Shane Jones - February

If I'm not mistaken (another admission, this time it's that I've yet to read the novel), this is an excerpt from Shane's novel, Light Boxes.  I like how Jones refers to February's wife/girlfriend as the "girl who smelled of honey and smoke," and does so throughout the entire excerpt, only once switching to Housewife, and that time only due to the conversation going on at that time.  It's the type of repetition that I love, one that has a purpose, that drives the narrative forward in a specific manner.  I'm not surprised to see this piece in Unsaid, if only due to that aspect of Shane's writing, as it seems to me that many of the other writers that I can think of who utilize repetition in that manner are also found within your pages at times.

David McLendon

It’s no coincidence that acts of repetition have repeatedly found their way into the pages of Unsaid. Repetition is a tool, an essential tool that strengthens the foundation of any work of art. Music is the most obvious form of art that implements repetition, but one finds it in all the arts when paying attention. You have obviously paid a great deal of attention to these and other details in your reading of Unsaid, and I respect you for this.

Jones is a lyrical writer. There is a rare unsentimental sweetness to his pages that I greatly admire. It’s important to point out that his naming a character “the girl who smelled of honey and smoke” throughout the text has less to do with repetition than consecution. Simply put, “the girl who smelled of honey and smoke” is the character’s name. This compositional choice by Jones has more to do with his lyrical stance than an act of repetition. If he had called his character “Jane” or “Mary” throughout the text, such an act would go unnoticed as one of repetition. By naming her “the girl who smelled of honey and smoke” he creates a lyrical sensation, and this is his great strength as a writer.

Similarly, when writing of my ex-girlfriend in an essay for The Collagist, I referred to her as “the girl who had some secrets” instead of the name she claims in the world. This was a choice of lyrical stance, not repetition. Calling her anything other in the frame of the essay would have weakened the believability of all that the frame holds. The writer—especially the fiction writer—must stick to his or her initial choices throughout the text. Otherwise, the writing comes across as little more than an act of inattentive recklessness, and the fiction falls short of any truth.

Perhaps at some point you and I can speak at length about compositional acts of repetition. Both in practice and theory, repetition is regarded as essential in the making of great art. This is nothing new, but the act itself often creates a lasting newness. As Søren Kierkegaard wrote, “If the young man had believed in repetition, of what might he not be capable? What inwardness he might have attained!”

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The following announcement was just posted over at the Dzanc Books Blog:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                                                            

 

November 18, 2009 - Ann Arbor, MI— In an effort to further our mission for bringing great writing to a broader audience, Dzanc Books is proud to announce that the literary journal, Absinthe:  New European Literature (www.absinthenew.com), has become an imprint of Dzanc.  As a 501(c)3 nonprofit publisher dedicated to publishing top drawer literarure and sponsoring free readings and workshops across the country, Dzanc is excited by the opportunity to work with the editors of Absinthe, Dwayne Hayes and Jessica Bomarito. Absinthe will serve as an invaluable addition to Dzanc, bringing the work of European writers and artists to North American audiences for the first time.  

 

Dzanc is committed to finding the absolute best literature to publish. We believe publishing works from around the world is important on two fronts – a) there is some incredible work being done in Europe that has not been made available to those who only read English, and b) reading work from different world view points is essential to having a better understanding of the world we live in, and our own place in it.

 

Dwayne and Jessica have published twelve fantastic issues of Absinthe and Dzanc looks forward to being a part of their publishing dozens more.  Readers of Absinthe may have noticed the Dzanc Books logo on the past few issues as we've had an informal arrangement helping out with some printing aspects.  Dzanc is now excited to formalize our relationship with Absinthe and looks forward to doing many wonderful things with Absinthe in the future.

 

 

* * *

 

About Dzanc Books

 

Dzanc Books is a 501(c)3 non-profit literary publisher based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. If you would like to learn more about books and programs, or make a donation, please visit our website at www.dzancbooks.org.

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Has anybody else been paying attention to the recent and near future actions of Monkeybicycle (consistently one of the better print AND online journals around)?

