It has been the most
astonishing literary summer. At first it was the second edition of the
London Short Story Festival in late June, directed by the energetic and generous
Paul McVeigh, and efficiently managed by London’s Spread the Word. For four
days Piccadilly Waterstones was awash with short story writers and aficionados:
old mates catching up or latecomers flying to talks, bright smiles on faces
after invigorating workshops; some of us sneaking upstairs to the cocktail bar
in between sessions, the braver of us shyly approaching festival readers at the
inevitable pub bash afterwards.
Four days of short
story riches, involving newer writers such as May-Lan Tan, author of CB Editions’ Things to Make and Break, who read from her chapbook Girly, and seasoned
authors like Ben Okri, who read one of my favourite stories, the title piece
from his collection Incidents in the Shrine. Two exceptional events. There were
also readings from Canadian D.W. Wilson, (his heartbreaking story ‘Mountain Under Sea’) and the admirable Kevin Barry, who shuffled away after a brilliant
reading and a run of amusing off-beat writing tips: Barry maintains he writes ‘primarily
out of anxiety’ and puts his ‘blood and guts onto the page’ and thinks ‘more of
food than short stories’ . I took part in one workshop with Mr. Okri which
involved learning how to be attuned to the arrival of inspiration (such as when
one is house-painting!)and how to let go of pre-packaged thought and embrace
ideas fearlessly.
Later in the summer I
was back in London for two exciting launches. I was lucky to have two short
stories accepted by two different publications, Fugue Volume II (The Siren
Press), and Structo 14. So I rocked up to Bloomsbury one Friday night, and Soho
the night afterwards. Two wonderful evenings of listening to other writers
read, meeting the Editors, and seeing the stories you’ve been peddling in
print. Surely more rewarding than a new pair of heels?
With the Fugue Volume
I receiving enthusiastic reviews (‘close to being magical’ – Sabotage Reviews),
Lucy Carroll, Editor of The Siren Press, had a difficult act to follow. I remember the submission call for Fugue Volume
II suggested the editors were interested in the quirky and offbeat. I sent off
one of my kinkiest pieces, ‘Three Days in Hong Kong’, and hoped for the
best. I was thrilled when it quickly
made the cut.
How to compile a short
story collection that is original and captivating, that will sell copies for a
fledgling publishing company in a world that mostly disregards the medium? I
always ask myself this when I pick up an anthology – of which there are so many dazzling examples around. I may be biased because my story is included in this book, but I think
that Editors Lucy Carroll and Liviu Tanasoaica have harnessed a collective of buzzing
modern energy: alienation and undertow; authors
whose work jars, but gels together.
In the Editorial: The
Fuguists are a diverse group of writers.. try and think of their efforts as a
literary experiment, indicative of a contemporary fascination with character
psychology. In this way we have pieces such as ‘Scarlet Streets’ by L.D.
Lipinski, a blood-dripping sketch of teenhood in an abattoir-dependent town, and
Alyson Hallett’s dreamy homage to Munch’s scream in a layered rendering of
child abuse and murder; and Brandon Robshaw's tale of a lesson plan gone horribly off course. Clare Fisher’s ‘You Are Not Sorry’ portrays a lonely
lying woman in a series of Facebook Messenger riffs, and we are entranced by the
underlying powers that a new home inflicts upon a young married couple in Sally
Oliver’s ‘Hole in the Wall’. There is much awkwardness, tension, and lapses of
reason that betray the fuzziness of the temporal world and the intrusion of marred
realities.
In common, the
characters in the eight stories perhaps seem to be elusive, edgy, even
abrasive. The character voices are intimate, often in the first person,
strident, brittle and aware. The Fuguist world is a modern arena skirted by minor
social despair. Characters crave attention and acknowledgement; communication often
collapses; there is a lack of connection with a harsh, overwhelming outside world,
whether it be through a zombie threat as in Darren’s vivid piece ‘On the House’,
or through the decrescendo of age, as in C.D. Menon’s quiet story ‘Spring Tides’.
The collection is discomforting and interestingly paced, images linger and there are no easy exits
for the reader. Stories are captivating and quirky indeed, each one accompanied
by Alexandru’s Savescu’s accomplished and lyrical images. (Here I confess to
blind favouritism and declare that the print for my story ‘Three Days in Hong
Kong’ – an erotic pastische of Philomena’s nude body roll on a glassy hotel
window – is the one I have fallen for! Well I did say it was a kinky piece..)
Sabotage Reviews has this to say: ‘Three Days in Hong Kong’ by Catherine McNamara pulls you strongly into
the place where the code-named Philomena M. waits for her lover. She is
suspended in a glass box – almost as New York magician David Blain once
was – in a hotel room above the city of Hong Kong, trapped and yet in
the end not so. In that place of heightened sensuality she upends the
power balance in the relationship..
Here’s the buying link and Fugue II is also available at all good independent book shops. I’ll talk
about Structo 14 next week!
*
Brilliant holiday
news: Litro online have accepted ‘The Architecture of Humans’
The Nottingham Review
will be publishing ‘Hotel de Californie’ in September
Trafika Europe has
accepted ‘Astragal’
