STORIES AND POEMS
1. “Blumenfeld, or What’s in a Name?” surprising story of the origin of my family name in Beyond Words Literary Magazine Oct. 2021.
2. "Uncle Freddie and Gentleman John Dillinger" --- about my uncle Freddie's close relationship with John Dillinger, THE BEST NEW TRUE CRIME STORIES: WELL-MANNERED CROOKS, ROGUES & CRIMINALS, ed. Mitzi Szereto, Mango Publishing, 2021.
For a video interview with the editor click: https://youtu.be/ufyg6N1ZP4E
3. "The World's Biggest Prostate," in Mono., June 22, 2021
www.monofiction.org/post/the-world-s-biggest-prostate-by-david-blumenfeld-non-fiction
4. "And Then He Was a Raindrop," (children's poem) Balloons Lit. Journal, Issue 13, October 2021 p. 18, under pen name Dean Flowerfield. https://www.balloons-lit-journal.com/issue-13.html.
For a reading, scroll down to audio section.
5. "I Wish I Understood the World," (children's poem) Dean Flowerfield, The Caterpillar, Autumn 2021.
6. "Escape from Vienna," the other side of hope, Autumn 2021. Google "the other side of hope archives" and scroll to volume 1, issue 2, november 2021, then scroll again to "Escape from Vienna.
7. "The Legend of the Little Boy," March 2022, Carmina Magazine. A fairy tale. Click the flower or "enter" and scroll down to prose by Dean Flowerfield http://carminamagazine.com/march-2022.html
8. "The Neonate," (poem) Mono. August 25, 2021. https://www.monofiction.org/post/the-neonate-by-david-blumenfeld
9. "Reminiscences of an 84-year-old Boxing Fan," Sport Literate vol. 14, Issue 2, Late Fall 2021. This piece was cited among the "notable essays" of the year in "The Best American Essays 2022," ed. Alexander Chee, (Mariner Books: New York, Boston) 2022.
10. "The Philosopher" (poem) Pearl Magazine (U. of Texas, Austin, old publication, 1975). Reprinted with slight revisions Lighten Up Online, issue 61, March 2023 https://www.lightenup-online.co.uk/index.php/issue-61-march-2023 Scroll down the page to read the poem. See also a reply to this poem: "True Wisdom" by Peggy Verall in Lighten Up Online, issue 62, June 2023.
11. "Uncle Chuck: A Dentrocentric Worldview," Drunk Monkeys, vol. 7, no. 10, 2022. A comic recounting of my dental experiences in my uncle's office in the 1940s. https://www.drunkmonkeys.us/.../essay-uncle-chuck-a...
12. "My Brother Says the Strangest Things," (children's poem) as Dean Flowerfield, with audio in Smarty Pants, March 2022.
https://smartypantsmagazineforkids.com/2022/03/06/audio-poem-my-brother-says-the-strangest-things/
13. "That's What Life Is, Isn't It?" (poem) The 3rd Act, Spring 2022.
14. "Clouds of Garlic," story of my family's favorite Romanian restaurant on Chicago's West Side in the 1940s and 50s, and especially its nutty proprietor. MacQueen's Quinterly, Jan. 1, 2022. Click link to story, then click nonfiction.
http://www.macqueensquinterly.com/MacQ11/Contents-MacQ11.aspx
15. "Heartache in the Groves of Academe: The Two Bodies Problem," the story of my late wife Jean's and my 20-year struggle to find academic jobs together, Better Than Starbuck's, Feb. 2022. Nominated by the editor for The Pushcart Prize for 2022.
https://betterthanstarbucks.wixsite.com/feb2022/better-than-fiction This story and "Escape from Vienna," are also linked at the Jean Beer Blumenfeld Center for Ethics website https://ethics.gsu.edu/about/jeanbeerblumenfeld/. Click "About the Center", then click "Jean Beer Blumenfeld" and scroll down a little to links in blue.
16. "My Obsession with Limericks," The Parliament Literary Journal, Winter 2022 issue on the theme, Mania.
https://www.parliamentlit.com/david-blumenfeld
17. "The End of the Season," Bloom, April 26, 2022.
https://bloomsite.wordpress.com/2022/04/26/bloom-creative-writing-the-end-of-the-season-by-david-blumenfeld/
This poem also received an honorable mention in the Concrete Wolf Louis Award poetry contest, 2023
18. "A Family Song," children's poem in The Dirigible Balloon, anniversary issue, Sept. 2022.
