When I read that one of my favorite publications, the ineffably weird and wonderful Sein und Werden, was planning an upcoming issue on the theme of “All Things Move Towards Their End,” I thought to myself, “Gosh, I have the perfect story for that!” (Actually what I thought was “Jesus fuck!” but I like to avoid profanity on my blog).
My story, “The Scythian Idol,” I had an enormous fondness for, not least because in it I thought I had come closer than in any of my other works to the ideal of “lightness” that Italo Calvino speaks of so eloquently in his Six Memos for the Next Millennium. I sent it to many publications, only to see its splendid fleetness waved off time and again by heavy editorial hands. But I kept faith, and finally Neddal Ayad, one of the guest editors (along with Nicole Votta) of the “All Things Move Towards Their End” issue, sent me a note which indicated, in a few pithy words, his intelligence, taste, wit, aesthetic acumen, discerning eye, good looks, and courage. In short, he accepted the story, and I can think of no better place for it, at least on this terrestrial plane, where
In this issue my humble story has the privilege of the following company:
The Clock (L'Horloge): Annie Stephens
The Ending Tastes Just Like the Beginning: Roberta Lawson
Mark on the Wall: Louise Norlie
I Sleep With a Dog: Matt Dennison
That Which is Lost: Brian Collier
A Dragonfly and Her Dead Shadow: Azucar Shoots
Tropical Estuary: Rochelle Potkar
Silver Umbilical Corded: Marc Vincenz
The Irksome Settee: Bobby Morris
The Mysterious Mustard Kings: Eugene Thomas
As She Tries to Feed the Stranger Inside: Chandra Kavanagh
I Bet You'd Like To Know If My Knickers Are Still On: Ludo
The Stars Will Have Their Way: Nicole Votta
(Thanks are also due to Rachel Kendall.)
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2 comments:
Right! I am ON it...!
Franny und Zooey by Edward Gorey (illus. by I. Calvino). Most enjoyable.
"(And yet - can you believe it? - they got mediocre school grades!)
(But what do schools know? Schools!)"
Ain't it the Truth.
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