{"id":88,"date":"2014-07-18T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2014-07-18T12:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/casit.bgsu.edu\/marblog\/?p=88"},"modified":"2014-07-18T08:00:43","modified_gmt":"2014-07-18T12:00:43","slug":"accepted-tracking-the-choose-life-balloons-our-findings-thus-far-by-brian-costello","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/casit.bgsu.edu\/marblog\/accepted-tracking-the-choose-life-balloons-our-findings-thus-far-by-brian-costello\/","title":{"rendered":"Accepted: \u201cTracking the ‘Choose Life’ Balloons: Our Findings Thus Far\u201d by Brian Costello"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"balloons\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In our \u201cAccepted\u201d column, <\/em>Mid-American Review editors discuss why they selected stories, poems, or essays for publication. In this post, Managing Editor Sasha Khalifeh discusses a story that appears in our Spring 2014 issue.<\/em><\/p>\n

Genre: <\/strong>Fiction
\nTitle: <\/strong>\u201cTracking the “Choose Life” Balloons: Our Findings Thus Far\u201d
\nAuthor: <\/strong>Brian Costello
\nMAR Issue: <\/strong> Vol. XXXIV, Number 2 (Spring 2014)
\nFirst line: <\/strong>\u201cOn the afternoon of March 14th, 1983, 322 students of St. Sebastian Catholic School in Peoria, Illinois gathered in the parking lot between their school and their church and released 314 primary-colored balloons into the gray late-winter sky.\u201d<\/p>\n

An unexpected ode to music and Midwestern life, \u201cTracking the “Choose Life” Balloons: Our Findings Thus Far\u201d begins with a quirky and attention-grabbing premise, a Catholic school balloon release, and transitions into an enchanting portrait of the Midwest. As the piece progresses, the reader is thrown into the lives of well over a dozen characters, from Catholic schoolchildren to heartbroken adolescents to the front-men of rock bands. The result is a richly-imagined and captivating piece that balances humor, history, and music, all against the backdrop of 1980s Illinois.<\/p>\n

The story was a hit with our fiction staff, resulting in a rare unanimous vote for acceptance. The MAR editors were immediately drawn in by the story\u2019s unique premise, but that engagement quickly progressed to an appreciation for author Brian Costello\u2019s neat prose and an investment in his succinctly-developed characters. Like the lines of the songs that permeate the story, each section of the story is sharp and strong, but woven together the overall effect is greater than the sum of its parts\u2014a piece both memorable and compelling.<\/p>\n

One of the greatest strengths of the story is its language: Costello\u2019s prose deftly navigates a range of emotions\u2014joy, heartbreak, nostalgia, loss, passion\u2014without ever becoming weighed down by sentimentality or losing sight of its distinct voice. A balloon drifting past a high school senior fantasizing about spending the night with his girlfriend becomes a simple but profound moment of reflection: \u201cAs Porterfield watched the balloon land and the song moved into the chorus, there was something about the scene that made him swell with, maybe not pride, but the feeling that you\u2019re exactly where you want to be\u2014Peoria, the Midwest, the \u201880s\u2014and it doesn\u2019t get much better, does it?\u201d<\/p>\n

At the same time, a teenage girl giving her first haircut to her punk-rock boyfriend begins her career as a hairstylist even as she ends her relationship: \u201cAs the song \u201cParty with Me Punker\u201d played, Oberkfell felt a confidence and self-assurance in her work that she had never felt before.\u2026at that moment [she] correctly surmised that her relationship with Richie Asshole would be short-lived, but to the present day, Oberkfell is an in-demand stylist throughout the Detroit suburbs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Costello\u2019s piece, though only a few pages long, is brimming with stories spanning age, place, and gender, all of them framed by an unforgettable premise. Through his prose, readers are immersed in a different world, one permeated by music and memory\u2014a world that one is happy to inhabit, if only for a little while.<\/p>\n

What MAR editors said about \u201cTracking the ‘Choose Life’ Balloons: Our Findings Thus Far\u201d:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026a combination of deadpan humor and clean prose\u2026a sense of a clear narrative that follows inevitably from the release of the balloons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tone and concept are engaging\u2026and then it turns out that the whole story is about something completely different than what you thought it would be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sasha Khalifeh, Managing Editor<\/em><\/p>\n

Photo:<\/strong> Chi-Chi Chuang<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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