Also anthologized in print volume, Chasing Clouds: Adventures in a Poetry Balloon, edited by Jonathan Humble, illustrated by Em Humble --- poems selected from 500+ published in previous issues.
19. "I Met an Old Man with Wide Open Eyes," children's poem in Smarty Pants, 3/6/2022, with animation and audio.
https://smartypantsmagazineforkids.com/2022/04/24/i-met-an-old-man-with-wide-open-eyes/
20. "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow," a nonfiction, humorous story about hair loss, Smoky Blue Literary and Arts Magazine (SBLAAM), Issue 17, Fall/Winter 2022. https://issuu.com/sblaam/docs/sblaam17. After clicking the link, wait a full 15 - 20 seconds for a new image of the cover to appear. Then advance a few pages to reach the story. (If you don't wait but scroll down instead, you will get a garbled version.)
21. "Polio," tragic story from a pandemic that should not be forgotten. The Bluebird Word, July 2022. https://thebluebirdword.com/polio-by-david-blumenfeld
22. "The Goldfish Bowl," children's poem, as Dean Flowerfield, in So Many Animals! A Child's Book of Poetry, ed. M.R. Street, October 2022. Reviewer in Kirkus Review article comments:
"Dean Flowerfield’s imagination runs wild about different kinds of sea life while staring into a goldfish bowl."
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mr-street/so-many-animals-a-childs-book-of-poetry-with-coloring-pages/
23. "Robin Red Breast," as Dean Flowerfield in So Many Animals! A Child's Book of Poetry, ed. M.R. Street, October 2022.
24. "There Once Was a Boy," long children's poem about a boy who was a little too curious, as Dean Flowerfield, in Moss Piglet Zine, August 17, 2022. https://issuu.com/krazines/docs/august2022_mosspiglet_web go to pp. 64 -67
25. "The Scarecrow, children's poem, as Dean Flowerfield, Balloons Lit. Journal, issue 14, December 2022 p. 36
https://www.balloons-lit-journal.com/issue-14.html Slide bar at bottom to page 36 and zoom in for larger image.
26. "I Dreamed Last Night," children's poem, as Dean Flowerfield, Balloons Lit. Journal, December 2022 p. 37.
https://www.balloons-lit-journal.com/issue-14.html Slide bar at bottom to page 37 and zoom in for larger image. For audio recording of
this poem and of "The Scarecrow," scroll down to audio section. Issue 14 - BALLOONS LIT. JOURNAL (balloons-lit-journal.com)
27. "There's Much to Be Said for Death," Lighten Up Online, issue 60: December 2022. https://www.lightenup- online.co.uk/index.php/issue-60-december-2022
28. "Encounter with a Bullfrog".... from the editor of "Autumn Voices":
'Encounter With a Bullfrog' was highly commended in the Autumn Voices International Poetry Competition 2022.... The judge Des Dillon made this comment about the poem: "A plea with a Bullfrog for an ethical contract between humans and the environment. A poem you can sink into and spend time alongside the poet around the pond. Brilliantly written and another I’ll not forget!" Published in Autumn Voices, December Newsletter report on their poetry contest results. https://autumnvoices.co.uk/competitions/poetry- competition-october-2022/ (A little of my formatting was altered in the transcription of the poem.)
Republished in Five Points, volume 22, No. 1. (Spring 2023)
29. "Winter (A Poem for Young Adults), by Dean Flowerfield in Moss Piglet, December 2022 pp. 74 v- 75.
30. "Max and Me and Uncle Itch: Lessons About Sports Betting," Sport Literate Newsletter, December 2022, which announces the selection of "Reminiscences of an 84-year-old Boxing Fan" as a notable essay of 2022 in Best New American Essays, 2022 https://sportliterate.org/2022/12/3471
31. "I'd Love to Write a Prose Poem," Grand Little Things, January 22, 2023. https://grand-little-things.com/2023/01/22/two-poems-by-david-blumenfeld/
32. "Touché, Cliché," Grand Little Things, January 22, 2023. https://grand-little-things.com/2023/01/22/two-poems-by-david-blumenfeld/
33. "Second Bar Mitzvah" forthcoming in Ekphrasis Magazine.