Issue number 7 is currently available for pre-order!  It features Elizabeth Alexander, Angi Becker Stevens, Ryan Boudinot, Rita Dahl, Craig Davis, Andrew Ervin, Molly Gaudry, Roxane Gay, Aaron Gilbreath, Reed Hearne, James Kaelan, Corey Mesler, Weam Namou, Daniel Romo, Ken Saji, Shya Scanlon, Tyler Stoddard Smith, Rebecca van Laer, Yassen Vassilev, Edwin Wilson Rivera, and Michael Wood, and can be pre-ordered here.

They have a reading coming up this Saturday in Chicago.  Details include:  7:30 Book Cellar in Chicago. Monkeybicyle & Knee-Jerk. Jac Jemc, Aaron Burch, Angi Becker Stevens, Amy Guth, Billy Lombardo & more! GO!

And the Monkey has been cranking out some fantastic stories online recently, including this great one by Alan Stewart Carl - be sure to bounce over there weekly to see what's new.

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The new issue of Conjunctions comes in at right around 350 pages and is titled "Not Even Past: Hybrid Histories" and it's full of great, great writing.

It opens with a fantastic collage of both essay and inclusion of correspondence from Barney Rosset.  Titled "Remembering Samuel Beckett," it includes, as noted, letters mailed back and forth between Rosset, formerly of Grove Press, and Beckett, whose U.S. publications first appeared with Grove.  Rosset explains where he'd heard of Beckett, his early impressions of reading Beckett's work, shares his correspondence over the years, and more.  It's a fascinating piece for anybody interested in Beckett beyond his own actual writing. 

Other pieces I've enjoyed so far (again 350 pages long, I've not tackled the whole thing yet as it just arrived Friday):

Matt Bell's short story, "His Last Great Gift."  Just a great story (novella?  This sucker's 28 pages long - kudos to Conjunctions for publishing something this long) that dips into religion, creation, faith, the human spirit, and does all this with what is becoming Matt's penchant for very specific word choices.  He's becoming another writer that I find myself reading aloud as I believe he's writing for the sound as well as the read.  This story includes one of my new favorite sentences:  "He says, Even Christ was the size of a pea once."

Andrew Ervin's short story, "The Light of Two Million Stars."  It's pretty rare these days for somebody to write a story about the Holocaust and have it still feel fresh or new.  Ervin accomplishes this in spades.  A really excellent story reminding me to keep on the lookout for news of his trio of novellas being published by Coffee House Press in 2010.

Peter Orner's two-pager, "Geraldo," an innovative look back at the fine event many of us might remember, Geraldo's live opening of the long lost vault of Al Capone.  Funny, yet not strictly written for laughs, Orner's packs a great deal into his two pages.

Can Xue's "Rainscape," (translated from Chinese by Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping.  Probably my least favorite of the stories I've read so far.  Just didn't quite get what the author was doing.  I'm assuming it's more my reading than the writing or the translating.

A few others that might not need the publicity as much, but were enjoyed nonetheless, include new stories by William Gass, Robert Coover and an excerpt from Robert Bolano novel Antwerp (translated from Spanish by Natasha Wimmer). 

A great issue from a great journal.  Wander on over, look around and consider subscribing.

Some other pieces I've yet to get to but am looking forward to include new stories from Tim Horvath and Paul La Farge, and Gabriel Blackwell (and to be honest, I'm probably going to end up reading this whole issue as good as what I've read has been) plus a translation of Thomas Bernhard's poem Ave Virgil (translated from German by James Reidel).

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Keyhole's 8th issue hit the street not too long ago and recently arrived in my mailbox.  It's another excellent issue.  So far I've dipped mainly into the fiction, though I did enjoy Jamie Iredell's prose poetry first.  Back to the fiction, the issue is loaded with great stories from Anne Valente, Cooper Renner, Brian Allen Carr, Jensen Beach, and a Steven McDermott story that starts wonderfully with the line:  "As soon as that boy came through the sauna room door I was on guard."  There are also two fantastic additions to Robert Lopez's "Blind Betty" and "Pity Jimmy" oeuvre. I'll be digging into the rest soon, and you can join me by ordering the issue, or subscribing to Keyhole!

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The following is a letter being sent around, you'll probably see it in a few places today.  Dzanc Books and the EWN received it from the fine folks at Agni, who received it from the original senders from what I can tell.

