Clarence Portis: From Minor Writers of the Midwestern States
Words By Eric Lundgren, Art By Joshua Mowgli
Clarence Portis (1946-2013) was one of the greatest spellers ever to walk the halls of Exalted Wounds Catholic Elementary in north St. Louis. He was also one of the school’s first black students. Pale boys with razor knicks on the sides of their heads pushed him into lockers and called him things, while nuns looked away…
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Eric Lundgren
Eric Lundgren was born in Cleveland and grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he turned to reading as a survival method in the winters. He studied at Lewis & Clark College and received his MFA from the writing program at Washington University, where he was awarded a third-year fellowship. His writing has appeared in Tin House, Quarterly West, and the Quarterly Conversation. The Facades is his first novel. He works at a 100-year-old public library in St. Louis, where he lives with his wife Eleanor and their two cats.
Joshua Mowgli
Joshua Mowgli, a New York native stuck in Colorado, is a fine arts illustration major who is apprenticing at a tattoo studio in Broomfield, CO. He believes that books, coffee, and art are all that are needed in life. You can check out his art on Instagram or Facebook under the handle “jedi_mowgli”.
