CJ Woods III’s Story Archive

Kiddie Lit

March 7, 2019 | by CJ Woods III

Someone I met in my favorite cider house opted to include me in her search for recommendations for books for young children. Jennifer Delgadillo works in the communications department for Early Learning Indiana, which started a program called “Brighter Futures Indiana.” This website has “resources and supports to help Hoosier … Read More

The Lion and the Lamb

February 28, 2019 | by CJ Woods III

The low moans of the wind through the trees outside my bedroom window woke me, and I listened to the sound of the snapping, slapping and scraping of branches against the roof of my apartment building. From my rumpled bed, I heard the caprice of the wind, knowing that in … Read More

A Difficult History

February 21, 2019 | by CJ Woods III

A few years ago, I spent some time in the city of my birth, helping my youngest brother to recover from a bout of illness. While in Pittsburgh, I found that a playwright I admired – and whose play, “Fences,” I had seen at the Indiana Repertory Theater — had … Read More

Gunfire

February 14, 2019 | by CJ Woods III

In The Stingray Shuffle, a 2003 novel by Tim Dorsey, a character reads the news, and notes to his companion, “Second-grader brings gun to school. Jesus, what ever happened to just sticking out your tongue?” That same character, later in the novel, recites a seemingly random list of pleasures, which … Read More

And Now, a Word From Our Readers

February 7, 2019 | by CJ Woods III

“Hi!” The woman’s voice was bright and open, and her greeting, aimed at me, was surprising. I was at a celebration of First Friday and was passing the 5th grade boy who was playing the old piano in the Harrison Center when she beamed her smile at me. I responded … Read More