Ergo Propter Hoc

What makes a great short story? What elements create an unforgettable reading experience?

Part of the proper mix has to be character, setting, and reality– crafting a place in space so visceral and authentic you can jump into it with your mind.

Part of it is simply hooking the reader like Hemingway hooking a marlin. Then keeping the reader hooked on the narrative line right to the end.

We believe Scott Cannon achieves this with his newest story for us, “Ergo Propter Hoc.” Why the unusual title? Well, the story has to do with the legal profession, and a process server, a lawyer; a search and a situation. . . . But read the story!

The guy half turned to him. His hand on the bar next to Eddie was the size of a small ham. Dime shaped scabs covered the first three knuckles. “Ever been to San Francisco?” the guy asked.

Two Stories by Anne Leigh Parrish

Pop Lit Fiction

The world is changing swiftly, faster than we can keep up with.

This applies to literature.

Technological change leads inevitably to artistic change. For instance, in the 1950’s the introduction of 45 rpm discs and of cheap portable record players led to the creation of rock n’ roll– fast-paced, short songs appealing to teenagers. Soon appealing to everybody.

Over the past ten years the way people receive their literature– the way they read– has changed. As often as not it’s done on electronic devices, with various-sized screens. Some quite small.

Which means that long, dense text is obsolete.

Note that Wikipedia now offers entries in “simple English.” It’s not that people are becoming more stupid. (Some would argue that case!) It’s that most young people read on small devices. Most people today period lead busier lives than previously.

The literary art HAS to change, or die.

Does this account for the popularity of flash fiction?

Here at New Pop Lit we push fiction that’s simple but packed with emotion and meaning. We seek the best of the new fiction creators. One of them without question is Anne Leigh Parrish, who’s appeared here before. Today she gives us two flash fiction pieces. Each different. Each powerful in its own way. New literary art. We hope you enjoy them.

Let us know what you think!

Your big sister hates you, because she’s only five foot four. On those three inches – the ones you have and she lacks – is written the twisted history of your relationship.

Prince and the Populist Moment

Essay

AS we weren’t able to get anything from our pipeline ready in time to post today, I’ve knocked out a quick essay I believe is timely.

It also addresses a thought which has been in my head of late– that we have to stop dividing ourselves. Naïve? Maybe. In this tumultuous year of 2016, too many of us treat ideology like religion. We put party and identity before country. We’re unable to compromise on anything.

Pop is populism, but how do we define that?

Rock at its outset was a populist outbreak. It was scorned by politicians, intellectuals and the academy, who are always five steps behind the times.

K.W.

Code 99

Pop Fiction

After 50 years of stagnation the American short story is changing. Stories now are expected to be entertaining– as they once were, incidentally. It’s the only way stories can compete in an increasingly noisy society with a myriad of choices.

That’s the premise, anyway, behind this website! Today we have a shoplifting story by James Guthrie, “Code 99,” which is short and simple. We believe it’s also entertaining. As they say in the restaurant biz, enjoy!

“You,” the floorwalker shouted, pointing straight at me. “Let’s go.” And off he sprinted, assuming I was close behind.

Four Poems by John Grochalski

Poetry

Why the Che photo?

We have poetic entertainment for U.S. tax day– including a Che Guevara poem. Very appropriate if you think about it, whatever your viewpoint– whether you want more taxes, or less.

Hemingway (and the Bible) said “The Sun Also Rises.”

WE say, “We Also Publish Poetry!”

We hope you enjoy these four poems by underground poet John Grochalski. Should we run more poetry on this site? Can poetry be readable and entertaining? Striking and thought-provoking? Let us know what you think!

i want to ask him how he pulled it off

down there in bolivia

how he fooled us all and lived

but che looks like he hates

the 4 train as much as i do

Nanoseconds

Pop Lit Fiction

ARE we entering a golden age of the short story?

The case for the proposition can be made, based on the kind of stories being written– and more and more published by outlets like NEW POP LIT.

What characterizes new story writers is their ability to combine a clear writing style, reader friendly, with intelligence and meaning.

One of the best of them is Joshua Isard, who has terrific short stories upcoming at a number of places. We were fortunate to snag one of them, “Nanoseconds.” The story is about a young woman with tattoos trying to make her way in a buttoned-down institutional setting.

Where is the short story going? Read it and see!

She could feel everyone looking at her forearm. She turned it slightly, to make sure they could all see.

“Would you have asked me about my ink if I was a man, Dr. Kerr?”