Subject: Sam Hamill and Gray Foster

 

Dear friends of Sam Hamill and Gray Foster, Copper Canyon Press, and Poets Against the War:

 

You may have heard that Sam and Gray have had some financial reverses lately. Both have also have had recent hospital stays and still need treatment not covered by insurance.  Because of impaired hearing, Sam can no longer teach classes. He survives on his pension but has no room for emergency expenses.

 

We think that their friends will want to help Sam and Gray get through a difficult patch, and that's why we are raising funds in their behalf. No contribution is too small, and the names (though not the amount of donation) will be given in a few weeks to Sam and Gray, along with the total of contributions. Because of the emergency, donations must be received before the end of the month. This kind of fund doesn't qualify for tax-exempt status, so we suggest that those for whom this is a concern first determine the amount they would like to donate and then deduct from it the figure they estimate they would save if the contribution were deductible.

 

Because Alfred is in the U.S., he has set up a dollar account for the fund and checks or money orders (in dollars) should be made out in his name and sent to P.O. Box 214, Hopkinton, RI 02833 U.S.A.

 

This effort is probably best described not as charity but as compensation for unpaid labor involved in the founding and management of Copper Canyon Press and the website Poets Against the War, both extraordinary achievements for which we would like to show gratitude.

 

If you can forward this letter to those on your mailing lists, that would be great. Thank you for your interest and cooperation.

 

Sincerely,

 

Alfred Corn

Marilyn Hacker

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Once again, it's time to thank the postman for some of his recent deliveries to the EWN home offices (why he hasn't threatened to kick my ass for what he gets put through on what seems to be an every other daily occurrence at least, I still don't know).

Recent deliveries have included one from FSG. It's the forthcoming (March 2010) novel from Sam Lipsyte, The Ask.  I really enjoyed Home Land and the few stories from Lipsyte and am looking forward to this new one.

Another arrived from The Free Press.  It's the collection of essays edited by Elizabeth Benedict titled Mentors, Muses & Monsters:  30 Writers on the People Who Changed Their Lives.  As I flipped through it I realized the Samantha Hunt essay about Breece D'J Pancake I enjoyed so much in the recent P&W comes from this collection.

A package arrived from Octopus Books.  It contained the poetry collection, The Difficult Farm, written by Heather Christle, that I had recently ordered.  I had the pleasure of seeing Heather read while at AWP last year in Chicago, as she read at an offsite event.

A review copy of Jamie Iredell's Prose: Poems, a novel also arrived.  I've read a bit of this in chapbook form but look forward to seeing it all put together.

And Absinthe:  New European Writing issue 12 also arrived and looks pretty stunning with its green cover and the re-appearance of the Absinthe devil!

Plenty of great reading ahead, so once again, thanks to the postman.

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A great interview with Victor LaValle, author of, most recently, the incredible novel, Big Machine.  This is a book I've read, loved and need to do a full review.  Just another great interview from Amy Minton.

Four great short stories on the shorter side of short stories from authors you've read about here in the past - Roxane Gay, and Chad Simpson, plus a couple from authors I've not brought up before - Brian Mihok and Justin Hamm.

All of these can be found in the November issue of Hobart online - well worth the 20 or 30 minutes you'll spend there reading.

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I haven't paid much attention to the fact that one of my favorite print magazines, Oxford American, had been making some serious upgrades of their website recently.

Just up in the past day or two that would be of interest to EWN readers?  The most in-depth interview of William Gay I've ever seen, an interview with Matt Baker, whose novel, Drag the Darkness Down, I'm in the middle of and can say to this point has an evil combination of humor and darkness that fits right into my reading enjoyment, and some mini-reviews of a nice group of books including Laura van den Berg's What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us!

And December 1 has the next print issue, which is the annual Southern Music Issue, coming out - look for it!

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So, this gets us to page 186 out of 504 in this issue of Unsaid.  Or author 29 out of 64.  Have no fear though, David and I have the next 7 author posts (which will get us to page 220) in progress and plan to keep working through this issue until we get to discuss the novella by Peter Markus that wraps the whole thing up!  For those that may have missed earlier posts, check out the full series, to date, here.

Cooper Esteban - 1563, Casa Buonarotti

I like what Esteban has done in this poem, starting with what I'll call the narrator's point of view, then shifting to what appears to be something from a text, and then jumping back to the narrator's point of view.  I like how the two different points of view have similar aspects to them without being obvious about it.  Esteban has written something that appears on the surface to be quite simple, when I'd venture to guess it took a great, great deal of effort to have done so.

