Gunpowder & Peonies | A Digital Memoir Series by John Carenen
Meet John Carenen, the award-winning author of Keeping to Himself. His work has appeared in numerous popular and literary magazines, and he has served as a featured newspaper columnist in both North and South Carolina. A former English professor at Newberry College, and his wife live in their cozy cottage down a quiet lane in northern Greenville, South Carolina. He is a big fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes and Boston Red Sox.
We’re excited to publish as a digital series, his Gunpowder & Peonies, a collection of charming vignettes from his childhood in small-town Iowa, 1950–1957. These pieces trace one boy’s everyday shenanigans: cherry bombs, narrow escapes, sibling warfare, and the earnest trouble kids find when the world feels small, safe, and endless. Each story is told with humor, affection, and an eye for the absurd.
Unencumbered Press will share a new story bimonthly, beginning with a short note from the author below. To learn more about John Carenen, visit his author website at johncarenenwrites.com.
From the Author
Low Moor, Iowa
When I was five years old, I lived in a picturesque and friendly village called “Low Moor.” It was in eastern Iowa on the Mississippi River near the cultural, financial, and spiritual monolith of Clinton, Iowa (north of Davenport and south of Dubuque). Clinton, my eventual home, had 30,379 people in 1950. Low Moor boasted of 248 residents of all ages. I liked it.
I choose to begin this rambling, often incoherent and sometimes hilarious (also disturbing) collection of anecdotes about attempting to grow up, a goal I still cling to eighty-plus years later, because that’s when I remember most things clearly going forward. Mark Twain said he had a perfect memory whether things happened or not. So, I’ll channel Mr. Clemons and journey forth.
Here, take my hand and allow me to escort you down the paths of my history. I will lie only when it embellishes my story and contributes to the stream-of-consciousness flow that will, I hope, make some sense in understanding why a science teacher, when I was fourteen, announced that I was, in her educated opinion, “warped.” Shall we proceed? (It’s not for the faint-hearted.)
Read the Stories
“Poetry in Motion” by John Carenen
A sixth‑grader’s first real basketball game ends with an unforgettable mistake and a lifelong lesson in paying attention.
“Hard Softball” by John Carenen
A childhood softball showdown ends in an unforgettable triple play and explores the sting of near‑glory and the humor found in hindsight.
“Mailbox Boomers” by John Carenen
A summer-night tale of boyhood bravado and the ill‑fated cherry‑bomb experiment meant to impress a girl. The results were… explosive.
“Up in Smoke” by John Carenen
A wry, look at a father who hunted pheasants, smoked Marvels, and never quite understood his wisenheimer kid.
