Emerging Writers Network

Short Story Month - what begins with bird by Noy Holland

Might as well start Short Story Month off with a great one, right?  Actually, the hope is that all of the stories read this month will be great, or at least close to it.  This story, "what begins with bird", is the title story from Noy Holland's collection, what begins with bird (FC2, 2005).

Holland's writing is meant to be read aloud.  Perhaps as we  transition from National Poetry Month to Short Story Month, the selection of her work to lead us off is an appropriate one as each and every word that ends up typed onto the pages is necessary, and has a rhythm with the words both before and after it.  This particular story has a new mother being visited by her sister, one not quite right, and one that she has always looked after.  Leading to the conflict of whom to watch over, and how guilty to feel over not watching over the other. 

Her work also utilizes imagery with great success, as she explores relationships with her prose.  Here we have her describing a C-section:

     "I listened:  this was his being born.
     This was the sound of a hand wedged in, and then the small bent head popped free, quick as a tooth you are losing.  This that I felt backed into my throat was the body shoved into the cage of my ribs, brief, and how surprising:  the rest had seemed so distant:  a ditch cut into a distant slab, spongy and geologic, marsh, a bowl of softened bone.  Then the baby, the bawling sight of him; then the staples driven in."

Another example of her prose, one I believe shows the importance of rhythm or cadence to her writing:

     "I know I have not taken my pills yet, I have taken the last of the pills I had that have been, while I heal, a help to me, in the eveningtime in particular, dark coming on -- the flattened trees -- to dull the ache, the progress, the healing meant by the mess I pass, the sheeny lumpy liverish ruin that is left of being sufficient, of having been, for a time, sufficient, for a time, I swear it, calm."

Read through that a couple of times and do so out loud.  You'll be amazed at the rhythm you begin to automatically read with.  This combination of cadence, and language, and delving into relationships, and almost a bit of a Southern Gothic feel to her work makes Noy Holland a writer to read.

Here is a link to the beginning of this story published online as well.

Short Story Month - Logo and Beyond

Those that plan on doing some posting on short fiction during Short Story Month now have this great logo to include with their posts courtesy of Dzanc Books' fantastic designer, and editor of Monkeybicycle, Steven Seighman.

Those that are still reading after one paragraph, assuming you have some interest in short stories, I have a few other sites you should be checking out regularly (and these, not just during the month of May):

Peter Orner is writing a column over at The Rumpus - "The Lonely Voice - a Column About Short Stories".  It's the type that will make the ponderings over here seem more than a bit facile,

Larry Dark has the Official Blog of The Story Prize,

The great people behind One Story have both the One Story Blog, and Save the Short Story.

Patrick Rapa and his I Read A Short Story Today blog is always excellent.

And I just bumped into Short Story Reader for the first time today - my loss in the past, wander over and take a read or two.

And Anne over at the Fiction Writers Review (a great site by the way, I'd link to all of their great material, but then you'd never read here at the EWN) has noticed our Short Story Month and has an open invitation to their readers to plug their own favorite short story.  The information is over at the link in this paragraph.  We'll be doing something similar here, though not quite as open.

And as I notice other bloggers joining the Short Story Month fray, I'll be sure to be linking to them as well.

Short Story Month

Once again (well, again if we go back to 2007, I think there was some beyond major slacking in 2008) I'm hoping to treat May as Short Story Month, as in National Short Story Month, or even International Short Story Month, and hope others will join in the enjoyment of the shorter form of fiction with me.

My goal each day will be to find three stories to read and blog about - one from a collection that maybe I've held onto a little too long, should have finished and reviewed by now, etc; one from a print journal; and one from an online journal.

By month's end, if all goals are met, just under 100 short stories will have been read and commented upon.  I hope to meet these goals, if only because it means I'll have scared up the time to read nearly 100 short stories!

I've started a bit early and found a great story from the online journal, Juked, published earlier this month by Stephen Graham Jones, titled How Billy Hanson Destroyed the Planet Earth, and Everyone On It.  I think one of the best features of Jones' story is how he stretches out the cause of the destroying of planet Earth for quite some time, and then with between 10 and 15% of the story remaining, it becomes pretty clear what might have happened, and then completely clear, and somehow the story still maintains its tension right on up until the end.  Even though we, the reader, understand what has happened to cause what will happen, and know what will happen, it's still necessary to read until it happens.  It's an impressive feat on Jones' part.  Go on, click that link above and go enjoy.

Source of Lit - Knock

The next issue of Knock, number 11, the fiction issue, can be ordered now and, as it is guest edited by one Jonathan Evison, I'm imagining it's going to be one kick-ass issue.  Stories from Kim Chinquee (sneak preview), Pasha Malla, Marcy Dermansky, Cris Mazza, Jason Rice, Dan Coshnear, David Gutowski, and Suzanne Burns, with a story from her soon to be Dzanc published short story collection, Misfits and Other Heroes!

There are also interviews, art, and an editorial from Jonathan Evison himself, which I'm sure will be worth the price of the issue.

All this plus if you subscribe, the people behind Knock will donate a healthy portion of the incoming cash to the Antioch Women's Education Project, a program that provides support for homeless and formerly homeless women in the Seattle community - something nice to see.

Source of Fun - Hobart

Source of Hunger/Lit - Kevin Wilson

Tunneling to the Center of the Earth, by Kevin Wilson, is one of those books I've waited years for.  Seriously.  Since May 2005 per this Lit Journal Roundup as that's when I read the title story in the sadly defunct Frostproof Review.

