Short Fiction. LAUDROMAT BLUES ... reveals the turbulent, adolescent years and the cruelty of urban streets. And yet there is tenderness in the stories. An arresting new voice in the great stream of Midwest Literature Rudolfo Anaya, author of BLESS ME, ULTIMA). I'm in this laudromat, and my mama still nags me, so I come here to get away and do a little wash. I gotta get away from here. The fuckin' laudromat. This Chicano kid, maybe fifteen, comes in. I see him as he holds his coat tight around him -- hands in pockets. He's so cold he comes here to be warm. Except he looks strung -- real strung.... (Laundromat Blues) The stories in this debut collection are powerful, intricate, and moving. It is rare to see this combination of gritty realism and rich imagination (Ellen Hunnicutt, author of IN THE MUSIC LIBRARY). This collectio is #82 of New River's Minnesota Voices Project, an anuuual competition for the Upper Midwest's new and emerging writers.