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The
ShatterColors Standard Interview -- Editor Version: Robert
Scott Leyse
(Interview
consists of 15
pre-set questions.
Editors maintain
a literary Website.)
Update
8/30/09: So a
friend calls me
up, laughing,
and informs me
that one mentally
deficient Sean
Aden Lovelace
has taken serious
umbrage to my
response to question
# 10 below, and
posted a semi-intelligible
rant on his blog:
please scroll
down to question
# 10 to read my
response to LovDunce.
1)
Why did you begin editing, and how long have you been
doing so?
I
began editing
on account of
having uncharacteristically
attended a "writing
event," in
1999. I met many
editors that I
considered to
be poorly read,
politically motivated,
trendiness-obsessed,
artsy-fartsy imbeciles.
I thought, "What
does a gathering
of clowns spouting
pretentious rubbish
and thirsting
to have their
asses kissed have
to do with writing?"
I decided to become
an editor specifically
for the purpose
of having nothing
to do with literary
movements, politics,
regionalism, and
focusing -- for
a change -- on
actual writing.
Of
course, now that
I've actually
been an editor
for awhile (since
May, 2001) and
met a great deal
of highly competent
and deeply caring
no rubbish editors,
I understand that
the event mentioned
above was an abnormality
(it wasn't exactly
an A-list event).
Which just goes
to show that positive
things can come
from negative
experiences.
2)
What are your
primary criteria
for acceptance
of work?
Stylistic
individuality, with a focus on emotion mirrored by the
style. Must also exhibit a logical progression of the
narrative line and carry the reader emotionally, as opposed
to burdening with overmuch description of the scenery.
Characters must emotionally engage one another, or vibrantly
interact with themselves.
Other
things I like (but are not necessary for acceptance) are
1) mystical/religious turns of thought, 2) love stories,
at whatever stage of a relationship, 3) invective that's
playful instead of bitter, and 4) laughs -- whether they're
subtle chuckles or shout-out-loud belly-massages.
Things
I detest (and
will immediately
stop me from reading)
are 1) preachy
political agenda
pieces/anything
that reeks of
"activism,"
2) pop-culture-reference
saturated pieces,
and 3) simpering
sentimental slop.
3)
How important are cover letters to you?
It makes no difference to me what an author does or does
not put in a cover letter, or if an author bothers to
enclose one. The only thing that matters is the submitted
work.
4)
Do you ever feel compelled to comment on work you've declined?
On
rare occasions, I'll receive a very good story that doesn't
fit our needs. This is generally because the author has
chosen to extensively explain something pertaining to
the setting or an activity that the characters are engaged
in, such that it comes across as semi-fiction. There was
a story centered around surf fishing - very well written,
but too informative about surf fishing to suit me: I'm
interested in interaction between people, not interaction
between people and activities. So I told the author why
we didn't want it even though it was very good. I've since
found out he's had it accepted by a sporting magazine,
as it well should be.
As
a general rule, though, I don't have the time to comment
on stories I've declined to accept; nor would I be qualified
to do so, since I seldom -- only in rare instances such
as those above -- read more than two or three paragraphs
of them.
5)
Is there something of a theme that runs through your Site?
To
quote the "About" page: if The Shattercolors
Literary Review has a mission aside from the obvious one
of publishing good writing, then it's 1) to promote vividness
of emotion in literary endeavors, and 2) to demonstrate
that "literary" and "entertainment,"
far from being at crossroads with one another, are essential
to one another.
6)
What's your take on politics and literary endeavor?
Literature
should
exist by and for itself -- be a world of emotion, conflict,
captivation, illumination, escape unto itself -- with
no political dependency whatsoever. I don't give a dead
horse's ass what authors' political convictions are, as
long as the said convictions are accorded something far
less than a supporting role in their work. Of course,
using political machinations as a plot-vehicle to illuminate
the timelessness of ambition, deception, playacting, networking,
revenge, cronyism, delight in sowing chaos --
where the convictions voiced by the characters are merely
incidental to the conflict -- is a different matter altogether,
as in the novels of Stendhal, not to mention The Possessed
by Dostoevsky.
7)
Who are some of the authors you most admire?
Many
of the authors
that I publish
here and on Sliptongue.
Adelaide
Cummings' newest
release, Curtain
Call (as
well as her past
releases), is
formal poetry
at its best.
