Cover Photo: Illustration by Sarah Robbins for Catapult
Illustration by Sarah Robbins for Catapult

The Kings of Norway

They all were going around trying to prove themselves, litigating the case for their own worth: Look at me, look at me, look at me—I matter, don’t I?

you

dump him

wish

pristine

They’re just a bunch of gay jocks, that’s allEmpty in the head, clomping around

You had a rod up your ass, like all the pianists I know

again

pretentious scales, that’s all it is. They want me to go in and play them a fucking waltz and then walk out. That’s it.

Please stop making porn.

supportingmyself

gloatingchoose

Decent

Look at me, look at me, look at me—I matter, don’t I?

after

he

quit

no

Happy Birthday, I love youCall me when you’re free

Brandon Taylor is the Senior Editor of Recommended Reading and a staff writer at Literary Hub. He has an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he was an Iowa Arts Fellow. His debut novel, Real Life, is forthcoming from Riverhead Books.