Henry Miller said, “I have always looked upon decay as being just as wonderful and rich an expression of life as growth.”And we must admit, when it comes to literature, there is something compelling about the notion of decay, something sexy in devastation and desperation in that can’t look away from a train-wreck way, an attraction to characters that are dangerously close to letting themselves go to seed.

Last week, we were pleased to present four readers, each with their own compelling take on the theme of Decay at Pacific Standard. The room was very dark, which lends the photographic evidence a decomposing quality of its own.

The Disagreement will return on December 3 with Failure, which will be presented at Le Poisson Rouge.

From top to bottom: Dustin Luke Nelson, Tobias Carroll, Rachel Pelz, and Emily Cementina