Cover Photo: This illustration shows two people running down what looks like a southern California street. There are palm trees in the background and zombie grizzly bears, covered in purple gore, are chasing them down the block. The whole illustration has a purple overtone.
Illustration by Sirin Thada for Catapult

Mess You Up

When you intentionally hurt the ones you love most, you leave behind a demon you cannot kill.

spiral

Richard Chiem is the author of You Private Person (Sorry House Classics, 2017), and the novel, King of Joy (Soft Skull, 2019), which was long listed for the 2020 PEN Open Book Award. He was named a 2019 Writer to Watch by the Los Angeles Times. He has taught at Hugo House and Catapult. He lives in Seattle.