ZYZYYVA 83: Fall 2008

EDITOR'S NOTE

In the beginning, I published as many famous writers as I could. I wanted to bask in their glory; I needed to establish my street cred.

After a few years, I realized I could serve the community better by concentrating on new voices. All told, I've introduced 241 first-timers; this issue celebrates our 25th year by reprising 25 debut stories.

They begin with AIDS and end with a mythic L.A. They deal with love, death, war, writing, Islam, jobs, family, show biz, anorexia, teaching, boxing...the hood and the marina.

The narrators run AMUQ-avant, multi, urban, and questioning. None are grim, some are funny. From the Bay Area (when first published), 11; L.A., 10; Cayucos, 1; Cotati, 1; Portland, 1; Japan, 1. Not currently living on the West Coast, including 1 deceased, 6.

The word fuck is used, when appropriate, in 15 stories.

I don't how I make so many discoveries. I used to think I had a taste for the raw...a capacity to intervene on behalf of fledgling texts. My new theory: the Previously Unpublished take their best shot. I see the cream of their crop, and since I read every submission....

My poster child is F.X. Toole, whose stories inspired Million Dollar Baby. He was 69 and had been submitting for 30 years with no luck. Nat Sobel, a New York agent who pays particular attention to litmags, saw Toole's story, signed him up, sold his collection in London, then in New York, and the buzz built.

A New York Times profile quoted Toole: "My fondest dream was to get published in a literary magazine. Think of the Sistine Chapel, with the fingers of God and Adam about to touch-that's my story. The odds against me being published and talking to you about it are greater than the odds against the existence of God."

Toole had been a matador, a boxer, a taxi driver, and a few other things, but he didn't really know anybody else in the litbiz, so he would call me up all the time and try to engage in literary conversation. He'd ask for advice about what to do next.

Eventually he growled, "Redford's sniffing around. He wants me to change the ending. The hell with him. If he sends me a check for $250,000, he can do whatever he wants."

I met Toole twice. First, when he came up from Hermosa Beach to visit his son; they brought over a gooseberry pie. We had talked a lot about pies, which figure heavily-largely? deliciously?-in his stories. The out-of-season gooseberries had once been frozen, but Toole's crust was perfect. The second time was for a drink the night the Commonwealth Club gave him a medal.

He died just before Clint Eastwood bought the property.

Haruki Murakami's first story to appear in English probably shouldn't count, but I'm including it here for the sake of bragging. (The translator was still in graduate school.) And as long as I'm bragging, I would like to mention that I published Sherman Alexie while he was still in graduate school.

I sometimes wonder about writers I've missed. On occasion, a rejected writer is kind enough to let me know that the manuscript I spurned has been bought by a much more prestigious, interesting, and better edited journal.

When ZYZZYVA launched in 1985, Amy Tan was still a "business" writer; she had begun publishing stories, but I know she didn't send me one before turning them into a novel. In 1985, Jeffrey Eugenides was working on his master's at Stanford-did he send me anything? Michael Chabon had arrived at Irvine already at work on a novel. Jonathan Lethem was working in a used bookstore in Berkeley. I know he sent me stuff, because I recently had a friend of his ask him. Apparently, I encouraged him to cut one of his stories (in the science fiction mode he was trying to transcend), which he did, but I still didn't buy it. He's since reworked it several times; it's one of his favorite early stories; I still don't like it.

Miranda July was just a kid-I knew her parents, who are publishers themselves, very generous in giving me advice and counsel when I visited them at their home in Berkeley; I thought their two children were bright and well behaved.

In the early nineties, I visited Dave Eggers at MIGHT, his spoofy Gen X zine. I liked it, I thought it was cool, but I had no sense that I should pursue him as a writer. I have published one of his drawings.

I know I rejected Khaled Hosseini, because a friend of mine told me that he told her that I was right to do so.

I did give David Guterson's sister, Mary, her first time in print; her second novel, Gone to the Dogs, is just out from St. Martin's. I published a story by Kathryn Chetkovich, Jonathan Franzen's girlfriend, that was included in Best American Short Stories. Et cetera.

The moral of these stories: Once upon a time in the wilderness of the slush pile, there were many lone voices crying out to be heard. And some were.


