What, to you, makes the short story a special form? What can it do that other kinds of writing can’t?

JJ: I've always loved the brevity and compactness of short stories, the ability to really polish something until it gleams on both a story and sentence level. There seems like there is a possibility of perfection that can happen in a short story that can't happen in a longer work.

Where should people go to learn more about you and your work?

JJ: They could go check out my website: www.johnjodzio.net.

What's the best gift you've ever been given?

JJ: My eight-year-old son drew this wonderful picture of Nic Cage and Prince that sits by my desk. I love it so much and I can't stop looking at it.

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