David McLendon

I agree completely, Dan. Esteban's lines are eloquent and brief, but the attention he conveys displays what must have been a lot of work. His poems are ranked high on my list. There is an odd conflation of antiquity and the modern that comes across from his pages. Anyone interested in such a lasting newness should seek out his collections, Jove Protected by Geese and Mosefolket. I would gladly pay the price of admission for both books just to have in my possession the title of the former. Jove Protected by Geese. Brilliant.

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Emilia A. Phillips - On Matter at Home

This poem jumped out at me as it was, and here comes the lack of understanding poetry, written in a straightforward manner.  That is, it seemed more realist to me, if that's the right term.  Or narrative?  There's a story being told within the three stanzas, one that even I was understanding upon my first read through.  This makes it sound like I found the poem might be simpler or less poetic than those we've previously discussed, but that's not my intention at all.  I thought Phillips did a great job of dropping little bits of information as the poem moved forward, hitting me with a surprise early in the third stanza that I believe was intended to be a surprise, but not one that comes so far out of left field that it makes no sense.  It fits in just fine.

As, to me at least, this poem seems to come from a different style set than many of those found earlier in this issue, I am curious as to what it was about it that had you finding it an Unsaid poem?

David McLendon

Being raised on rock albums of the 70's, I place a great deal of attention on the sequencing of the pieces that appear in Unsaid. I want each issue to be as close as possible to an orchestrated cycle of songs. It's by no coincidence that I placed the work of Phillips and Schorn side by side. There are perhaps no two writers in Unsaid who are more diametrically opposed. Yet they both present what I seek most for Unsaid: Difference.  The poem by Phillips emotes loss and longing, but with a great deal of authority.  There is nothing sentimental about her poem.  She sees her world clearly and places that clarity into words.  Hers is a plainspoken voice that demands to be heard.  She's a strong young poet, and I hope to hear more from her in the future.

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I'm sure most that read this blog also pick up, or subscribe to, Poets & Writers every couple of months when it comes out.  The November/December issue has hit stands recently and beyond including the first line from Laura van den Berg's story collection in the Page One Section, AND including The Collagist in the LitMag write-up, there are also a couple of great columns from long-time EWN members and favorites, Benjamin Percy and Jeremiah Chamberlin. 

Percy writes of how the main character from the movie Rocky continues to inspire him, and Chamberlin discusses how working at an independent bookstore helped him understand the industry much better.  It appears the Chamberlin column is an introduction to what will be a series of interviews with independent bookstores in future issues of the magazine.

I also really enjoyed Samantha Hunt's essay about Breece D'J Pancake as her anti-mentor.

There are also articles on Jonathan Lethem, Audrey Niffenegger, other columns and a big section on the MFA Programs that I've not dug into, but as usual, a pretty jam packed issue.

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Part of what you can read in the upper left corner of this website, in the mission statement of the EWN is the idea of trying to garner wider audiences for 'established writers deserving of wider recognition.'

I just received two galleys this week, for a novel due in January from Knopf, by Steve yarbrough, and a short story collection due in February from Graywolf, by Alyson Hagy.  Between them they have published 6 previous short story collections, and 5 previous novels - all very well received by critics.  If only that meant they were widely read, or even widely discussed. 

I read fewer literary blogs than I used to on a regular basis, but I honestly don't believe I've seen news of these two titles on any other blogs.  And that's really just plain sad news.  PEN/Faulkner finalist, Best American Mystery Stories, Best American Short Stories and O.Henry Prize Stories are just a few places they've seen their writing.  Keep your eyes out for these two books.

One nice thing to see this past week was a title reviewed at Erik Smetana's blog, an older title that saw nothing but great reviews, but not enough of them - Steve Gillis' Temporary People:  a Fable.  YYou can see what Erik has to say here.  With two previous novels and a short story collection of his own prior to TP, Gillis fits right in with Yarbrough and Hagy as an author deserving much wider recognition.

