Glen Hirshberg's Blog - Posts Tagged "journal"
Biblio-Curiosa and the Fangs of Suet Pudding
T.R.U.E., Week of 7/15, Post #4:
Biblio-Curiosa (Unusual Writers/Strange Books) presents...
From way Down Under comes an old-school, straight-up zine--the kind that used to appear in the side-wall racks at hipster newsstands, or get passed from friend to friend, or featured on Distro sites--featuring one Chris Mikul writing with verve and wonder and honesty but no condescension about lost books everyone should read ABOUT (and at least a few everyone should probably read). He's done at least 8 issues in the past three years, I believe (I have the first 6). A sample title, from issue #1:
How about a better-than-fair English thriller, pre-WWII, about the looming German invasion of a tiny French village, told from the point-of-view of a resilient, spiky young narrator named Loreley, who one day looks out her window and sees a man who proclaims himself "a burglar." Loreley likes his face. So she lets him in.
His name? Why, Suet Pudding. Naturally.
There follow cave entrapments, spies, derring-do, a tense and ruthless game of Snakes and Ladders which apparently takes place between Loreley and the vicious Suet under Loreley's bed. Loreley shows her stiff upper lip by singing "Rule Brittania" even as Suet forces her to keep playing.
The name of the book? The Fangs of Suet Pudding. The author? Adams Farr. Information about the intrepid Mrs.--Miss?--Mr??--Farr? Good luck with that.
You may or may not hunt down this book (although I assume it's clear that I will). But at the very least, check out more about this fantastic little labor of love. There's no website, just a blog ABOUT the zine which puts you on Chris Mikul's trail. Go remind yourself what "indie" used to mean, and what it was for. And who it was for. Meaning you. Us.
Biblio-Curiosa (Unusual Writers/Strange Books) presents...
From way Down Under comes an old-school, straight-up zine--the kind that used to appear in the side-wall racks at hipster newsstands, or get passed from friend to friend, or featured on Distro sites--featuring one Chris Mikul writing with verve and wonder and honesty but no condescension about lost books everyone should read ABOUT (and at least a few everyone should probably read). He's done at least 8 issues in the past three years, I believe (I have the first 6). A sample title, from issue #1:
How about a better-than-fair English thriller, pre-WWII, about the looming German invasion of a tiny French village, told from the point-of-view of a resilient, spiky young narrator named Loreley, who one day looks out her window and sees a man who proclaims himself "a burglar." Loreley likes his face. So she lets him in.
His name? Why, Suet Pudding. Naturally.
There follow cave entrapments, spies, derring-do, a tense and ruthless game of Snakes and Ladders which apparently takes place between Loreley and the vicious Suet under Loreley's bed. Loreley shows her stiff upper lip by singing "Rule Brittania" even as Suet forces her to keep playing.
The name of the book? The Fangs of Suet Pudding. The author? Adams Farr. Information about the intrepid Mrs.--Miss?--Mr??--Farr? Good luck with that.
You may or may not hunt down this book (although I assume it's clear that I will). But at the very least, check out more about this fantastic little labor of love. There's no website, just a blog ABOUT the zine which puts you on Chris Mikul's trail. Go remind yourself what "indie" used to mean, and what it was for. And who it was for. Meaning you. Us.
