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Mark Budman

I was born and raised in the former Soviet Union, but now reside in New York State. My fiction and poetry have appeared or are scheduled to appear in Mississippi Review, Virginia Quarterly, McSweeney’s, Iowa Review, The London Magazine, Connecticut Review and elsewhere. Exquisite Corpse nominated me for the XXVI Pushcart Prize. I am the publisher of the flash (short-shorts) fiction magazine Vestal Review http://www.vestalreview.net. My interview on the subject of flash fiction can be heard here: http://www.wskg.org/OffThepage/2004-11-16-budman-offthepage.htm
My novel “My Life at First Try” just came out from Counterpoint Press. My anthology “You Have Time for This” came out of Ooligan press in November 2007.

Author

The Land of Dreams, the Garden of Insomnia

Winter 2002 | Fiction

One otherwise unremarkable July day, Nikifor Alexandrovich Rosanov, the highest ranking janitor of Lenin's Mausoleum and hence of the entire Russian Republic, quit his job. Though he quit voluntarily, he told everyone he was laid off. As a member of a persecuted religious sect, he planned to apply for an American visa, and the loss of job would strengthen his case. Actually, only his wife Praskovia was a Niece of the Savior, but as her husband, he qualified for American compassion as well.