Books
"The stories in Oceanography are peregrinations into unmapped territory: the survival of innocence. An elderly man who has outlived his wife seeks solace in building bird-feeders while noting the “surprising strength of his heart.” A failing businessman prays to a photograph of his grandsons on the beach, an adolescent girl begins to comprehend the consequences of her attraction to an older boy, and the survivors of a school shooting reconsider their homicidal classmate. This beautiful collection is distinguished by unvarnished honesty, depth of compassion, and an uncanny awareness of that liminal region between our knowledge of what is irretrievable and our hope for deliverance."
-Lan Samantha Chang, judge of the 2018 Orison Fiction Prize
"I’ve just finished reading Jeremy Griffin’s exhilarating collection Oceanography, and now I need to catch my breath and recover. Then I’m going to read it again. The title story alone is worth the price of admission. Brianna Copland’s desperate love will haunt your dreams and your days. The prose in these propulsive and unsettling stories is luminous and incandescent; the characters are riveting; the themes, complex and resonant. Jeremy Griffin is one savvy, lyrical, and fearless writer."
-John Dufresne
"A couple of days ago, I sat down with Jeremy Griffin’s collection Oceanography, to see if the stories could capture my interest. I think I first came up for air about 75 pages later. I did not previously know this young writer’s work, but suffice it to say that until I breathe my last, he will remain on my reading list. I almost never feel such enthusiasm for a book of stories. Every single one of them immediately engaged me and kept me engaged all the way to the end. There is so much life in these pages, so much genuine empathy for so many memorable people—I say 'people' rather than “characters,” because they became so real for me. Griffin is one hell of a writer."
-Steve Yarbrough
"Jeremy Griffin writes, with great compassion and elegance, about people struggling to find their place in a world of hurt. His stories are borne along by sharp prose, a shimmering humanity, and the relentless pursuit of hope."
-Steve Almond
"Griffin writes stories full of insight and compassion, wise to our universal foolishness and sympathetic to our yearnings. Here's a new young writer who's as entertaining as he is smart and insightful. 'A Last Resort for Desperate People' is a delight and a wonder."
-Ed Falco
"The characters... have all been given just a little bit more than they can handle--whether it's a swinger's club in the neighborhood or a telekinetic child in the family. In these smart, funny, engaging stories, their voices leap right off the page and into your heart. This is a rich and memorable collection."
-Alix Ohlin
stories
Essays
Reviews
"At the Bottom of Everything" at Shenandoah
"Birding For Beginners" at the Indiana Review
"Crimes Like These" at Beloit Fiction Journal
"Elliptical" at BULL
"The Fence" at Alaska Quarterly Review
"The Future is Not For Sale" at the Delmarva Review
"The Great American Grill" at the Greensboro Review
"The Guidebook to the Evaluation of Revelatory Phenomena"
at Oxford American
"In The Jungle" at Big Muddy
"Inflation" at Hot Metal Bridge
"Kiss" at Blackbird
"Landfall" at New Ohio Review
"A Last Resort for Desperate People"
at Hayden's Ferry Review
"Love, Despite its History" at Hamilton Arts & Letters
"Monsters" at the Packinghouse Review
"Oceanography" at Green Briar Review
"Once the Queen is Gone" at Blood Orange Review
"Pleasureworld" at Foliate Oak
"A Prayer for the Falling" at Don't Take Pictures
"Reshma" at Gulf Stream
"Retreat" at storySouth
"Reunion" at December
"Robo Warrior" at the Mid-American Review
"Running Back" at Hawai'i Pacific Review
"Scream Queen" at Southern Indiana Review
"Scooter" at Sou'wester
"The Shed" at Offcourse Literary Journal
"Where Strays Might Find Comfort" at Water Stone Review
"A Good Laugh" at Front Porch
"'The Only Good Bug is a Dead Bug':
Starship Troopers and the
Politics of Science Fiction"
at Popmatters
"'Look Me in My Brand New Eye': Slipknot and Identity"
at Popmatters
"The Conservative Daily Show: Fox News' Failed
Foray into Satire and Why it Matters"
at Popmatters
"The Next Bullet" at Bellevue Literary Review
Poems
“A Better Word for Suffering.” Poetry South
“Excess” and “Fences.” Portland Review.
"Nothing Has Been Proven by Reaching the End.” North Dakota Quarterly.
“Mereology vs. the Wasps.” Little Patuxent Review.
“Church Fire” and “Home Economics.” Third Wednesday.
“Beachcombers.” Jelly Bucket.
“Migration.” From Everywhere a Little: A Migration Anthology.
“King Kong in Love.” Santa Clara Review.
“Strays.” Cumberland River Review.
“Life Before Life.” Gravel.
“The Alligator,” “Safe Room.” Free State Review.
“Where There is Muscle.” Reed Magazine
“Pink Hibiscus,” “A History of What Comes Next.” Heavy Feather Review.
“Here.” The Commonline Journal
"Backswing" by Aaron Burch, at Heavy Feather Review
"Broken River" by J. Robert Lennon, at Colorado Review
"Dogs of Detroit" by Brad Felver, at Colorado Review
"Everyone Was There" by Anthony Varallo, at Colorado Review
"King of the Gypsies" by Lenore Myka, at Colorado Review
"Reptile House" by Robin McLean, at Colorado Review
"The Stillness of the Picture" by Gretchen Comba, at Colorado Review
"The Tarball Chronicles" by David Gessner, at Iowa Review
"Unnatural Habitats" by Angela Mitchell at Colorado Review
"When You Find Us We Will Be Gone" by Christopher Linforth, at Iowa Review