‘Behind Closed Beaks’
— Reneé Bibby
Ania Payne’s flash fiction is about animals, which is to say, it is really about humans. In three short snapshots the Arizona, Arkansas, and Michigan state birds become fallible and likeable characters. Vesting them with opinions, habits and tragedies that are a bit oversized but consequently incredibly endearing, Payne speaks to modern archetypes of the selfish roustabout, the diva, and the tragic naïf. Unique in their own take, each bird is still a reflection of ourselves, for who amongst us hasn’t had moments of pettiness, selfishness, posturing, plagiarizing, and hope, sincerity, and blind faith; for, haven’t we all sometimes been the robin—