I already blogged about Electric Literature no. 1 . Electric Literature no. 2 (Autumn 2009) is available now, with another five more stellar stories: Nick Liptak reviews the party that was thrown to celebrate this issue here.
Colson Whitehead's “The Comedian,” my favorite story in issue no. 2, probes the significance of observational comedy in contemporary culture: here is the Youtube preview.
Stephen O' Connor's “Love” is about a couple and a cabin near Mount Quiddagunk -- a fictional place, I think? Jealousy. Suspense.
Pasha Malla's “The Slough” asks what if we could shed our skins? Being writers, he seems to reply, do we have any choice?
Marisa Silver's “Three Girls” is a subtle tale of familial embarrassment. Single sentence animation here.
Lydia Davis's “The Cows” is like a story Ludwig Wittgenstein might have written about cows after first going insane.
Disclaimer: Electric Literature's blog The Outlet has stories on it too, one of which is by me.
I always felt something for Colson Whitehead, especially after having to order his first couple of books down under (must have been before I had any dealings with Amazon) and noticing that in one of the blurbs on the back they had mispelled his name 'Whithead'. I thought geez how would you feel, mispelled on your own book jacket, that must be some sort of claim to fame. But he seems to have bounced back pretty well. I guess I can stop worrying. I wonder how Toltoy and Prust would have reacted.
I love Electric Literature's Ad campaign.
And I love Lydia Davis. I can't wait to read her new collection of stories.
The border of a feeling.
Sensibility is
to watch in
the garden a
luminous light
with a delicate
sound now
recalling
the pleasure…
Francesco Sinibaldi