She talks to wolves...

This should have been posted on Friday! Alas, a combination of work and TMJD-related issues kept me from getting it up here. Of course, that means you get a double dose of free fiction¹ highlights! You get a look today at Goblin Fruit and a gander at The Edge of Propinquity on Friday.

At the tail-end of last week, I snuck a few minutes here and a few minutes there to read the Winter 2010 issue of Goblin Fruit. This edition is remarkable in that it's the first not edited by the excellent editrices Amal el-Mohtar and Jessica Paige Wick: for this edition, they called upon the dark and twisty Mike Allen, of Mythic Delirium fame. (They actually switched magazines for an issue, so we've all got an Amal and Jessica-edited Mythic Delirium to look forward to!)

In the fine tradition of Goblin Fruit, this guest-edited edition was, in a word, brilliant. Succulent. Intoxicating. Okay, that's three words. I can't really care that I'm effusing; give me the shears right now and I'll trade a curl of scarlet gold for more of this luscious fruit. (Lucky for me, I have a ridiculous number of issues I haven't yet read in their full glory.)

As I was making my notes for which poems to mention here, I realized that I wanted to talk about twelve out of sixteen pieces: that should be evidence enough right there that you ought to put a silver penny in your purse, kiss your fruit-fevered love, and hie yourself off in search of goblin men. Er, that means you should go read the issue. Now. I'll wait.

Actually, I totally won't. Instead, I'll give you my Top 10 of this issue and a couple of Honorable Mentions. However, I do hope you read the whole gorgeous issue and then return here to talk about your favorites (or your dislikes).

1. "Oracle" by Liz Bourke
2. "Recipe for a year of spring" by Shweta Narayan
3. "Transformation" by Mari Ness
4. "She Returns to the Floating World" by Jeannine Hall Gailey
5. "Frau Drosselmeyer Loves the Summer" by Virginia M. Mohlere
6. "Psyche, at Midnight, in the Dark" by Larry Hammer
7. "Phineas Gage blinks for eternity" by J. C. Runolfson
8. "What They Know" by Adrienne J. Odasso
9. "said the sea-witch" by Kirsty Logan
10. "Minotaur Noir" by Rachel Manija Brown

Honorable mentions: "September Song" by Sonya Taaffe and "Butterfly Woman" by Elissa Malcohn.

"Oracle" had that initial, blow my mind "YES!!!" that only accompanies excellent poetry. "Recipe for a year of spring" and "Transformation" got me right where I live in fairy tales and myth: raw, multi-faceted, wry, and price-laden. And "Transformation" is structured poetry, a vilanelle! Hats off to you, Ms. Ness! (As an aside to Ms. Narayan, I am a sucker for poetry that is recipe that is poetry. I've written one concerning Snow White's stepmother, but it still needs work.) "She Returns to the Floating World" is beautifully complex while being widely applicable, and the poems concerning Frau Drosselmeyer, Psyche, and Phineas Gage transfix me with their interpretations of those persons concerned. Adrienne's "What They Know" really works the repetition for a chilling effect. And, finally, "said the sea-witch" and "Minotaur Noir" are a fantastic step to the left of their source materials, absorbing anyone with an interest in the subversive in fairy tale and myth.

I wish I had a group of you and a table set for tea: this collection of poems is ripe for spirited discussion and dramatic readings. (Bonus: Goblin Fruit features recordings of the poems being read whenever possible! However, I haven't gotten to listen to any from this edition yet due to equipment constraints when reading.)

We'll just have to have our discussion here, my lovelies! So settle in with a cup of something steaming and fragrant, a platter of tasty tidbits, and let's begin! What did you think of this Goblin Fruit?





P.S. Mike, give my best to Anita: the section titles and ordering of the poems in this edition were inspired.

1. Yes, Goblin Fruit is actually poetry and not fiction. I need a better way to refer to my weekly highlights! Any ideas?

Have you ever thought of Cinderella as a translucent, clockwork princess? Or as a girl misshapen, not physically beautiful under layers of ash, but used and spent and broken as only the least cared-for objects can be? Have you imagined the moon to be a scientific and exacting goddess, the only truth in a sky full of ghost-fires and hope-inspiring lies?

I can't say I had either. And, when I heard that Catherynne M. Valente was writing a steampunk version of Cinderella for the inaugural installment of her Omikuji Project, I was somewhat skeptical. Intrigued, too, and I wanted to see if would work.

Inarguably, it did.

Before I could even finish reading the short story, I found myself reaching out to the author:

"You write true fairy tales."

It was all I could say. A simple statement, unadorned, yet reflective as a deep-bottomed pool. True fairy tales, in my experience, are those tales that pierce me deep, stir something hungry inside me, and (at times) prick tears to my eyes. They get under my skin, turn a key in my heart, and unlock something both beautiful and monstrous: the Wood.

I was not able to afford the paper edition of this gorgeous short, "The Glass Gear." I received the e-mail PDF, complete with a digital collage Catherynne made to accompany her writing. I have heard, via the Omikuji Project community (at omikuji_project), how beautiful the physical manifestation of this story was: printed on fine paper, a folded secret, sealed with a waxen seal, a soft kiss direct from author to reader.

One lucky person even received a necklace entitled "Not the Stars, But the Moon," beaded by Catherynne and inspired by "The Glass Gear" (or, rather, pulled from the same well), as the winner of the "sacred lottery." Since that's what omikuji actually are, a sacred scroll secured from a Shinto shrine in hopes of good fortune, Catherynne has promised to send one random subscriber a small and unique gift each month.

In short, Catherynne here created a beautiful and unique experience.

She is doing this again. And again. Each month, for the forseeable future, she will be sending out these small stories to her not-so-modest collection of subscribers. She's using the funds to supplement her household income between novels, but she's also using the project as a way to say thank you to all those readers who've supported her throughout her still-young career.

Unless given permission by the community, Catherynne won't be allowing these stories to be published elsewhere. Luckily for you, you can still read "The Glass Gear" if you want to: just subscribe to her project, and elect to download it as a $2 PDF. (This is her set price for back-issues.)

You'll be glad you did. And, if your heart is pierced as mine was, consider tipping your writer. She'll be here for a lifetime if we treat her well.

The Omikuji Project.

Review archived at my website here.