My
current nonfiction
fav is George
and Darril Fosty's
Black Ice:
The Lost History
of the Colored
Hockey League
of the Maritimes,
1895-1925.
8)
How familiar are
you with the literary
canon?
Some
people might say
the literary canon
is the primary
décor of
my apartment --
a couple walls
of books floor
to ceiling, stacks
on the furniture,
strays often lying
on the carpet.
Among my favs:
Cervantes, Boccaccio,
Lermontov, Stendhal,
Laclos, Martial,
Juvenal, Aristophanes,
Menander, Plautus,
Terence, Moliere,
Kleist, Holderlin,
Novalis, Hoffmann,
Fontane, Nietzsche,
Kierkegaard, Strindberg,
Ibsen, de Navarre,
de Sade, Flaubert,
Maupassant, Celine,
Marlowe, Rochester,
"Monk"
Lewis, Byron,
Mr. and Mrs. Shelly,
Coleridge, Stevenson,
Poe, Twain, Faulkner,
Tacitus, Suetonius,
Dio, Baudelaire,
Verlaine, Lautremont,
Rimbaud, Artaud,
Sappho, Ovid,
Propertius, Petronius,
The Arabian Nights.
Ancient Greek
and Roman/19th
century French/British
Restoration authors
in general. Comic
playwrights from
all periods and
countries.
9)
What are your feelings about formal vs. free verse?
Poetry
is a formal discipline that fraudulent poseurs are seeking
to discredit via the sham known as "free verse."
Many semi-literate pop-culture-educated hacks, for unknown
reasons, wish to think of themselves as "poets":
they proceed to convince themselves of such by churning
out formless, incomprehensible, self-referential gibberish
and calling it "free verse." Free versers are
inordinately fond of deluding themselves that they're
overthrowing tradition: they seem to feel muddled nonsense
is preferable to disciplined clarity.
10)
Do you feel "flash" fiction (300 words or less)
is a viable form, or nothing more than a writing exercise?
It's
a writing exercise,
useful in learning
the virtues of
succinctness of
expression. As
for it being a
viable form...
Basically, some
corner-cutting
smartass thought,
"Hey, why
waste these writing
exercises? Why
not doll them
up in fancy terminology
-- call them 'flash
fiction,' 'flashers,'
or 'impromptus'
-- and persuade
people they're
real stories?
That way, I'll
be able to churn
out three or four
or five of them
a night!"
Needless to say,
I neither read
nor publish writing
exercises.
Update
8/30/09: A
friend called
me up, laughing,
and informed me
that one mentally
deficient Sean
Aden Lovelace
has taken serious
umbrage to the
above paragraph,
and posted a semi-intelligible
rant on his blog.
Curiously, Sean
Aden Lovelace
begins his rant
by chiding my
use of first,
middle, and last
names as a published
author when he
does the very
same thing, having
published a 35-page
(oh, my!) book
and numerous so-called
stories under
the name of "Sean
Aden Lovelace."
My recommendation,
LovDunce: if you're
going to slam
someone for using
all three of their
names (and getting
riled about that
is pathetic enough),
then maybe you
ought to stop
doing so yourself.
Please look up
the word "consistency"
in a dictionary,
assuming you know
how to use one.
Which
brings me to the
second self-contradiction
at the beginning
of Sean Aden Lovelace's
mental-age-of-nine
rant. He writes
with scorn "And
he publishes himself
in his own magazine?"
as if such is
a heinous crime.
But then, lo and
behold, on the
Amazon page of
the above-mentioned
35-page book by
Sean Aden Lovelace,
there is one review:
written, of course,
by Sean Aden Lovelace
himself. The book
was published
in 2004 and in
all that time
LovDunce hasn't
even managed to
inspire anyone
to attack it,
much less praise
it: he has to
write the lone
review himself.
And he
chastises me for
publishing myself
in my own magazine?
Which brings me
to my second recommendation,
LovDunce: please
do some serious
perusal of current
literary magazines:
you will find
that dozens of
capable editors
publish themselves
in their own magazines.
After all, if
editors do not
believe in their
own magazines
enough to publish
themselves in
them, how can
they conscientiously
expect authors
to believe in
their magazines
as well? But Sean
Aden Lovelace
reviews his own
book on Amazon
(otherwise it
wouldn't have
a review at all),
so he is a very
conscientious
and reliable gentleman
who's in a very
good position
to judge others.
