Drummond ’69 Publishes Debut Story Collection

Jim Drummond ’69 has written a new collection of quirky, funny, and sometimes disturbing short stories, The Coyotes Forgive You (Mongrel Empire Press). His sardonic tales take place in a world where the unexpected is a sure deal, strangers and acquaintances are often more reliable than family, and nothing is ever quite what it seems. Themes, settings, and characters from the author’s past and present adventures appear throughout the stories, which contain elements of science fiction, surrealism, and dystopian writing.

Drummond says, “Earlier days as a tank driver, drover in a cattle sale barn, murderer of mesquite trees with chainsaws and pesticides now banned everywhere, and deliverer of submarine sandwiches, likely had zero qualitative effect on my literary production, but their quantitative effect has been immeasurable.”

He adds, “The most autobiographical story in the collection is probably ‘Spaceland,’ based on real experiences I had in the Army and related back to my time at Wesleyan when I was editor of the Argus and a member of the SDS—and referenced a very real and absurdly impotent Osceola Society, which some alumni will perhaps recall reluctantly. If there is a tribute, it is to Joseph Heller.”

Drummond is a criminal defense lawyer in Norman, Oklahoma. He earned a master’s degree in creative writing at the City College of New York, where he was mentored by Donald Barthelme and Frederic Tuten. He has published fiction and poetry in small magazines and anthologies.