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The new issue of StoryGlossia is up, number 36!  It's the Music and Obsession issue and has some fine work from Tim Jones-Yelvington, Roxane Gay, Anne Valente, and 16 others.  I've not read the entire issue yet, but those that I've dipped into show the usual high level that makes Storyglossia one of my favorite regular reads.  And don't forget to stop by their blog once a week or so to catch up on great musings from editor Steven J. McDermott, interviews of Storyglossia authors by Assistant Editor, Anne Valente, and other great content.

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  Brian Schorn - Three Poems

I'm going to admit up front to not fully understanding the poems, or what Schorn was hoping to get the reader to take out of them, and am interested in finding out what it was about them that grabbed your attention. 

I think there are some great phrases and lines that sound great when read aloud, but the question I really walked away with after reading all three of these a few times apiece was - what in the world do the titles have to do with the poems?  Searching a bit further I do see how they might tie in, but it led me to wondering, for you, someone to whom words are so very obviously important, that is, specific words, and their placement within each piece, how important is the title of a piece to you? 

David McLendon

I was first introduced to Schorn's work through his collection, Strabismus. What appeals to me most in his writing is its liveliness. The poems at first glance may come across as stream of consciousness writing, but Schorn places a lot of meaning behind the structure. Regardless, it's the sensation of language created by Schorn that draws me to his work. The words appear to be living organisms on the page. Like Kira Henehn, Schorn is both smart and playful. His titles fit this category as well, and I see each matched perfectly with the text appearing below it. When referencing John Cage and Heinrich Rudolph Hertz, Schorn builds a narrative that stylistically reflects their lives. Schorn appears to me as a scientist-musicologist-historian with the soul of a poet. Each of these disciplines has a place in his work. He is curious and always learning--and he turns his knowledge into curious art.

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According to Hobart's Aaron Burch (well, as of October 7 that is), October is Chapbook Month.  I'm thinking that Aaron selected October as an homage to the EWN Chapbook Publisher E-Panel that we did just over a year ago. Or maybe he thought about it because he's got two chapbooks coming out in the next four months or so?  I suppose that would make more sense.

In any case, though late to the party, I'm going to do some posting on chapbooks this week (month).

This one will simply be that link above to my E-Panel from last year.  More to come though.

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Richard St. Germain - The Aim Was to Aim Lower

First off, this one surprised me in that it is written in second person.  How often do you receive submissions written in second person, and of those, what percentage do you think pull it off?  What do you personally look for in a story once you notice (usually as of word one) that it's been written in second person? Anything different than what you are looking for in a first or third person narrative?

The other thing that hit me while reading this one was that in a mere seven pages I felt like I was in the midst of a novel.  It didn't seem like a typical short story with a conflict somewhere within, but felt larger than that. 

David McLendon

Ultimately, the narrative point of view in itself matters very little to me. What matters most is how the writer proceeds once he or she has established a narrative point of view. The tools and methods one chooses from the narrative mode are crucial, of course, as each creates an intrinsically notable effect once implemented on the page. But writing from one point of view or another is not the deciding element that makes a story weak or strong. While it’s true that the elevated sense of cold distance conveyed by McCarthy’s Blood Meridian is strengthened by McCarthy’s use of the third-person omniscient, his use of parataxis is perhaps more important, as it increases this needed distance and gives the book a tone that is somewhat biblical. One must also consider the strange archaic terms that are part of McCarthy’s diction, as well as the antiquated syntax of his dialogue. The narrative point of view is but one of many tools.  

Not unlike McCarthy, St. Germain knows his tools. He uses the rarely used second-person point of view to his advantage. He finds authority in this stance and moves forward with declarative sentences that are deceptively simple:  

“It was huge. You were scared. Here it came. Here you were. You were little. You were scared. You were flesh. You were bones.”  

Sentences such as these gather and build inside the reader out from a kind of understated hypnotic cadence. St. Germain easily could have chosen to compose the entire piece in this manner. Had he done so, the story would have been strong. Instead, he insists on making it stronger. He insists on raising the stakes. He accommodates his pages with risk and danger by braiding such deceptively simple sentences with others that are lengthier and somewhat lyrical:  

“It was a view within a view arranged for the sake of familiarity, so that by their feel you gained it, by their feel you lost it again, retrievable and irretrievable at the same time.”  

“Things you touched sank in the way widened by you trying to get at them.”  

