Hi, I’m Jeffrey Pillow

& I write things you may or may not like. It’s hard to say really. I mean, some people think ketchup on a steak is good. Some people love Jane Austen books. I’m not either of those people.

Click on some of the links below to see where you stand:

• The birds are still asleep
  A free verse poem about the early morning songs of backyard birds.
• Lovesick for you
  To quote Leon Phelps, “What is love? What is this longing in our hearts for togetherness? Is it not the sweetest flower?”
• No, I wasn’t hacked
  (aka my bad for sending you a sample template by email)
• I saved a chickadee’s life
  I helped save a chickadee’s life on Saturday. Here’s a photo of the little fella in the palm of my…
• South Boston Speedway, 1988
  I smell the charred pan fried edges of a bologna burger and the burnt rubber tires of an amateur race…
• You can’t be stuck in your own head when you run
  The thing about running is that it’s damn near impossible to be stuck in your own head while you’re out…
• Godwin’s
  The blinds are drawn, my desk lamp dimmed as I sit down to write at 7 a.m. A small speaker sits on…
• What the world sounds like when you wake at 5 a.m.
  Sleep when the birds sleep Close your eyes when the birds do Wake when the birds wake. Below is an audio…
• To hell and back with a cigarette break in between
  We were teenagers: 13, 14, 15 when the random thought came to us. I’m not sure who had the idea.…
• Stowaway On a Cloud
  A short poem about grieving the loss of my dad in my life and the crow that helps me alleviate this pain
• Ants Like Cattle at a Trough
  It’s been a dry spring. The grass as crunchy as corn flakes without milk. The last rain I can barely…
• The Catbird
  The kitten mews a hungry cry Just outside my window bay Then flutters away into the sky.
• If I abruptly go silent while on a conference call at work
  If I abruptly go silent while on a conference call, The most likely reason is that a bell hornet the…
• Tin Whistle
  There is a small bird whom I cannot see, hidden amongst the limbs blowing a tin whistle.
• A Curious Wind
  A curious wind enough to tip a vessel the morning you left.
• The Water Sure Is Cold. Deep, Too.
  One of the most memorable nights of my life with my cousin Gary involved a urinal at a now defunct bar in Charlottesville.
• A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words
  They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes it’s worth far more.
• Panic Attacks Suck (Alternate Title: The Exploding Tell-Tale Heart)
  I had a panic attack while at work today and my heart tried to explode out of my chest.
• The Seizure
  A grand mal seizure reveals something more dire: anaplastic oligodendroglioma.
• The First Phone Call
  My phone rang. A familiar voice spoke with a sense of urgency. “Jeremiah is in the hospital.”
• Stephen King Comes to Phenix, Virginia
  Stephen King terrorized my childhood in the 1980s. I’m pretty sure he (and It) terrorized your childhood too.
• Who Is My Ideal Reader? Definitely Not Who You Think
  Think of your ideal reader as the recipient of a personal letter. Not the reader of a full length book.
• The New Kid
  At first, I didn’t like the new kid. I resented him actually. That would all change in time as Jeremiah grew to be one of the best friends I would ever have.
• The Music Stops
  No one ever said this would happen. That it could happen.

Jeffrey Pillow

Chronicler of life, death, and everything in between. Once chased by a killer Canadian goose and lived to tell about it…

Jeffrey Pillow is an American short story writer, memoirist, and poet. He is the author of The Lady Next Door. His writing has been published in Urge Magazine, The Nervous Breakdown, 16 Blocks, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, TheBody.com, New York Times, Washington Post, and Richmond Times-Dispatch.

He grew up in the small town of Phenix, Virginia, population: 200, and now lives in Charlottesville with his wife, two kids, and a dog named Mozzarella Cheese. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia where he was a Rainey Scholar. This is his blog.