Over at The Millions, there is a great post on what to do with your rejection slips. There is a suggestion about a dress. There is also one about a tux. And there is the famous reminder that Steven King impales his on a nail. Me, I just keep them in a big stack, but I’ve been considering creating some kind of visual art with them. I was thinking about a gallery space where I could use them as wallpaper, and then hang a huge ball, an earth ball, from the ceiling, which would also be pasted with them. But best of all, I would use string and dangle them at various heights, so visitors feel like they’re walking through a snowfall of rejection. Cheerful, isn’t it? And yes, I’ve thought too much about it.
Dan Green at The Reading Experience has a great post on the recent ruckus of publishing the pre-edited versions of Raymond Carver’s stories. Despite the die-hard fans who clamor for what they see as the “real” Carver, and the academics who always need more sources for their dissertations, I’ve said before that this is not in Carver’s best interests. Green says that this will tarnish Carver’s reputation, making it difficult to ever read him without questioning whether this is Carver or his editor Gordon Lish, and I agree.
Jamelah Earle at Litkicks has a list of five favorite short stories — haven’t read the one by James Baldwin, but of course Flannery O’Connor is a favorite.
Ninth Letter reinterprets Kelly Link’s short story “The Girl Detective” by way of a video art piece. Kelly Link rocks, and Ninth Letter continually surprises me with the way they keep on stretching the conventional notions of “literary journal.” The video’s quite fun, too. (via Luna Park)
One thought on “Rejections, Raymond Carver, and Kelly Link”
Since I began to submit my short stories in 2005, I’ve received about 20-30 rejection letters, 1/3 of them personal notes (including those from Antioch Review, Paris Review, StoryQuarterly, and The Missouri Review). I don’t keep any of them. What’s the use after all? But I like your idea of creating some kind of art with them. Sounds like a good piece for MoMA in SF.