The Friday Feature
Dylan Night - Lessons from the living dead
ISSN 3070-9865
Lessons from the living dead
I was speaking on the phone earlier to a dead man. He is still alive, in the demonstrable essence of the word, but for all other intents and purposes, he is no longer a viable, living person of this world. He is my father. There’s a song by Townes Van Zandt called “Waiting Around to Die,” and whenever I speak to my father now on our weekly call, that is where my mind immediately lands. Which is a resounding lesson for a son to learn. One of which I hope to carry with me for as long as I’m alive in the world. That I refuse to go feebly and quietly into the long and dark night. I rebelled against him in most aspects of my life. I wouldn’t call it my purpose, to defy his beliefs and point of view of what it means to be a sapient being, but in this particular instance, I confess, the thought of him sitting disconsolate and indignant in his lonely chair, blaming everyone else for everything he can think of, I carry this image with me and invoke its lurid reality with every single decision I make. To live and let die.
From the Press:
A hauntingly beautiful prose that hits with the weight of a heavy stone dropped into still water. The way Night is able to bring an intellectual honesty to a relationship that many people dress up in sentimentality. He has managed to capture that agonizing middle ground where grief starts long before the heartbeat stops.
The inclusion of Townes Van Zandt to be a masterstroke of atmosphere; it provides a soundtrack to the scene of him "sitting disconsolate and indignant in his lonely chair." Creating imagery that is vivid and lurid that it transcends description and creates a psychological landscape.
Reading between the lines, there is an immense strength in how Night transforms that stagnation into his own fuel, turning a lesson into a fierce rebellion. This composition articulates a complex experience—the act of using someone else's collapse as a blueprint for your own survival—with a sophisticated, grounded voice that feels both weary yet incredibly determined. It is a powerful manifesto of the will to live, and it stays with the reader long after the last word is read.
About the Author:
Dylan Night is a former medical professional and multi-time published author. He resides in San Diego, California, with his partner and stepchild. He is currently working on his most recent novel. His work has appeared in Able Muse, Wingless Dreamer, In Parentheses, Neon Origami, Lilomul, Querencia, South Platte River Review - Roe River Review, Ink in Thirds (as the Featured Writer), Half and One, Gabby & Min, The Words Faire, Tap into Poetry, Brain Candy, and The Writing Fae. Instagram: @dylan_night