All
right, to the
matter: Sean Aden
Lovelace, I tossed
off my tongue-in-cheek
response to question
# 10 for the express
purpose of annoying
pretentious, untalented,
fraudulent, parasitical
nitwits like you.
You don't like
it? Oh, boo hoo
hoo! Where's your
Mommy when you
need her, right?
Actually, I'm
sure you live
with your Mommy
and that she frequently
locks you in the
closet for ingesting
horse manure,
as well as for
simply being the
insufferably boring
imbecile that
you are.
So
Sean Aden Lovelace
is upset. After
the self-contradictory
intro, he announces
the rant proper
with the megalomaniacal
"I’ll
just jot down
this epic poem
here" (Yeah
right, LovDunce:
your muddled self-contradictory
rubbish is an
epic poem: there
are people in
asylums who believe
they've composed
Beethoven's Ninth,
and I do believe
you'd be fit company
for them.) and
proceeds to indulge
in even more megalomania,
comparing his
writing to "parable,
fable, mythology,
psalm." Any
sane person knows,
LovDunce, that
there is no way
in hell that I
was casting aspersions
on parables, fables,
mythology, and
psalms -- which
(wake up, you
smug vainglorious
boob!) have absolutely
nothing to do
with the semi-literate
"flash"
fiction (I will
NOT torment the
reader by quoting
from one of your
laughably adolescent
scribblings.)
written by yourself.
Read question
# 10 above again,
moron: it addresses
"flash"
fiction only,
not parables,
fables, mythology,
and psalms. "Flash"
fiction is a very
recent term, dating
from 1992 -- again,
check it in a
dictionary, moron.
But
that's why you
launched your
rant in the first
place, right?
It's so you could
have an excuse
to soar to the
heights of delirious
delusion and compare
yourself to the
likes of Aesop,
Franz Kafka, and
Christ! (Yup,
people: he does!)
Sean Aden Lovelace:
why are you being
allowed to teach
at a university?
What member of
the Board of Directors
are you related
to, or blackmailing,
to keep that job?
You are obviously
as insane as you
are vain. Your
students have
my heartfelt sympathy.
Sean
Aden Lovelace
knows very little
about writing:
he lumps Sonnets
in with "flash"
fiction as well.
Please also look
up the word
"sonnet"
in a dictionary,
LovDunce, where
you will find
no mention of
a sonnet being
anything remotely
resembling "flash"
fiction. Oh, and
he also sarcastically
asks how I feel
about sonnets.
Well, let's see:
I've published
sonnets written
by some very accomplished
poets: HERE,
HERE,
and HERE.
Does that answer
your question,
LovDunce? Here's
an idea that's
obviously foreign
to you: seek to
grasp the concept
of getting your
facts straight
before slinging
accusations.
But
Sean Aden
Lovelace
truly reveals
the leanings of
his frail mental
capacity when
he interrupts
his rant towards
the end to inform
us: "Well,
I just had some
kick ass nachos.
It felt good.
It didn’t
take long, they
are often listed
as appetizer…"
(My, oh, my: LovDunce
teaches at a university
and writes gradeschool
level prose. Again,
I pity his students,
as well as the
university itself.)
One last recommendation,
LovDunce: if you're
going to attempt
to persuade others
that you know
something about
writing
and
care about writing,
then leave off
with the dietary
information. No
one cares what
you stuffed your
gullet with. But
that's just the
thing: deluded
megalomaniacs
like Sean Aden
Lovelace think
the whole world
cares about every
little insignificant
thing they do.
Last
paragraph, Sean
Aden Lovelace:
I wrote "The
ShatterColors
Standard Interview"
for the express
purpose of having
different authors
provide contrasting
responses to a
few questions.
Authors
of completely
different inclinations
have participated.
I
have never expected,
or even wanted,
all of them to
agree with my
views; I have
only wished for
them to be themselves.
Believe it or
not, there are
authors who have
participated
who frequently
write modern "flash"
fiction, as well
as full out novels,
and I have the
greatest respect
for them. Nor
have they ever
held it against
me that I chose
to answer question
# 10 in a sassy
manner, since
they are bright
people who understand
what irony is.
But you didn't
bother to read
beyond your need
to advertise your
megalomania, did
you? In fact,
I'm sure you're
not capable of
doing so.
