FFR 170

"The duty of literature is to challenge rather than to provide answers." - Susan Sontag

"The true alchemists do not change lead into gold; they change the world into words." - William H. Gass

Dearest Readers of the Fowl Feathered Review (and let's be honest, those of you who've managed to navigate the labyrinthine bibliographic footnotes of previous issues, you deserve a medal, or at least a stiff drink):

Welcome, or, as one might say in more enlightened circles, "Greetings, denizens of the literary undergrowth, purveyors of the peculiar, and aficionados of the decidedly odd!" Yes, it's issue 170, and we've somehow managed to scrape together another collection of words that, if nothing else, will give your eyebrows a vigorous workout.

This time around, we've unleashed Daphne, the caterpillar with the pug's face, upon an unsuspecting world. Imagine, if you will, a creature so profoundly unsettling, so existentially perplexing, that Kafka would have considered it a bit much. Daphne, you see, has proven to be a veritable chameleon of the written word, morphing from a character in a gritty noir detective story to a whimsical protagonist in a pastoral sonnet, all without losing that essential pug-faced je ne sais quoi. It's a testament, I suppose, to the boundless (and possibly deranged) imagination of our contributors.

And speaking of contributors, we are positively tickled—or as tickled as a rooster can be—to have the venerable Hiram Larew grace our pages (and your eardrums, via the link below). Hiram, you are a poet of such profound depth and clarity that even a China Wok Habitué such as myself can grasp the sublime. We're honored, truly. (Though, between you and me, I suspect he slipped a haiku into my fortune cookie last week.)

Now, about those citations. We've been told, in no uncertain terms, that our previous bibliographic extravaganzas were "inciting a riot." So, this time, we've exercised a modicum of restraint. Two citations. That's it. We're practically paragons of bibliographic minimalism. One might even say, "citation-lite." We're hoping this will prevent any further uprisings in the stacks.

You know, as I sit here, amidst the towering piles of manuscripts and half-eaten takeout containers, I can't help but wonder: what is it about the written word that compels us so? Is it the sheer audacity of trying to capture the chaotic beauty of existence in ink? Or is it simply the thrill of finding a well-placed comma? (For some of us, it’s the latter.)

Anyway, I digress. As always, we hope you find something in this issue to amuse, bemuse, or otherwise occupy your cerebral cortex. And if you don't, well, there's always the internet.

Wishing you a day filled with literary surprises and minimal pug-faced caterpillars,
Virgil Kay,
Editor, Rooster, China Wok Habitué.

POETRY; Stream Abundance by Hiram Larew | Listen online for free on SoundCloud
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Keywords: Kafka,eyebrows