"Three plays. In each a family member has died and the survivors are left to deal with the consequences. The tangible mystery of these stories is grounded in the peculiar relationships that unfold slowly, producing an unrelenting uncanny atmosphere. In "Tricks," Gifford approaches the psychological territory of Kafka. We meet two men looking for something more than just sex from a prostitute. Are the men two halves of a severed personality? In "Blackout," Danny and Diane, an Oklahoma couple of the 1930s, cannot move beyond the grief of a personal tragedy. Refusing to accept the death of her son, Diane seeks refuge in low-level deliriums. In "Mrs. Kashfi," a young boy experiences a spooky visitation while his mother voyages into the sea of clairvoyance with a fortune teller"--

BARRY GIFFORD is the author of more than forty published works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, which have been translated into twenty-eight languages. Gifford began his career as a poet and musician. His most recent prose works are The Roy Stories, Landscape With Traveler: The Pillow Book of Francis Reeves, and Jack's Book: An Oral Biography of Jack Kerouac. His most recent poetry collection is Imagining Paradise: New and Selected Poems (2012). Gifford lives in the San Francisco area.