ZYZZYVA the journal of west coast writers & artists
	Fall 2009 • #86/87 FIRST FICTION IN PRINT 1986–2008 Kevin Bentley: Witness James Bleifus: Mr. Chicago Seamus Boshell: Bolloc Po Bronson: from Tackling the Family Beast Oliver Broudy: The Ballad of Mari-Ada and Junipero Jonah Charney-Sirott: On Becoming a Hafiz Drew Cushing: Henry Chitra Divakaruni: from The Bats Michelle Falkoff: Contract Cory Garfin: The Carousel Karen Karbo: from Tackling English Jarett Kobek: The Whitman of Tikrit Felicia Luna Lemus: Random Tea Parties Patty Lin: The Red Trumbull Diet Chris Mittelstaedt: Searching for Melpomene Jess Mowry: from One Way Haruki Murakami: The Kangaroo Communiqué Yxta Maya Murray: Girl on Fire Briandaniel Oglesby: Family Kleenex Eduardo Santiago: Bit by Bit Frederick D. Schoeneman: The Bottom Buster Sherry Shahan: Iris & Jim Jill Soloway: Courtney Cox's Asshole F.X. Toole: The Monkey Look Margaret Weatherford: East of the 5, South of the 10 WORKS ON PAPER ORIGINALLY IN B&W David Armstrong; Shay Bredimus; Melissa Cooke; Tyler Cufley; Jordan Essoe; Jackson Fahnestock; Lukas Felzmann; Tom Huck; Jeff Kao; Ira Korman; Joel Leivick; Craig Nagasawa; Natalie Obermaier; Robert Schultz; Linda Simmel; Peter Tonningsen; Whitey Vosburgh; Lindsey White COVER Nigel Poor, 18 Years of Date Books, from the series The Relative Value of Things, 2009, graphite and red ink on paper, 2 color digital prints, 14 x 22 inches, courtesy: Haines Gallery, San Francisco	EDITOR'S NOTE In the beginning, I published as many famous writers as I could. I wanted to bask in their glory; I needed to establish my street cred. After a few years, I realized I could serve the community better by concentrating on new voices. All told, I've introduced 241 first-timers; this issue celebrates our 25th year by reprising 25 debut stories. They begin with AIDS and end with a mythic L.A. They deal with love, death, war, writing, Islam, jobs, family, show biz, anorexia, teaching, boxing...the hood and the marina. The narrators run AMUQ-avant, multi, urban, and questioning. None are grim, some are funny. From the Bay Area (when first published), 11; L.A., 10; Cayucos, 1; Cotati, 1; Portland, 1; Japan, 1. Not currently living on the West Coast, including 1 deceased, 6. The word fuck is used, when appropriate, in 15 stories. I don't how I make so many discoveries. I used to think I had a taste for the raw...a capacity to intervene on behalf of fledgling texts. My new theory: the Previously Unpublished take their best shot. I see the cream of their crop, and since I read every submission.... My poster child is F.X. Toole, whose stories inspired Million Dollar Baby. He was 69 and had been submitting for 30 years with no luck. Nat Sobel, a New York agent who pays particular attention to litmags, saw Toole's story, signed him up, sold his collection in London, then in New York, and the buzz built. A New York Times profile quoted Toole: "My fondest dream was to get published in a literary magazine. Think of the Sistine Chapel, with the fingers of God and Adam about to touch-that's my story. The odds against me being published and talking to you about it are greater than the odds against the existence of God." Toole had been a matador, a boxer, a taxi driver, and a few other things, but he didn't really know anybody else in the litbiz, so he would call me up all the time and try to engage in literary conversation. He'd ask for advice about what to do next. Eventually he growled, "Redford's sniffing around. He wants me to change the ending. The hell with him. If he sends me a check for $250,000, he can do whatever he wants." I met Toole twice. First, when he came up from Hermosa Beach to visit his son; they brought over a gooseberry pie. We had talked a lot about pies, which figure heavily-largely? deliciously?-in his stories. The out-of-season gooseberries had once been frozen, but Toole's crust was perfect. The second time was for a drink the night the Commonwealth Club gave him a medal. He died just before Clint Eastwood bought the property. Haruki Murakami's first story to appear in English probably shouldn't count, but I'm including it here for the sake of bragging. (The translator was still in graduate school.) And as long as I'm bragging, I would like to mention that I published Sherman Alexie while he was still in graduate school. I sometimes wonder about writers I've missed. On occasion, a rejected writer is kind enough to let me know that the manuscript I spurned has been bought by a much more prestigious, interesting, and better edited journal. When ZYZZYVA launched in 1985, Amy Tan was still a "business" writer; she had begun publishing stories, but I know she didn't send me one before turning them into a novel. In 1985, Jeffrey Eugenides was working on his master's at Stanford-did he send me anything? Michael Chabon had arrived at Irvine already at work on a novel. Jonathan Lethem was working in a used bookstore in Berkeley. I know he sent me stuff, because I recently had a friend of his ask him. Apparently, I encouraged him to cut one of his stories (in the science fiction mode he was trying to transcend), which he did, but I still didn't buy it. He's since reworked it several times; it's one of his favorite early stories; I still don't like it. Miranda July was just a kid-I knew her parents, who are publishers themselves, very generous in giving me advice and counsel when I visited them at their home in Berkeley; I thought their two children were bright and well behaved. In the early nineties, I visited Dave Eggers at MIGHT, his spoofy Gen X zine. I liked it, I thought it was cool, but I had no sense that I should pursue him as a writer. I have published one of his drawings. I know I rejected Khaled Hosseini, because a friend of mine told me that he told her that I was right to do so. I did give David Guterson's sister, Mary, her first time in print; her second novel, Gone to the Dogs, is just out from St. Martin's. I published a story by Kathryn Chetkovich, Jonathan Franzen's girlfriend, that was included in Best American Short Stories. Et cetera. The moral of these stories: Once upon a time in the wilderness of the slush pile, there were many lone voices crying out to be heard. And some were. H.J.
	P.O. Box 590069 • San Francisco, CA • 94159-0069 ZYZZYVA home • subscribe • contact the editor

P.O. Box 590069 • San Francisco, CA • 94159-0069

ZYZZYVA home • subscribe • contact the editor