“There would always be room for a person who let it be known that the thing he was talking about could be used to get whatever you wanted, to convince someone you were serious, to sleep on (under a cushion or something) or beside (covered with a blanket or something) or even holding (away from the body, obviously, hopefully) as a precaution against intruders coming.”  

This braiding of rhythmically opposed sentences creates a sort of harmonious tension throughout the composition. One rhythm is broken by the other, and the overall effect is one of lingual dips and swells. What bonds each braid to the other is the fullness of confidence that exudes from St. Germain’s spareness of language. In both his shorter and lengthier sentences, he emotes a lot by saying very little. His work is less about information than sensation.  

It’s a wonderfully strange piece, beautiful in its musicality, and you are correct in assuming it’s from a larger work. In addition to these pages, parts of the larger work appear in Unsaid’s second and third issues. St. Germain recently allowed me the fine pleasure of reading the completed work. He has chopped it considerably and shaped it into one of the more exacting pieces of writing I have ever read. Let me be the first to say that this novella, Archipelago, is lasting in its difference and needed by the world. Any publisher who truly cares for literature will not tarry another moment against the opportunity to bring it into print.

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There may not be a journal around right now putting more into its appearance than Annalemma, edited by Chris Heavener.  I've had issue five now for a few weeks and have continued picking it up and leafing through it, not just to read it, but to admire it.

That is not to say, however, that the material isn't worth reading - FAR from it.  "Line of Scrimmage" by BJ Hollars is a great story, adding itself to the many fine "father/son" stories that have been written; "What I Love About History" by Angi Becker Stevens is also a winner; William Walsh's "Barber vs. Heart Disease" caught me completely off guard a couple of times in the best ways; "Waste" by Amelia Gray continued to develop my growing admiration for her work, and her ability to once again start with a scenario that I cannot imagine what she's going to do with - I've learned however to sit back and enjoy the ride, knowing she's always going to do something fantastic.

These were the highlights to me, but there really isn't a dull story in the journal.  And the two essays were interesting and well written, plus there's a great photo-essay toward the back, along with nice images included in each story, plus a letter pressed (numbered, limited edition) piece from Danny Jones included in the back cover, as well as color photos in the contributor's notes.

It's hard to believe you can get all this for a mere ten dollars.  I highly recommend it.

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Back in April, John Madera got heavy into novellas after reading Eugene Marten's fantastic Waste.  He asked numerous authors and editors to share their own favorite novellas - some with, some without, explanation.  It led to a fascinating list that has just been updated as he received more lists and recommendations from other authors and editors, including myself.

From my list:

A Day Meant to Do Less, by Kyle Minor

The piece that grabbed the attention of Dzanc Books.  We read that and immediately asked Kyle if he had a collection of stories to wrap around it.

Tenorman, by David Huddle

I think Huddle is truly one of the undiscovered masters of writing the past forty years.  Short fiction, poems, and essays all just top notch.  His novels, I enjoyed, but not so much as the shorter work but with Tenorman, somewhere in between, his words are golden.

The North of God, by Steven Stern

Stern’s ability to take what I assume to be a Yiddish folktale, and merge it alongside a story that retells this folktale, though from within a cattle car of Jews headed to a concentration camp, to show the power of storytelling itself, is a marvelous bit of writing.  In writing this, Stern reminds us of the power of the human spirit and does so with a helluva tale at that.

Poachers, by Tom Franklin

The novella that titled his first collection, a Hitchcockian with drama and suspense build through the story as three amoral young brothers are slowly stalked and picked off, one by one, by an ex-poaching game warden.

Not, by David Huddle

It is told in numerous short lists or paragraphs. Only one or two of these reaches the length of a page, but they each tell incredible amounts about Claire, the protagonist. The essence of this novella is Claire suffering a breakdown of sorts in her office and deciding that her entire life has been a series of incidents where she has convinced herself she was happy.

Pafko at the Wall, by Don DeLillo

When this was originally published in Harper’s, it blared on the cover, a new novella by Don DeLillo. Later it was the prologue to Underworld, and then later yet, republished in a special hardcover version as Pafko at the Wall again. If the rest of Underworld could have maintained this pace, this level of writing, it would be my favorite novel ever. This section as a stand alone is probably my favorite piece of writing. I don’t know if DeLillo always intended for it to be the lead in to a 500-plus page novel, but maybe he was as enamored with the original novella as I was and just felt he had to try to keep going.