34. "The Adventures of Dolly Day-Dream, as Dean Flowerfield, in Rubber Ring: Middle Grade Short Fiction Anthology: 11 Remarkable Short Stories for Elementary Schoolers with Different Genres I Age 8 - 12 Paperback – August 28, 2023 by Buzgaga Books (Author), Alessia Gilli (Illustrator) Available on Amazon, , Alessia Gilli (Illustrator). Delilah Worthington-Jones (Dolly Day-Dream) is a nine-year-old only child, living on a farm without any nearby children to play with. Dying of boredom, Dolly dreams herself into The Land of Roses, where she meets and helps solve the problems of a group of other children her age --- Gilda Giggles, Peter Pleased-ta-Meetcha, Sammy Sourface and others. The kids have great fun and learn valuable lessons in the flower-filled Land of Roses, with its Ice Cream Mountain, Cinnamon Sea and its many colorful characters.
35. "Memento!" Your Daily Poem Memento 4/24/2023
https://www.yourdailypoem.com/listpoem.jsp?poem_id=4431
36. "Marjorie Taylor Greene," (a spoof) Topical Poetry, 3/26/2023 https://topicalpoetry.com/.../by-issue/issue-54-Mar-26-2023/
also reprinted in the blog of the incomparable Robert "Pancho" Fischer. potlatchga.com 4/10/202
37. "Without You," prose poem or micro essay, depending how you look at it, Tower Magazine, (Ireland) May 2023, https://readtower.itch.io/
38. "Prayer to a God I Never Believed In," poem Tower Magazine, (Ireland) May 2023, https://readtower.itch.io/
39. "Wild Blackberries," Coneflower Cafe, Spring 2023 with featured reading at: https://www.choeofpleirnpress.com/readings
11/21/2023: This poem has been named a finalist in the Derick Burleson Poetry Contest, 2023. It has also been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and
reprinted in The Best of Choeofpleirn Press, 2023.
40. "Post Retirement," poem Lighten Up Online. [List continued on New Page].
1. “Blumenfeld, or What’s in a Name?” surprising story of the origin of my family name in Beyond Words Literary Magazine Oct. 2021.
2. "Uncle Freddie and Gentleman John Dillinger" --- about my uncle Freddie's close relationship with John Dillinger, THE BEST NEW TRUE CRIME STORIES: WELL-MANNERED CROOKS, ROGUES & CRIMINALS, ed. Mitzi Szereto, Mango Publishing, 2021.
For a video interview with the editor click: https://youtu.be/ufyg6N1ZP4E
3. "The World's Biggest Prostate," in Mono., June 22, 2021
www.monofiction.org/post/the-world-s-biggest-prostate-by-david-blumenfeld-non-fiction
4. "And Then He Was a Raindrop," (children's poem) Balloons Lit. Journal, Issue 13, October 2021 p. 18, under pen name Dean Flowerfield. https://www.balloons-lit-journal.com/issue-13.html.
For a reading, scroll down to audio section.
5. "I Wish I Understood the World," (children's poem) Dean Flowerfield, The Caterpillar, Autumn 2021.
6. "Escape from Vienna," the other side of hope, Autumn 2021. Google "the other side of hope archives" and scroll to volume 1, issue 2, november 2021, then scroll again to "Escape from Vienna.
7. "The Legend of the Little Boy," March 2022, Carmina Magazine. A fairy tale. Click the flower or "enter" and scroll down to prose by Dean Flowerfield http://carminamagazine.com/march-2022.html
8. "The Neonate," (poem) Mono. August 25, 2021. https://www.monofiction.org/post/the-neonate-by-david-blumenfeld
9. "Reminiscences of an 84-year-old Boxing Fan," Sport Literate vol. 14, Issue 2, Late Fall 2021. This piece was cited among the "notable essays" of the year in "The Best American Essays 2022," ed. Alexander Chee, (Mariner Books: New York, Boston) 2022.
