The Kingdom of Ohio

An elderly man living in present-day Los Angeles is forced to revisit the history he has spent years trying to deny-the tale of a young frontiersman who comes to New York City in 1901 and quickly finds a job digging the first subway tunnels. He meets a beautiful mathematical prodigy who speaks of the vanished Kingdom of Ohio. Against the electric, mazelike streets and tunnels of New York City at the beginning of the mechanical age, the couple will find themselves involved with Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, J.P. Morgan-and wrestling with the nature of history, technology, and the unfolding of time itself...Matthew Flaming was born in Los Angeles and studied philosophy at Hampshire College. He has an MFA from New York University. His work has appeared in 3River Review, Timber Creek Review, and Hobart Pulp. He lives in Portland.