The Hospital for Bad Poets

J. C. Hallman's debut collection of short stories invites readers into the mundane landscapes of contemporary American life before introducing sudden, surreal twists. The narratives often begin in ordinary domestic settings—suburban homes, high schools, or local communities—only to pivot into the uncanny or the absurd. In one story, a violent video game facilitates a bond between an uncle and his young nephew, while in another, a father's affair takes place in a cave carved into the shrubbery between neighbors' houses. The title story imagines a hospital for bad poets, where a collapsed writer is treated with Rilke and oxygen to cure his chronic acuteness.

Description adapted from Open Library ↗.