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What Smack Said #12 -- happy one year anniversary to us! 🎇
A fascism-busting anthology and a writing update! �� 
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This is our twelfth newsletter—we made it through a whole year of reviews! As part of the celebration, I'd love to hear which review you enjoyed the most, or if you read any of the books I've recommended. And along the same lines, is there anything you want more of in year two? Any recommendations you have for me in return? Come on, share the love. :)
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In other news, I'm forging ahead with my current writing project, a reimagining of the ancient Greek tragedy
The Bacchae. At this point, I've changed enough of the base notes that it has grown from a retelling into something wholly different and very queer. I studied the play as an undergrad, and even without knowing what I know now about gender, sexuality, and queerness, there were odd things that jumped out at the time. For instance, at one point the god Dionysus bewitches the young king of Thebes into dressing like a woman. And as Anne Carson pointed out: the king just happened to have a dress in the back of his closet? |
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So, I'm not a particularly fast writer, but I am enjoying the exploration of ideas that have been percolating for the last 10+ years. The goal is to finish the novella in October and send it out to a few different publishing presses for consideration for publication. |
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Recognize Fascism: A Science Fiction and Fantasy
Anthology, edited by Crystal M. Huff, is a collection of 22 short stories originally published in 2018. Generally, I save short story collections or anthologies to read in the evening before bed, but
Recognize Fascism is not the kind of book where you read one or two stories and then turn out the light. These stories are fierce and painful, and many are both. (Also, goddamn, just look at that cover.) |
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It's worth highlighting the opening story, called "A Disease of Time and Temporal Distortion" by Jennifer Shelby. (Find her on Twitter here.) In it, the main character is not quite able to remain in her chosen time and place—she keeps getting pulled one, five, ten years ahead, which gives her a front row seat to the rise of a populist fascist as he comes to and then consolidates his political power. |
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Most of the other stories are about what it's like to live in and resist an entrenched fascist state. They're stories of resistance, with characters making music in prison camps, trying to escape to the moon, and cajoling killer robots away from their intended use. "A Disease of Time and Temporal Distortion," however, is both the beginning of the anthology and the beginning of a country's downward spiral to fascism. It shows us that when we recognize the warning signs and acknowledge the stakes, fascism can be halted before it takes root. We just have to be knowledgeable enough to recognize its rise and brave enough to stand up against it. |
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Life was rough in 2018 when
Recognize Fascism was released, but I'm glad I read these stories now, in the middle of June 2022 after the outrageous spate of SCOTUS decisions. Every story in the anthology centers personal strength and resistance, and each one provides an illustration of how to both recognize and resist fascism when it comes calling. It strongly reminded me of a recent Twitter thread in which the author discusses "malicious compliance," which has been used to save lives and counter fascist states in the past, and (though he doesn't outright say it) can be used against current unjust laws. |
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If you're interested in getting your own copy of the anthology,
Recognize Fascism is available at B&N here and through Amazon here. (As usual, those aren't affiliate links and I don't make anything if you click on them.)
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A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver — Short, meditative, and a balm to the soul. Nature poetry at its finest.
Spell on Wheels by Kate Leth — A feminist road trip graphic novel in which a trio of witches have to track down stolen magical goods. Volumes one and two are both wonderful!
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