Spring Preview

Announcement

Spring is here! Time for a fresh start, a new attitude.

What’s coming at New Pop Lit?

A lot! A mix of prose, poetry, and hype profiles.

First: stories. You want stories? We have stories! By some of the best short story writers in the English-speaking world, if not the entire universe. This includes tales by James Guthrie and Joshua Isard. It includes terrific new work by Anne Leigh Parrish and Scott Cannon, who’ve both appeared here before. Their talent is off the boards. We’re amazed we’re still able to obtain work from them– in different ways they exemplify a dawning new golden age of the American short story art. Would that these writers become as recognized as Faulkner, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald– but that’s our job!

Toward that end, we have a hype interview planned for Ms. Parrish– not before we post a profile of Jessie Lynn McMains and an interview with Samuel Stevens.

Finally, there’s poetry. We don’t publish a lot of poetry, but we received striking work from two very different poets, John Grochalski and Erin Knowles Chapman. Their work was too good to ignore.

If we get a chance to squeeze in another “Question of the Month,” we’ll do so. The first one was spectacularly successful.

Thanks for staying up on us. Our readers are all.

-K.W.

Sam

Pop Lit Fiction

We talk often here at New Pop Lit about reinventing the short story. We ask for contributions and help in this endeavor– but we also spend time working toward the objective ourselves.

Today we have a story from our own Kathleen Crane entitled, simply, “Sam.”

Note how “Sam” has similarities to our previous story– in its slice-of-life realism– but differences as well, mainly in terms of style.

In the artistic choice between fantasy and reality, we lean toward reality– it’s the source of the most moving and meaningful art. At the same time we know that realistic writing has to be more than bland accumulation of trivial details– it needs to connect as immediately as possible with the reader. Does the story “Sam” achieve this?

Kathleen Crane believes in simplicity in art– that a work can be superficially uncomplex yet express a great deal of power and meaning.

The attributes of her story might be described as simplicity, compassion, and truth. That was the objective– only you the reader can tell us if we’ve reached it or not.

She was an angel, and she had loved him, Sam. They had lived on the beach together in Miami, with him busking for money, and Melody dancing to the music on the white sand, long golden hair swinging in time.

(Artwork by Martin J. Crane Sr.)

I Was a Drunken Clifford the Big Red Dog

Populist Fiction

Underground writing? Have you ever read underground writing? Did you even know there was such an animal as underground writing?

We’re very high on zine/underground writing, because that’s where our roots lie. More than that, zines are authentic roots literature. They present writing that’s unprocessed and unfiltered– NOT strained through banks of editors and agents and committees and workshops full of politically correct, go-along thinking. They’re also throwbacks in their commitment to print, and to the U.S. Postal Service, in the way they present their art. Creating a zine, where you do literally everything yourself, from editing to formatting to designing to marketing and selling, is an arduous endeavor– but also fulfilling.

Today we have a story from one of the best, most politically-incorrect zine writers, who goes by the name of Fishspit. Read his story here, and see if it’s a more uninhibited story than the status quo variety!

Two things to note about Fishspit’s tale. 1.) it’s told in a folksy vernacular. 2.) in its voice but also its underlying theme it’s very populist– the reality of today’s economic situation is not broadly stated but everpresent.

(We have to ask: How many other struggling writers have donned the Clifford costume at some point?)

But we like the story because it’s entertaining!

I looked in the paper and the goddamned Smackover Library was hiring someone to shelve books. It was only a r a week gig . . . and it paid abysmally. Yet it somehow seemed prestigious . . . to work in a library . . . a far cry from all those fucking factories. To go from a factory grunt to a library employee seemed a step up, even though it was a step down in pay.

(Clifford photo courtesy of renowned children’s author Kathy Ellen Davis. Thanks!)

Another “Hype” Interview!

Interview

We’ve heard it from our fans. “We want hype! We want hype!”

Well, maybe not so much– but our writers (we hope) love the attention we want to give them. Or possibly they’re instead like a kitten escaping from Aunt Mabel and the rest of the cooing brood running after them. Oh well.

Our mission is to create literary stars. God knows the lit game needs a few of them. Today we feature an interview with one of the best short story talents around, Thomas Mundt. Who coincidentally has a fantastic story in our first print issue, called “The Act,” about a ventriloquist.

Is Thomas Mundt the best story writer in Chicago? It’s a question we ask Mr. Mundt straight up. Read his answer, and his other answers, in our exclusive interview with him. It’s a conversation not to be missed!