From an upcoming issue of Black Scat Review, here’s the beginning of a story about a fisherman and the fish who promises him wishes. Unfortunately, fish with magical powers are not always trustworthy. THE FISHERMAN’S WISH    The fisherman started out one bright morning, toting his rod and tackle. He was in a merry mood, […]

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Here, from Bedside Nonsense (see the last post), is the beginning of a story about Deucalion, the Greek equivalent of the Jewish Noah. He had to contend with all those hybrids, and it wasn’t easy. DEUCALION’S ARK Deucalion had different problems than Noah’s, since he had to stock his ark in the Greek mythopoetic part […]

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Bedside Nonsense is now available from Black Scat Books! This anthology, edited by Norman Conquest, offers a dizzying array of approaches to the nonsensical, by a lively group of writers and artists. I contributed “Amerigo and Isabella” (verses about the misadventures of Amerigo Vespucci and Queen Isabella) and “Deucalion’s Ark” (a story about the Greek […]

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Pink and Apple-Green is now available from Black Scat Books! By Alphonse Allais, translated, introduced, and annotated by Doug Skinner! This is the first English translation, and the first annotated edition in any language. It’s 261 pages: 44 stories, plus 5 extra stories. You can get one on Amazon. Alphonse Allais (1854-1905) was France’s greatest […]

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This story appears in Black Scat Review 19. Owen has rather a difficult time in it. Here’s how it begins: UP TO THE SUMMIT Owen slipped, and fell 25,000 feet to the jagged rocks below. Fortunately, he was unharmed. “Whoa!” he exclaimed, as he staggered to his feet. “I’d better be more careful.” A tall […]

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The 19th issue of Black Scat Review is now available! This issue’s theme is “ecstasy.” I contributed “Two and One” (a story about a love triangle, told entirely in three-letter words), “Up to the Summit” (in which Owen’s daily mountain climbing is interrupted by his mother’s sudden wedding), and “C11H13NO2” (an alliterative consideration of a […]

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Here’s the beginning of a short story to appear, or so I’m told, in the next issue of Black Scat Review. It’s a rollicking tale of a love triangle. Although rather bawdy in spots, it uses no four-letter words. TWO AND ONE Ivy was the one for Ira, and Ira was the one for Ivy. […]

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The alphabet always seemed to have a sort of plot to me. Here’s one possibility. THE ALPHABET It started with abundance beauty and clarity Apples and apricots for all Birds and butterflies in the blue Cats and dogs everywhere But it grew feebler and grayer As it hobbled and inched along It grew jaded and […]

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A few entries on logic and rhetoric, from the Scat Noir Encyclopaedia. ALLITERATIVE METONYMY: A rhetorical device in which a noun is replaced by an associated noun beginning with the same letter; for example: It’s a digestion eat digestion world. ANAPHORIC APOSTROPHE: A rhetorical device in which a person not present is addressed repeatedly; for […]

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This description of an artificial auxiliary language, which I hope is fictional, was one of my contributions to the Scat Noir Encyclopaedia. This book is still available from Amazon, and provides ample entertainment and instruction. HOOHOO: Hoohoo is an artificial auxiliary language, developed by Dr. Ernst Babner in the early twentieth century. Dr. Babner, a […]

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