Welcome to CK Baker’s Portfolio,
a subpage of Litany of the Lost.
Here you’ll find a curated selection of
essays, fiction excerpts, and poetry.
Please note that the author’s external web content, state and federal materials, contract proposals, and associated work remain under NDA in perpetuity.
Scroll down to listen to the official Spotify playlist, and to read the featured contents of the portfolio.
The Scent of Forgotten Things
An article previously appearing in Mélange Magazine, covering the innate charm of used bookstores and the origin of “old book smell”.
Creative Prose: Destiny Universe
A response to a creative challenge from game developer Bungie. Set in the Destiny universe and featuring Last City shipwright/mechanic Amanda Holliday. Creative property rights reserved: Bungie/Sony.
No Land Beyond: Preludes
A prologue scene from No Land Beyond, Baker’s “modern western sci-fi” novel-in-progress; a boy meets a terrifying visitor outside a small Illinois town near the banks of the Mississippi River.
Poetry
A selection of featured poetic works previously published in The Esthetic Apostle, Temenos Journal, Sonder Midwest, and other literary journals.
Audacity Beyond 2017
An article written for the 2017 New Year in the United States, a time of uncertainty and growing polarization during which many of our pre-pandemic internal conflicts were beginning to converge. This piece refutes the use of anger, hopelessness, and trauma as a means of self-preservation; instead, it encourages the subversion and utilization of such darkness as a force for good.
No Land Beyond: Preludes
II & III
Two more scenes from No Land Beyond: Remy squares off against a vicious exotellurian threat; Cordell and the dog Havoc discuss anger and death while camped for the night.
Cooking with the Stars
A short article exploring the connection between food, particle physics, and generosity.
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