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Allen Learst won the 2011 Leapfrog Fiction Contest for his short story collection, Dancing at the Gold Monkey, which was judged by Marge Piercy. His fiction, nonfiction, and poetry appeared in War, Literature and the Arts, Alaska Quarterly Review, Chattahoochee Review, Hawaii Review, Passages North, Ascent, The Literary Review, and Water~Stone. His essay “The Blood of Children” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and received a “Special Mention” in the 2008 Pushcart Prize XXXII Best of the Small Presses, and a “Notable” in the 2007 The Best American Nonrequired Reading. He is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Wisconsin Colleges—Marinette, and a faculty mentor for the Mile High MFA low residency program at Regis University.
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I grew up on Detroit's Eastside believing I was destined to work for the auto industry. When I was eighteen, I took a job at the Chrysler Tank Plant; and later, after Vietnam, I worked for the Ford Motor Company Interior Plant. Factory life, however, didn’t agree with me and I decided to take advantage of my G.I. Bill, and attend college. I began my education at Macomb County Community College. I earned a BS and MA from Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan and a PhD in Creative Writing from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where I studied writing with Gordon Weaver, author of Count a Lonely Cadence (also a movie "Cadence").
The more I read, the more I understood how stories permeate the fabric of human experience. Everything is a story. Writing those stories, however, is another matter. I was lucky to have mentors who understood the importance of craft. For me, writing is a struggle. Every time I attempt to make a story it's a new experience. Every time takes more practice. Stories need to convey wisdom, and I frequently don't know what that is until I begin to make the language that will best convey the truth I'm trying to get at. It's a process of discovery rather than merely conveying an idea. We know those are cheap.
Publications
Book
Dancing at the Gold Monkey. Collection of short stories published by Leapfrog Press,
October 2012.
Short Fiction
2014 “Bonefish.” Crossborder Journal. 2.2 September 2014.
2007 “When Water Breaks From the Shore.” Passages North. 28.1 (2007): 176-177.
2001 “A Place Part Dream.” Chattahoochee Review. 23. 1 (2001): 51-56.
2000 “A Kiss.” Alaska Quarterly Review. 18. 1 - 2 (2000): 145-151.
1999 “A Sheet, A Clothesline, A Bed.” The Literary Review. 43. 1 (1999): 80-82.
1999 “Shadowboxing.” The Literary Review. 43. 1 (1999): 83-86.
1996 “Point Man.” War, Literature, and the Arts. 8. 2 (1996): 103-113.
1996 “Under Ice.” Ascent. 20. 2 (1996): 18-22.
1995 “Gambling's the Truth.” Midland Review. 11. (1995): 53-61.
Nonfiction
2009 “The Blood of Children.” Perigee. 7 .2 (http://www.perigee-art.com/index.php)
2008 “AWOL.” Pisgah Review. 3.2 (Summer 2008): 92-98.
2007 “The Human Potential.” Common Ties. http://commonties.com (April 2007).
2007 “What Harry Knew.” Center Magazine. 1. 2 (March 2007): 18-19.
2006 “The Blood of Children.” Water~Stone. 9. 1 (2006): 111-116.
Poems
2014 “Xin Loi.” Crossborder Journal. 2.2 September 2014.
2003 “Prisoner.” War, Literature, and the Arts. 14.1&2 (2002)
1998 “Bridge.” Hawaii Review. 21.2. 50 (1998): 188.
1993 “Air Pockets.” New Plains Review. 2. 4 (1993): 57.
Critical
1993 “Jim Harrison.” Critical Survey of Short Fiction. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1993
1993 “A.E. Hotchner's Papa Hemingway.” Masterplots II: Juvenile and Young Adult
Biography. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1993
The more I read, the more I understood how stories permeate the fabric of human experience. Everything is a story. Writing those stories, however, is another matter. I was lucky to have mentors who understood the importance of craft. For me, writing is a struggle. Every time I attempt to make a story it's a new experience. Every time takes more practice. Stories need to convey wisdom, and I frequently don't know what that is until I begin to make the language that will best convey the truth I'm trying to get at. It's a process of discovery rather than merely conveying an idea. We know those are cheap.
Publications
Book
Dancing at the Gold Monkey. Collection of short stories published by Leapfrog Press,
October 2012.
Short Fiction
2014 “Bonefish.” Crossborder Journal. 2.2 September 2014.
2007 “When Water Breaks From the Shore.” Passages North. 28.1 (2007): 176-177.
2001 “A Place Part Dream.” Chattahoochee Review. 23. 1 (2001): 51-56.
2000 “A Kiss.” Alaska Quarterly Review. 18. 1 - 2 (2000): 145-151.
1999 “A Sheet, A Clothesline, A Bed.” The Literary Review. 43. 1 (1999): 80-82.
1999 “Shadowboxing.” The Literary Review. 43. 1 (1999): 83-86.
1996 “Point Man.” War, Literature, and the Arts. 8. 2 (1996): 103-113.
1996 “Under Ice.” Ascent. 20. 2 (1996): 18-22.
1995 “Gambling's the Truth.” Midland Review. 11. (1995): 53-61.
Nonfiction
2009 “The Blood of Children.” Perigee. 7 .2 (http://www.perigee-art.com/index.php)
2008 “AWOL.” Pisgah Review. 3.2 (Summer 2008): 92-98.
2007 “The Human Potential.” Common Ties. http://commonties.com (April 2007).
2007 “What Harry Knew.” Center Magazine. 1. 2 (March 2007): 18-19.
2006 “The Blood of Children.” Water~Stone. 9. 1 (2006): 111-116.
Poems
2014 “Xin Loi.” Crossborder Journal. 2.2 September 2014.
2003 “Prisoner.” War, Literature, and the Arts. 14.1&2 (2002)
1998 “Bridge.” Hawaii Review. 21.2. 50 (1998): 188.
1993 “Air Pockets.” New Plains Review. 2. 4 (1993): 57.
Critical
1993 “Jim Harrison.” Critical Survey of Short Fiction. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1993
1993 “A.E. Hotchner's Papa Hemingway.” Masterplots II: Juvenile and Young Adult
Biography. Pasadena: Salem Press, 1993