Author Update #13
Most of my attention lately has been on school projects or my myriad life troubles experienced since January 1st 2022. However, I was able to put out 3 poems and one flash, titled “Pen”, which was accepted for publication by Fahmidan Journal! I’ve followed Fahmidan for quite a while, and always loved their issue themes, but when I saw Surrealist Spring as their issue 12 theme, I submitted right away.
Pen is one of my favorite and first short stories that I wrote. It was originally written in about 2007 or 2008, and at that period in my life, I was reading a lot of Charles Bukowski, Clive Barker, and, as always, Neil Gaiman. “Pen” truly is my masterwork of the time, so I am so glad that it finally found a home. Check it out in Issue 12 HERE. A reader will definitely see the Gaiman influence, and possibly the Bukowski in its grittiness. I was in my second term of “Short Fiction Writing” at Grossmont as a prompt response. The teacher at the time told me it was bad. She also disliked 2 of my other pieces from other prompts, so it turned out, she just didn’t like my style of writing.
This work was heavily inspired by the movie “Doom Generation” from writer and director Gregg Araki, as well as the aforementioned writers. We have a talking pigeon, a creepy “House of Usher” type guy who sort of oozes downtown grime, and a intense white queen cashier. The surrealistic journey of Pen is set in a fictional downtown at midnight. Its meanings are obscured, as most great surreal art is, and I hope everyone gets something different from it. My truest writing form is in surrealism, as is my most loved artworks (Rene Magritte being my favorite). When I dig into my soul, it pulls out surrealism. I’ve had two surrealist works published so far, and I am so grateful for each.
It is quite a thrill to know I still have got what it takes, even after such a long hiatus. I still have a lot of difficulties to overcome in the coming months, but it is nice to have this be a reminder that I am doing the right thing with my life.
