Ric Royer

I overheard a guy in a diner tell his friend that his wife was having difficulties: “…her joints flare up, she moans in her sleep, psoriasis, you know. She can …

[originally published on Vol. 1 Brooklyn, http://vol1brooklyn.com/2021/08/09/best-of-all-possible-worsts-a-review-of-jeff-schneiders-therapists-gone-wild/] There is nothing particularly wild about Jonathan Epstein, the main character in Jeff Schneider’s new book, Therapists Gone Wild. He’s hardly protagonist material: a sheepish, soft-spined  …

How to read poetry: Buy a book of poetry from a poet everyone is talking about. Skim through the book if you want, or put it straight on your bookshelf …

On the surprising conservatism of “progressive horror” [Originally published in Arc Digital, Feb 25, 2021. ] “Climate of the Hunter is an Atmospheric Slow-Burn that Skewers Patriarchal Hierarchies & Misogyny,” declares …

[First published at http://vol1brooklyn.com/2021/02/26/fearless-and-loving-near-las-vegas-a-review-of-lisa-carvers-the-pahrump-report/] There is a moment in her new book The Pahrump Report, when Lisa Carver responds to a question about her occupation by answering: “I am a writer.” …

If you’ve spent enough time on social media, you’ve probably experienced it: someone you know begins to exhibit signs of mental instability for everyone to witness in the spotlight of …

[Originally published by Arc Digital: https://arcdigital.media/the-new-moral-majority-same-as-the-old-moral-majority-13f7402e1287] Like many right-wing American anti-obscenity activists, Terry Rakolta was a very concerned and busy citizen in the late ’80s and early ’90s. The self-described housewife and …

Standing in line at Dollar General. Ahead of me is a very elderly man, who walked in minutes earlier and immediately grabbed a random customer and asked for help finding …