10. "The Philosopher" (poem) Pearl Magazine (U. of Texas, Austin, old publication, 1975). Reprinted with slight revisions Lighten Up Online, issue 61, March 2023 https://www.lightenup-online.co.uk/index.php/issue-61-march-2023 Scroll down the page to read the poem. See also a reply to this poem: "True Wisdom" by Peggy Verall in Lighten Up Online, issue 62, June 2023.
11. "Uncle Chuck: A Dentrocentric Worldview," Drunk Monkeys, vol. 7, no. 10, 2022. A comic recounting of my dental experiences in my uncle's office in the 1940s. https://www.drunkmonkeys.us/.../essay-uncle-chuck-a...
12. "My Brother Says the Strangest Things," (children's poem) as Dean Flowerfield, with audio in Smarty Pants, March 2022.
https://smartypantsmagazineforkids.com/2022/03/06/audio-poem-my-brother-says-the-strangest-things/
13. "That's What Life Is, Isn't It?" (poem) The 3rd Act, Spring 2022.
14. "Clouds of Garlic," story of my family's favorite Romanian restaurant on Chicago's West Side in the 1940s and 50s, and especially its nutty proprietor. MacQueen's Quinterly, Jan. 1, 2022. Click link to story, then click nonfiction.
http://www.macqueensquinterly.com/MacQ11/Contents-MacQ11.aspx
15. "Heartache in the Groves of Academe: The Two Bodies Problem," the story of my late wife Jean's and my 20-year struggle to find academic jobs together, Better Than Starbuck's, Feb. 2022. Nominated by the editor for The Pushcart Prize for 2022.
https://betterthanstarbucks.wixsite.com/feb2022/better-than-fiction This story and "Escape from Vienna," are also linked at the Jean Beer Blumenfeld Center for Ethics website https://ethics.gsu.edu/about/jeanbeerblumenfeld/. Click "About the Center", then click "Jean Beer Blumenfeld" and scroll down a little to links in blue.
16. "My Obsession with Limericks," The Parliament Literary Journal, Winter 2022 issue on the theme, Mania.
https://www.parliamentlit.com/david-blumenfeld
17. "The End of the Season," Bloom, April 26, 2022.
https://bloomsite.wordpress.com/2022/04/26/bloom-creative-writing-the-end-of-the-season-by-david-blumenfeld/
This poem also received an honorable mention in the Concrete Wolf Louis Award poetry contest, 2023
18. "A Family Song," children's poem in The Dirigible Balloon, anniversary issue, Sept. 2022.
Also anthologized in print volume, Chasing Clouds: Adventures in a Poetry Balloon, edited by Jonathan Humble, illustrated by Em Humble --- poems selected from 500+ published in previous issues.
19. "I Met an Old Man with Wide Open Eyes," children's poem in Smarty Pants, 3/6/2022, with animation and audio.
https://smartypantsmagazineforkids.com/2022/04/24/i-met-an-old-man-with-wide-open-eyes/
20. "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow," a nonfiction, humorous story about hair loss, Smoky Blue Literary and Arts Magazine (SBLAAM), Issue 17, Fall/Winter 2022. https://issuu.com/sblaam/docs/sblaam17. After clicking the link, wait a full 15 - 20 seconds for a new image of the cover to appear. Then advance a few pages to reach the story. (If you don't wait but scroll down instead, you will get a garbled version.)
21. "Polio," tragic story from a pandemic that should not be forgotten. The Bluebird Word, July 2022. https://thebluebirdword.com/polio-by-david-blumenfeld
22. "The Goldfish Bowl," children's poem, as Dean Flowerfield, in So Many Animals! A Child's Book of Poetry, ed. M.R. Street, October 2022. Reviewer in Kirkus Review article comments:
"Dean Flowerfield’s imagination runs wild about different kinds of sea life while staring into a goldfish bowl."
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mr-street/so-many-animals-a-childs-book-of-poetry-with-coloring-pages/
23. "Robin Red Breast," as Dean Flowerfield in So Many Animals! A Child's Book of Poetry, ed. M.R. Street, October 2022.
24. "There Once Was a Boy," long children's poem about a boy who was a little too curious, as Dean Flowerfield, in Moss Piglet Zine, August 17, 2022. https://issuu.com/krazines/docs/august2022_mosspiglet_web go to pp. 64 -67
25. "The Scarecrow, children's poem, as Dean Flowerfield, Balloons Lit. Journal, issue 14, December 2022 p. 36
https://www.balloons-lit-journal.com/issue-14.html Slide bar at bottom to page 36 and zoom in for larger image.
