"Submerging" from Overland Literary Journal 214 has been republished in Best Australian Stories 2014. Having "Submerging" nestled among these stories is a humbling experience. I would like to thank Jennifer Mills (Overland Fiction Editor) and also Amanda Lohrey (Ed. Best Australian Stories) for having the courage to choose a story that can be read as a straight narrative or as a metaphorical one.
Lohrey's introduction to the anthology is lovely. I thought I'd include some snippets here of her thoughts regarding the genre:
A good story has a distinctive form so that the whole is a sum of its parts. It should develop beyond its initial premises or scene-setting, it should be surprising and it should arrive at a form of resolution.
The art of the story is mostly about the journey, and the economy of means with which the writers here carry us a great distance is breathtaking. They may do this with a bardic fluency of style that has a quality of song, or they may do it with short, sharp sentences that are like jabs in the ribs. They do it in their own way and on their own terms, and we willingly surrender.
And regarding my own story:
Then there are stories that begin in a mode of conventional realism and end in a revelation of surprising poetry (Anthony Panegyres' 'Submerging').
Congratulations to all the writers involved in what's a fabulous celebration of the short story genre in Australia.
Great Chrissie gift too!
Congratulations. Looking forward to reading it
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carol. Really looking forward to the read myself. Julienne van Loon has a story in it and I've also read three of Ryan O'Neil's stories before (all very strong - in Dotdotdash Magazine 5, Wet Ink 14 and New Australian Stories 2). Amanda Lohrey's introduction is a lovely reflective piece on the genre as well as an homage of sorts to the strength and quality of Australian short stories.
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