Based on a True Story, by Hesh Kestin

The title novella of the trio Dzanc published last year. Actually, all three are fantastic, but this one, set in pre-World War II Black Hollywood was my favorite of the bunch. Kestin combines the classic writing style of the old masters with the smart ass attitude of some of the more contemporary writers.

Now go check out either link and read everybody else's suggestions - it's a fantastic source for you to find many great reads for your future TBR pile(s).

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The kind folks at the very find independent publishing house, Canongate, have deemed the EWN to be this week's Gatekeeper's Site of the Week on their Meet at the Gate literary blog - which is a great place to visit.  Looking and seeing many friends and their sites as previous Gatekeeper's Sites of the Week and it becomes obvious just what a nice thing this is.

 

Their post begins:  "With the stated goals of developing emerging writers and gaining a wider audience for lesser-known writers of literature, what's not to like about the Emerging Writers Network?"  I'll let you click on that link above to see the rest.

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This new journal's debut issue has actually been online for a good four months, and I'd dabbled in reading it before, but spent some solid time here late last night and left very impressed.  A. Minetta Gould has instantly made Lonesome Fowl a place where language can be seen as a very important thing. 

The debut contains work from seven different writers and ranges from poems, to flash fictions, to stories in letter form and even a story in what appears to be interview form.  Any journal that gets work from Kim Chinquee into that first issue is on the right path as far as I'm concerned.

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The latest effort from So New Publishing's online journal, Necessary Fiction, is Anne Valente's excellent short story, "May This Strap Restrain You." 

In the past weeks there have also been new stories from Michelle Reale, Timothy Jones-Yelvington, Erin Fitzgerald, Jensen Beach, Timothy Raymond, Angi Becker Stevens, Ethel Rohan, Jamie Iredell, Jeff Vande Zande, and the list goes on, including a chapter of Shya Scanlon's Forecast.

Since kick starting this journal back in February, editor Steve Himmer has done a steady, impressive job finding both new and established authors with great new work.

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Fallon writes of contradictions, but does so with such beautifully constructed sentences that the reader may not notice that points are being contradicted, really from the very beginning of each piece, until they are well into the paragraphs.  I really enjoyed both of these but thought the construct of "Trial of Anton" was brilliant.  An extremely short and to the point first sentence:

"The first sentence is death."

This is followed by a page and a half long second (and final) sentence that begins:

"The second sentence is irrelevant coming as it does after the first but they insist on reading it, and I'm not listening to it, although they continue to read it as if they think I am listening to it, this second sentence, in fact everyone seems to be listening to this second sentence as if it were a perfectly reasonable thing to do, ..." and it goes on, in this beautiful manner until the narrator finally begs them to continue reading the second sentence forever.

What are your thoughts on how Fallon uses contradiction to move a story forward, and more importantly, what was it about these two flashes that made you accept them?

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I've been leafing through the 3rd issue of Pank lately and enjoying it quite a bit.  Short fiction from Scott Garson, Kathy Fish, Rachel Yoder and more, plus poetry from Daphne Gottlieb, Clay Matthews and more as well. 

The highlight(s) for me in the issue belonged to Molly Gaudry, and oddly enough, I have no idea how to refer to her pieces - the first, "Beneath Mosquito Netting I Imagine", seemed like prose poetry, and the second, "How a Girl Like Mary Got Giggle Water Drunk in Johnny Oe's Struggle Buggy" feels more like flash fiction.  If I had to explain my logic I'd probably say "Uhm" a lot in my reply.

Go over and order yourself a copy of this 228 pages of goodness.

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Just received an email from Sherrie Young of the National Book Foundation and it lists the five finalists for the National Book Award 2009 - Fiction, and Bonnie Jo Campbell's American Salvage (Wayne State University Press) is one of the five. 

This is great news for Bonnie, for WSU Press, for smaller publishers in general, for short story writers, and for readers in general as more and more people might now pick this book up since it's been deemed worthy now (you'd think that the recommendation from the EWN back during Short Story Month would have been enough deeming of worthiness, but apparently this will mean a bit more).

Congrats Bonnie Jo!  Well deserved.

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