I
lied, Sean
Aden Lovelace:
this is the last
paragraph. Powers
that be at Ball
State University
2000 W. University
Ave. Muncie, IN:
you have a person
in your employ
who thinks nothing
of attacking people
on the Internet
without knowing
the first thing
about them, and
contradicting
and making a fool
of himself in
the process. Is
this really the
sort of person
you want teaching
the students of
your school? Is
this the sort
of person that
parents of students
had in mind when
they were setting
their hard earned
money aside to
provide their
children with
an education?
Must your students
(i.e.,
your customers)
settle for an
irresponsible
instructor who
unconscionably
attacks complete
strangers with
zero facts at
his disposal and
has no ability
to argue logically?
I am positive
that there are
far more worthy
candidates for
his position,
and that the parents
who are paying
the bills would
agree with me.
Update
to the above,
9/1/09:
So
I sent Sean
Aden Lovelace
an
email this morning
to let him know
I'd responded
to his attack.
I was all set
for another round
of thrash-for-kicks
(Yup, I love
invective.), when...
Suffice
to say we ended
up exchanging
a few affable
emails. By way
of winding this
up, here are the
last two:
I sent this:
Sean,
Yeah, it's really
all just a game
to me -- I write
fiction, my answers
to questions often
verge on it. I
like to scrap,
can't entirely
dislike someone
who provides me
with an occasion
for some fun.
Saw your latest
post -- thanks
for that, and
it's over as far
as I'm concerned.
And now I'll admit
that you've lead
me to reevaluate
whether I'm going
to deal with accepting
flash fiction
for Sliptongue
and ShatterColors
(when the latter
reopens). Always
felt it was too
much trouble to
make a separate
page for 300-500
words (that was
my real objection
to publishing
it), but I could
ask for sets of
3 to be published
together.
And as a fellow
fly fisherman
(when I'm in CO,
ID, or CA)...
Cast away!
Scott
He
responded with:
Scott:
Yeh,
it's cool, no
worries. I'm the
one who called
you a few names
first, and should
have focused on
flash fiction,
the genre only,
since I am a huge
advocate of what
I consider an
exciting and literary
form. I really
think you should
consider flashes,
but you are the
editor, naturally.
Anyway,
my bad and sorry
to offend.
Write
on. And fish on
(a form of writing,
or maybe reading?).
S
I
believe we've
both learned something;
for my part, I've
decided to accept
flash fiction
(I never hated
it, at most I
ignored it) on
Sliptongue beginning
next year. It
is a
popular and established
form, and I know
of at least one
writer I admire
and publish --
Barry
Baldwin
-- who regularly
indulges in it.
Show's
over, people.
Live well, in
good health.
11)
When not editing,
what do you do
for amusement?
Write;
or dance all night;
or sow chaos in
public places
with the assistance
of undisciplined
dogs (as described
HERE);
or toss the frisbee
in Central Park;
or go to my jazz
musician pals'
concerts; or attend
baseball games/peruse
the latest MLB
news; or go to
yoga class; or
hang out in Paris,
San Francisco,
and San Juan...
Downhill skiing,
bodysurfing after
midnight during
storms, camping
above timberline
in the Sierras...
The list could
go on and on...
12)
What's one of the most annoying things you can think of?
The
fact that the average supermarket in America is at least
90% stocked with nutritionally deficient, artificially
processed, chemically-saturated garbage masquerading as
human sustenance. The fact that there are vast tracts
of this country (i.e., suburban wastelands) where the
only available sources of sustenance are fast food places
and convenience stores, where it's not even possible to
purchase pesticide-saturated produce, much less anything
that's certified organic. The fact that Shea and Yankee
Stadiums 1) won't allow people to bring their own beer,
and 2) sell watered down dog-piss, and tell people it's
beer.
13)
Briefly describe what you consider to be one of your standout
childhood pranks.
Happened
upon some dead cottonmouths (venomous snakes native to
the SE U.S.) at a fish hatchery and made use of the carcasses
to amaze and frighten people. For a lengthier description
click HERE.
14)
What are your upcoming projects/works in progress?
Am
currently doing
the final revisions
for a couple of
novels.
15)
Care to conclude with a sweeping philosophical statement?
Fiction
writing is the fine art of adopting personalities at will,
and then casting them off -- of convincingly playing parts,
masquerading: never stoop to the plebeian level of actually
believing what you write.
_______________
The
ShatterColors Standard Interview -- Editor Version
©
2006 by Robert Scott Leyse
Robert
Scott Leyse Responses
© 2006 by Robert
Scott Leyse
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