26. "I Dreamed Last Night," children's poem, as Dean Flowerfield, Balloons Lit. Journal, December 2022 p. 37.
https://www.balloons-lit-journal.com/issue-14.html Slide bar at bottom to page 37 and zoom in for larger image. For audio recording of
this poem and of "The Scarecrow," scroll down to audio section. Issue 14 - BALLOONS LIT. JOURNAL (balloons-lit-journal.com)
27. "There's Much to Be Said for Death," Lighten Up Online, issue 60: December 2022. https://www.lightenup- online.co.uk/index.php/issue-60-december-2022
28. "Encounter with a Bullfrog".... from the editor of "Autumn Voices":
'Encounter With a Bullfrog' was highly commended in the Autumn Voices International Poetry Competition 2022.... The judge Des Dillon made this comment about the poem: "A plea with a Bullfrog for an ethical contract between humans and the environment. A poem you can sink into and spend time alongside the poet around the pond. Brilliantly written and another I’ll not forget!" Published in Autumn Voices, December Newsletter report on their poetry contest results. https://autumnvoices.co.uk/competitions/poetry- competition-october-2022/ (A little of my formatting was altered in the transcription of the poem.)
Republished in Five Points, volume 22, No. 1. (Spring 2023)
29. "Winter (A Poem for Young Adults), by Dean Flowerfield in Moss Piglet, December 2022 pp. 74 v- 75.
30. "Max and Me and Uncle Itch: Lessons About Sports Betting," Sport Literate Newsletter, December 2022, which announces the selection of "Reminiscences of an 84-year-old Boxing Fan" as a notable essay of 2022 in Best New American Essays, 2022 https://sportliterate.org/2022/12/3471
31. "I'd Love to Write a Prose Poem," Grand Little Things, January 22, 2023. https://grand-little-things.com/2023/01/22/two-poems-by-david-blumenfeld/
32. "Touché, Cliché," Grand Little Things, January 22, 2023. https://grand-little-things.com/2023/01/22/two-poems-by-david-blumenfeld/
33. "Second Bar Mitzvah" forthcoming in Ekphrasis Magazine.
34. "The Adventures of Dolly Day-Dream, as Dean Flowerfield, in Rubber Ring: Middle Grade Short Fiction Anthology: 11 Remarkable Short Stories for Elementary Schoolers with Different Genres I Age 8 - 12 Paperback – August 28, 2023 by Buzgaga Books (Author), Alessia Gilli (Illustrator) Available on Amazon, , Alessia Gilli (Illustrator). Delilah Worthington-Jones (Dolly Day-Dream) is a nine-year-old only child, living on a farm without any nearby children to play with. Dying of boredom, Dolly dreams herself into The Land of Roses, where she meets and helps solve the problems of a group of other children her age --- Gilda Giggles, Peter Pleased-ta-Meetcha, Sammy Sourface and others. The kids have great fun and learn valuable lessons in the flower-filled Land of Roses, with its Ice Cream Mountain, Cinnamon Sea and its many colorful characters.
35. "Memento!" Your Daily Poem Memento 4/24/2023
https://www.yourdailypoem.com/listpoem.jsp?poem_id=4431
36. "Marjorie Taylor Greene," (a spoof) Topical Poetry, 3/26/2023 https://topicalpoetry.com/.../by-issue/issue-54-Mar-26-2023/
also reprinted in the blog of the incomparable Robert "Pancho" Fischer. potlatchga.com 4/10/202
37. "Without You," prose poem or micro essay, depending how you look at it, Tower Magazine, (Ireland) May 2023, https://readtower.itch.io/
38. "Prayer to a God I Never Believed In," poem Tower Magazine, (Ireland) May 2023, https://readtower.itch.io/
39. "Wild Blackberries," Coneflower Cafe, Spring 2023 with featured reading at: https://www.choeofpleirnpress.com/readings
11/21/2023: This poem has been named a finalist in the Derick Burleson Poetry Contest, 2023. It has also been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and
reprinted in The Best of Choeofpleirn Press, 2023.
40. "Post Retirement," poem Lighten Up Online. [List continued on New Page].