Joanne Provo

What Have I Been Reading?

Someone

This story follows Maria Commeford as she lives out an ordinary life in an Irish-American Brooklyn neighborhood. Early on she witnesses the sudden loss of a young neighbor and the death of her father. She finds work as a funeral director's "consoling angel" and as the story unfolds, we get glimpses into the responsibilities and heartbreak in her roles as a daughter, wife, sister and mother. A reflection of our relationships, hopes, dreams, disappointments and "what ifs".

Causalities of Truth

Prudence was an intern in South Africa during the Truth and Reconciliation hearings, where she was horrified to learn about the human rights abuses under apartheid. Now years later her idyllic life is upended when a person she met during that time shows up to solicit her help in punishing the man responsible for killing his brothers. The story raises several questions. What is justice? What is vengeance? Can you ever truly feel reconciled with past harm?

Small Things Like These

Set in a small Irish town in the weeks leading up to Christmas, the story follows a coal merchant who makes an unsettling discovery during his deliveries: a young girl shivering in a convent coal shed. He learns she has been separated from her baby and banished. Haunted by memories of his own upbringing, he braves the consequences of a town controlled by the church, determined to do the right thing. This short story packs a big punch with beautiful writing and imagery.