I just learned that "Heat” made the shortlist for the Faulkner-Wisdom competition.
I just learned that my short story “Heat” made the shortlist for the Faulkner-Wisdom competition. This was really gratifying in a bittersweet sort of way.
This story about a pregnant migrant worker’s tragedy while picking in the insufferable summer heat of the San Joaquin Valley is inspired by a real case. A few years ago, the White House and OSHA announced new steps to address worker exposures to excessive heat and heat-related illnesses, including an enforcement initiative, and started work on a federal workplace heat standard.
Workers at outdoor sites in construction, farm labor, landscaping and tree care, and surface mining clearly are at risk for heat-related illnesses, but workers in hot environments like bakery workers, boiler room workers, factory and warehouse workers, and firefighters also are at risk.
As a public health physician, having served at the local, state, and federal level, I was part of those discussions. In particular, an anecdote that I fictionalized in the short story was central to my motivation. I think this tale of simple tragedy has broader global implications on a landscape of health, maybe more than any other. I hope this work makes its point.
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