HeyJaredprimalbeet
Hey there! I'm Rick West, and I write about transitions large and small, becoming a free-range human, laughing out loud. On this channel find short stories, poetry, essays, life musings, and an occasional original music video. www.rick-west.com
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 17
- Latest publication
- Sep 29, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Aug 25, 2026
Latest issues
Sarande - A Novella (opens the original)
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<img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="813" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!EGlC!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9649b4ec-b3b7-4203-935f-89777fc9185e_2752x1536.j
Sarande - A Novella (opens the original)
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<img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="265.78846153846155" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!eNTW!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe5da45bb-6173-4348-9fc2-eeb3d9d73
Nancy Mountain Rag (opens the original)
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The mountain house of my youth was on Nancy Mountain in western North Carolina. I watched some cartoons back then. Listened to some bluegrass. And then some Coltrane. And this heaping mess is the result. I say blame the cat…
Sarande - A Novella (opens the original)
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<img alt="" class="sizing-normal" height="266.75824175824175" src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!xtUo!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3459156b-e2a2-41e4-ae28-a1988640a1
Unfinished (opens the original)
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This is a curious video. I started developing a theory that I call Bounded Surprise a couple years ago while living in Portugal. Bounded Surprise is the art of meaningful deviation: bending an established pattern just enough to spark growth without shattering the frame that holds it together. It is the sweet spot between calcified order and chaotic noise. But this discipline isn’t just an isolated rule for storytelling or design, it is a recursive principle. The exact same structural tension tha
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