Binnie Kirshenbaum, "The Gift of the Magi Revisited"

It’s December 21. Binnie Kirshenbaum, author of Rabbits for Food, can’t find the receipt, so will settle for store credit.

How would you describe your story?

BINNIE KIRSHENBAUM: Comic, ironic, tinged with the sorrow that comes with all loss, even the loss of something or someone you didn’t much want in the first place. 

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

BK: I wrote an earlier version fifteen or so years ago for an anthology titled The Worst Noel, published by HarperCollins, and then revised it earlier this year. Because revision is my favorite part of the writing process, this time it was all fun, no agony.

What kind of research went into this story?

BK: I did look up the prices of the gifts given and received, but I can’t call that research. 

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

BK: A short story captures a single moment of utmost significance; often fleeting, but nothing and no one will ever be the same again.

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

BK: www.binniekirshenbaum.com.

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

BK: This might sound hokey, but I’m truly delighted with any gift I receive, excluding truffles. I’m a chocoholic, but cream fillings, inevitably, are like promises broken. 

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