Doing without and "How to Direct a Major Motion Picture"

Two things to which I want to draw your attention today, each of which has improved an already-frustrating week:

First, there's a new Collagist, which is always good news, but I particularly enjoyed this essay by Brian Evenson. It begins with a somewhat esoteric typographical observation concerning the electronic version of Cory Doctorow's Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town, then turns to the way e-readers are changing how we read, then becomes an essay about Joyce and Ulysses, and then becomes a sort of manifesto for writing that "does without," discussing a few of my favorite writers on the way. These shifts seem quite natural, and it's a pleasure to watch Evenson think and warm his various subjects in turn. I feel like I may have something to say about this but for now I am reflecting on it.

Secondly, Matt Bell has written a somewhat lengthy, deeply analytical post on the story "How to Direct a Major Motion Picture," a collaboration by Robert Lopez and Samuel Ligon. This story was featured in the last issue of Puerto del Sol, and it was actually one I solicited and (very lightly) edited. Matt's deep familiarity with Lopez especially leads to a really interesting discussion of the story. Samuel Ligon shows up in the comments to say that Matt's speculation as to the process of writing the story is surprisingly accurate. It helps if you've read the story, of course, but reading this was a real pleasure, and it made me that much more proud of my small role in bringing this story to readers.