I have been really into Gretchen Peters lately. You might not know the name but you probably know her work, because she wrote “Independence Day.” “Nashville” (the song) is by David Mead (not Gretchen Peters), but I like her version better.1

July in posts

I did so few standalone posts this month that I can’t even thread them into a cute narrative. Writing a book is ruining my blogging!!!!!

July in writing abroad

The Lamp

Everything Was Glorious, Everything Was Shabby

“Total Eclipse of the Heart” was one of the first pop songs I ever loved, but the first time I heard it, it was in Estonian. (Don’t ask.) Later, I heard a parody in which somebody sang a narration of the events of the song’s very silly, very eighties music video. That was when I realized that the Estonian song I vaguely remembered had some kind of large…

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a month ago · 42 likes · 5 comments · BDM

July in Japanimation

July in perfume

August in research

You probably know that Playboy once had a blockbuster short fiction section, was a very prestigious place to publish, and so on. Oddly enough, Playgirl seems to have tried to do the same thing. But Playgirl was (I think it’s fair to say) never really able to get Playboy’s own kind of louche prestige, and thus its own attempts at developing a fiction section are not as well documented. A while ago, I ran into this problem after reading a letter recommending a story in Playgirl called “Only Occasionally and Very Small Dragons.” No author given. The title returns… nothing. But I found it very charming (the title, I mean), and I was feeling challenged. So.…

The letter is from the spring 1974. So we can guess it’s from sometime in early 1974 or late 1973. It’s certainly not older because Playgirl itself began in 1973. To eBay!

It may not surprise you to learn that (1) people who wrote not very famous short stories are not on the cover of Playgirl and (2) people who buy vintage Playgirl don’t really care about the fiction. However, eventually, I found a listing for a March 1974 that had a picture of the table of contents. Computer, enhance.…

Thar she blows.

Now that I am furnished with the relevant copy of Playgirl, which is somewhere in Michigan shoved under things so that I don’t have to look at the cover, I find there’s no author info about Sharon Pickens in the magazine. It doesn’t look like this person published that many other stories—if any.2 It’s an okay story; it’s definitely not a lost treasure but it’s not awful either. It’s basically about a woman who can make dragons, and her son can see them, but if he ever mentions the dragons her husband, who cannot see them, beats him. The title is the best part.

Anyway, what I have also discovered is that there’s a Ursula K. Le Guin story that was published in Playgirl and hasn’t (as far as I can tell) been anthologized. It is called “Cake and Ice Cream.” If this somewhat sketchy website’s listing can be trusted, what you want to find is the February 1973 issue, the one with the Hager twins. Or you can go to the University of Oregon and read it in the archive, which is what I did.

What kind of story is it…? “Cake and Ice Cream” is a story about turning thirty and hating your life. Its never being anthologized ever is probably a good stand-in for whether or not it’s worth reading beyond curiousity and completionism, and I would not say it’s worth paying $90 for (the going price on said sketchy website, into which I also would not personally want to enter any credit card information). It’s a little like Joanna Russ’s early realist stories which are fine but lacking an essential Russness.

But it does make me curious about who else might have written for Playgirl once and then never again. Not curious enough to buy a bunch of vintage Playgirl, however. I have to save that money for fanzines and trips to Oregon.

Sometimes I go on these journeys and then discover at the end that somebody already did all of that. (For instance, figuring out the identity of C.L. Moore’s mysterious and doomed fiance was a pleasant use of a few hours, but it had not only already been done, it turned out to be… in her Wikipedia page.) This time, however, I feel like… sixty percent confident that I am the only person to have done this particular journey for the Sharon Pickens story. (I have found one allusion to the existence of “Cake and Ice Cream” on JSTOR.)

Next month: 🎶 Salt air… and the rust on your door… 🎶

Some August preorders.

• Queen Mab (Emily McBride)

• Three Tenses (Ed Park)

• The Life of M. (Rachel Cusk)

• Thirty Cabins (Zine)

N.B. I really like Queen Mab. I read an ARC and pitched a couple places on a review without any luck. There will something about it on here in August or September.

August in Japanimation

• Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki), August 15

• My Neighbors the Yamadas (Isao Takahata), August 29

August in perfume

In theory, Providence Perfume, round two. However, because of traveling, that might get bumped back to September. We’ll see.

I said in the post announcing that I’m working on a book (dunno if you heard but: I’m working on a book…) (a book? I’m working on one?) that one possible future change was doing a monthly digest post. So I’m going to experiment with that idea. Here’s Experiment No. 1.

The monthly digests are partly an attempt to think in a slightly longer time frame. Up until now, the way I’ve done things is that I just send newsletters out whenever I feel they’re done. But now, ideally, I’d like to have some things ready in advance if they are already-recurring features—like the capsule reviews—because I want the newsletter to stay “general interest” and active even if I’m busy (while incorporating Weird Sisters stuff too).

I have made these digests their own “section” so that you can opt out of receiving them. We love an opt out at BDM Industries.… You can see how to navigate sections here.

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