While I loved the collection, and would really like to attend one of Kevin's readings, his tour diary is killing me as not only is he reading in one of the best closely spaced run of bookstores (Lemuria's in Jackson, Turnrow in Greenmead, Square Books in Oxford and That Bookstore in Blytheville in Blytheville), but he is documenting the meals he and his father have been eating in diners and small bbq joints and while it's only 8:20 a.m., I can't decide if I want a big ol' burger for lunch, or to find some out of the way place for ribs that only has two tables, three chairs and a very limited beverage selection.

Source of Lit??? - Smokelong Quarterly Interview Feature

This time around, the fine editors over at Smokelong Quarterly have broken their longstanding tradition of interviewing interesting writers and took the time to ask some questions of the guy that started the EWN and co-founded Dzanc Books.  The musings can be found here.

I'm Going to be in Quick Fiction 15

How's that for a subtle subject line?  As Adam and Jennifer Pieroni have now listed the Table of Contents up at their website, and my name is among those (to come close to borrowing the title from the story collection by Stephanie Johnson below, one of these names is different from the others), I think I finally believe it's not some big hoax.

Back when Dzanc Books had our Write-a-Thon in November, I spent my hours of writing that day, seriously the first time I'd sat down to write fiction in 19 years, and came up with a grand total of 220 words.  Sure, there was revising and deleting of sentences and what not, tweaking and fussing, making sure I was happy with how it read.  Then I kept at it for a while longer.  And, I was.  I was actually pretty happy with what I had come up with though, and allowed it to be included in the PDF file we sent out to the authors and those that sponsored them.  I received a few nice comments about the piece and decided I'd try my hand at submitting it.  A big fan of Quick Fiction, I sent it their way.  To my incredible surprise, I received an email from Jennifer not long after that suggesting a minor change that I agreed made the story much better.  While I kind of thought it was just a nice commentary/suggestion, after I agreed with her, she suggested QF publish it in the next issue. 

As noted, I'm a huge fan of QF and have been for a couple of years now, eagerly awaiting each issue, and am thrilled to be a part of this next issue alongside people whose work I've admired for years like Lee Martin, Stefan Kiesbye and I don't think I'm ever shy about noting my appreciation of the work of Elizabeth Ellen, not to mention authors whose work I've just recently begun to enjoy like Randall Brown, Scott Garson, Lydia Copeland, Jensen Whelan, Blythe Winslow, Mike Young, and perhaps the nicest guy I met at AWP, Sean Lovelace (granted, I'd already met many of the people I saw again this year, but Sean's still a helluva nice guy).

By my math, be on the lookout for more work from me in 2028!

Source of Lit - Sung J. Woo

Tuesday should see piles of Sung J. Woo's debut novel, Everything Asian (2009, Thomas Dunne Books), in bookstores as it hits its publishing date.  I've not read the whole thing yet, but can say that I'm about 1/3 of the way through and enjoying it enough to be pretty sure I'll have it finished up before that pub date hits.

The story of the first year (at age 12) of a young Korean's life in America, starting at the point where he's been in America for about one month, as he, his 15 year old sister, and mother have come across to join his father some five years after his own trip to start up their new life.  David Kim doesn't speak English, is coming to learn that his father might just be a loser, and nobody else in the family is happy. 

All that said, there have been some genuinely funny moments already, and a sweet tone to the family story.  I'm definitely looking forward to reading the rest of this tonight.

For a sneak peek at the first chapter, read this broadsheet that Sung put together and has been handing out at bookstores!

Source of Lit - The Postman!

I see we're spiraling down the same paths taken in 2007 and 2008 in regard to reviews and interviews around here at the EWN.  So many notes scribbled in so many places and they never seem to make it over here.  They will, they will.  I actually have typed up the majority of three sets of interview questions, just need to put some finishing touches on them and shoot them out via email. 

In lieu of any full reviews, I'm going to put up some nice pictures of book covers I've received lately and in some cases have even read.  These are books I've either very recently enjoyed, or plan to soon.

Stephanie Johnson's story collection, One of These Things is Not Like the Others (Keyhole, June 2009) - this cover isn't the actual cover (for one the blurb is a fake!), but I can't find the actual cover anywhere online yet.  From two pages to twenty plus pages, Johnson knows what she's doing with the short form.  This second title from Keyhole is a really nice looking book.

Arthur Phillips latest novel, This Song is You (Random House, out now) is a quick and great read.  Music, the muse, middle age, iPods, and more.  Phillips is a very smart writer who has written a truly engaging story.

Suzanne Burns' new poetry chapbook, Vacancy (Pudding House, out now), continues showing off her ability to take people or events and write fantastic prose poems about them.

The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist, translated from the Swedish by Marlaine Delargy (Other Press, June 2009).  In the middle of this one, and having trouble getting away from it, even when not reading it.  The Unit is where dispensable persons are sent - women at age 50, men at 60.  Specifically those with no children, no families depending on them.  A great story so far, with some obvious moral questions, but not written in a way that slaps you as the authors stance on the issue. 

Graywolf has recently published a couple of J. Robert Lennon's books - a new novel, Castle, and the first US printing of Pieces for the Left Hand (story collection previously published in the UK).  Castle was another 'can't put down' book - a man returns to his hometown and purchases a fixer upper home on a large plot of land.  He then discovers there is a block of land in the middle of his that he does not own.  The collection has one to two page vignettes that are complex in their seeming simplicity.  Really solid.

Turns out this is more a list of those that I HAVE read.  Go look for them, you won't be disappointed!