Joseph Mattson 
The Speed Chronicles 

Deprived of the ingrained romantic mysticism of the opiate or the cosmopolitan chic of cocaine or the mundane tolerance of marijuana, there is no sympathy for this devil. Yet speed – crystal meth, amphetamines, Dexedrine, Benzedrine, Adderall; crank, spizz, chickenscratch, oblivious marching powder, the go-fast – is the most American of drugs: twice the productivity at half the cost, and equal opportunity for all. It feels so good and hurts so bad.
The first contemporary collection of all new literary short fiction on the drug from an array of today's most compelling and respected authors. These are no stereotypical tales of tweakers – the element of crime and the bleary-eyed, shaky zombies at dawn are here right alongside heart-wrenching narratives of everyday people, good intentions gone terribly awry, the skewed American Dream going up in flames, and even some accounts of pure joy.
Featuring brand-new stories by: James Franco, Sherman Alexie, William T. Vollmann, Megan Abbott, Jerry Stahl, Beth Lisick, Jess Walter, Scott Phillips, James Greer, Tao Lin, Joseph Mattson, Natalie Diaz, Kenji Jasper, and Rose Bunch.
CONTENTS
How to Go to Dinner With a Brother On Drugs – Natalie Diaz
War Cry – Sherman Alexie
Bad – Jerry Stahl
Labiodental Fricative – Scott Phillips
Osito – Kenji Jasper
Amp is the First Word in Amphetamine – Joseph Mattson
Addiction – James Franco
Wheelbarrow Kings – Jess Walter
Tips 'n' Things by Elayne – Beth Lisick
Pissing in Perpetuity – Rose Bunch
51 Hours – Tao Lin
Everything I Want – Megan Abbott
The Speed of Things – James Greer
No Matter How Beautifully It Stings – William T. Vollmann

About the author

Joseph Mattson is the author of the story collection Eat Hell and the novel Empty the Sun (A Barnacle Book), which was a finalist for the 2010 SCIBA Fiction Award. He lives in Los Angeles.