Short fiction, essays, and illustrations by Dakota Crane Denver.https://dakotacranedenver.com/en-ushttps://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/firecracker/https://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/firecracker/Devin McCorty sat at the kitchen table, face in a spoonful of mini wheats. Voices on the radio cracked and crickled. Below freezing, some man said in his best boardroom presentation voice.Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMTStorymccortyohioaddictionhttps://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/faded-flowers-wilted-weeds/https://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/faded-flowers-wilted-weeds/Want to know what's tougher than being an orphan? Being an orphan whose foster parents hate her guts too.Mon, 01 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMTStorylavettifosterwritinghttps://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/the-grand-projection/https://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/the-grand-projection/244 miles south of San Francisco, 263 miles north of Los Angeles, there lies a soil path littered with gravel stones wedged in the mud. On one end, it opens into the Pacific Ocean.Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMTStorylavettihearstviolencehttps://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/though-poppies-grow/https://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/though-poppies-grow/Every time the dang owl cawed, I got one step closer to pulling my pistol out on it. Can you eat owl meat? Suppose you can eat anything if you put your mind to it.Fri, 01 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMTStorymccortywwifaithhttps://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/jellybean/https://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/jellybean/When death is near, take a good look around. You'll see your ancestors. Derek Walston, age 11, begins to choke on a piece of bubblegum while home alone.Sun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMTStorydeathmemoryancestorshttps://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/pointing-skyward/https://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/pointing-skyward/I want to know where all the protagonists go, after the curtains close, after the last page is turned, after the story ends.Tue, 01 Apr 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoempoemcrafthttps://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/the-book/https://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/the-book/The book waited on Shelf 7, Row 13, Floor 3. Anxiously. It had been eleven years, thirteen days, and two hours since he'd last been touched.Sat, 01 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMTFlashflashlonelinesshttps://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/platinum/https://dakotacranedenver.com/writing/platinum/I used to look at the bar singer, with pity. With anguish. One song away from stadiums, the way he held the crowd.Sat, 01 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMTPoempoemcraft