Letter From The Founder
Over at the Soaring Twenties Social Club community we spend some time each month debating what the theme of the next Symposium will be. Some people make sensible suggestions, some clearly have their own niche interests that they advocate for again and again. And some are watch-the-world-burn saboteurs who push for the most silly, non-commercial, bound-to-lose-us-subscribers topics you could possibly imagine.
(There was a heated discussion about whether ‘Man Staring at a Potted Plant’ could be a viable theme to hang a dozen or two essays, stories, poems and paintings on. And to be honest it wouldn’t surprise me if the naughty kids at the back of our metaphorical classroom end up gathering enough of a consensus that this folly ends up coming into being)
But for this issue the theme was obvious and it was staring us all in the face from the off.
And that theme is of course- Beginnings.
We are at the beginning of a new year and we are at the beginning of a new era for the STSC. Throughout January we stated our intentions, laid out The Code and provided people a chance to support us (which plenty of you very generously have). And throughout this month, less than a week old, we have begun our three-times-per-week schedule via tremendous work from Brady ( Think On These Things), Vanya (Vanya Bаgаev) and Trilety ( Trilety Wade ).
It’s truly a new beginning with all of the excitement, hope and promise that this brings. So what better way to complement that than to provide you today with a giant serving of essays, stories, poems and even a short film that all tackle, discuss, critique, celebrate and champion the idea of Beginning?
So with all of that out of the way- let’s begin.
Essay
The Shameful Addiction of Suck and Chew by Trilety
I am Jack’s complete lack of surprise as to how good this essay was. Intense, raw, unflinching and true- all qualities that regular Trilety readers have come to both expect and treasure.
Bookmark #648 By Deepansh
Every line, every utterance is quotable. After 648 attempts (more now) Deepansh has honed his eye and his voice to an incredible degree of sharpness. And I suspect he is going to continue to get even better.
Beginning, again by Lyle McKeany
You don’t criticize a plant blooming in Spring. You don’t curse a baby bird for figuring out how to fly. You don’t berate someone who goes back to school to learn something new.
And yet, you criticize yourself for needing to start over.
A much, much needed reminder that life is a process of dusting off, of regrouping, of going back to the drawing board, of starting again. Powerful stuff as always from Lyle.
It Begins With Us by Timothy
We are meaning making machines. This is our greatest skill as humans, but also our greatest weakness. We can hijack ourselves through story as much as open the world up to unimaginable possibilities.
As someone who is especially susceptible to this hijacking through story thing, this essay hit home. Timothy is one of those fonts of clear-eyed, courageous, honest sense-talking that are sadly all too rare today.
My reading plans for 2023 by Terry Freedman
Behind the ironically glib and straightforward title of this piece there is a short discourse on the need for intuition, exploration and following whim that is vitally important and that many of those wrapped up in ‘self-improvement’ and signalling really need to take in and internalise.
The Beginning of Bliss by Clint
And the first step of creating is noticing something interesting.
Out of everyone I have encountered online who talks about creativity and the process of art Clint is the one who I feel the most sympatico with. I consider him to be someone who ‘gets it’ in the way that very, very few do and this pieces is a great demonstration of how he can make the ephemeral, intuitive nature of creation something that can be understood and cultivated. This is essential reading.
Butterflies Trapped in a Cavern of Entrails by Tony
I mean, from that title alone you know you are on to a winner. And from one Park Bench Philosopher to another I can tell you that our Tony has that undefinable ‘it’ when it comes to this writing business. If your one of Tony’s loyal cult followers your gonna enjoy this one and if you’re not this might just be the thing that makes you convert. God help you.
Fiction
Before The Big Bang by Vanya
Alliterative protagonist name? Check. Deadpan absurdity? Check. Hilarious dialogue? Check. Exuberant, witty, delightful turns of phrase? Check.
There’s all the patented Vanya ingredients in this one. Always a joy to read.
An Observer of Nature by Minna
Minna is a relatively new face at the STSC bar but she has certainly set out her shingle and made a name for herself with this one. There’s an understated confidence and lightness of touch with this story that lets you know she is not messing around. Beguiling.
The divider by Oleg
A further member of out cold countries contingent steps up with a gem of a short tale. Second person is not an easy thing to pull off but Oleg does it brilliantly here. Seemingly effortless simplicity takes an awful lot of practice and craft to achieve.
Late Night Discontent by Vita
There’s something about the STSC community which means that people join as essayists, as thinkers and explainers and theorisers and soon evolve (or devolve in some people’s opinion) into artists and storytellers. I consider the encouraging of this metamorphosis as one of our major achievements. And it seems like Vita has caught the story writing bug. Hopefully there will be many more such tales to come.
The Beginning by Thomas W. Gardner
I need to be careful- it seems there is another Thomas in town vying to be a writer of searching, poignant, English set stories about memory and complex relationships and ordinariness. And he’s good too. This could be a problem.
Static by Yuelian
One of the signs of a good writer for me is someone who has the ability to move a reader forward without always having to lean on dialogue and movement and action. Yuelian has this skill in spades as this story amply demonstrates. To coax a reader along is way tougher than dragging them.
The Heartbreak by G.K. Gaius
There’s an awful lot packed into a very, very small space with this one. This is the best kind of flash fiction and minimalism in action. I can tell you that this is way harder to pull of than it may at first appear.
Symposium 8- Beginnings by Sam McFadden
My prime nemesis in the STSC community and the consistent voice of harassment for me to actual write some new fiction puts me to shame here by knocking out a very short story on his typewriter. The gauntlet has been thrown.
Poetry
Scarification by Yardena
The test of poetry is not in it’s technical cleverness (or deliberate lack thereof) but in how strongly the imagery and mood the piece intends to evoke sticks with you afterwards. And Yardena’s work here passes this test with flying colours. An extremely resonant piece of art, this.
Art
Chaohusaurus 2560x1440, digital by David
This is David’s first piece of digital art and so marks the beginning of his journey into art. I for one am very curious to see how he develops in this medium.
Video
Early Morning, Astoria Park by D.B
This is a beautiful piece of work with a real meditative tranquility to it. It reminds me of those establishing shots in all of those classic Ozu films. Calm compositions that establish a mood and put you in that half dreamlike but half high alert and aware state that is the perfect place to be receptive to art and life.
The best of art reminds us that the ordinary (which is to say life) is in fact extraordinary. And this short is a fine example of this dynamic in action.
So that was the STSC symposium on Beginnings. We hope you enjoyed reading it as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Thank you for your support with these projects we put together, thank you for reading them and thanks for all of your comments, feedback and notes. Thank you for taking the time to share them and pass on the word.
And of course above all thanks to all of the contributors and those who help keep the STSC going via their kind support, especially those who keep a low profile, I hope we will be able to coax more of you into taking the plunge and participating in future issues.
And finally: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Cheers.
Man Staring at a Potted Plant --> gonna use it in my next piece :)
The best literary magazine out there.
Special shout out to Thomas W. Gardner, "The Beginning" took my breath away at many points.