Letter From The Founder
Happy new month!
We’re back once again with another Symposium, this time on the wonderful subject of the beach (I may have used my clout as group founder to push for this one). This is clearly an inspiring topic as this Symposium is far and away the best yet in terms of both the quantity and the quality of work submitted. We’ve got a whole host of essays on offer here as well as short stories, poetry, photography and some truly excellent paintings from the visual artists in our midst.
I’m extremely proud of this one and what everyone in the group has been able to achieve here. This combined with the fact that we have completely overhauled the layout of the community server tells me that things are on the up and up with the STSC. I can’t wait to see what the future brings for the collective and what manner of incredible art and creativity is going to come from within our ranks.
I hope you feel the same anticipation that we do.
But let’s focus on the present for a second. Let’s sit back, get comfortable and truly appreciate all of this months offerings. I’ve already read, looked at and pondered every piece here in the process of compiling this. But once this goes out I will go through them all again, as a fan, because the work is simply that good. I trust you will do likewise and enjoy the work as much as I do.
Until next time,
Live well,
Tom.
Essays
Freedom Beside the Waves by Pr0ph3t
‘The next time you are at the beach, enjoy the thrilling depth beneath you. Venture out to where the power of the waves humbles you and dip beneath the water to enjoy its breathtaking beauties?’
As regular readers have come to expect this piece from Pr0ph3t is excellent. But it is the final paragraph that takes it to another level. You’ll see what I mean when you get there.
Beaches by Craig
Contrarian Craig makes an anti beach case here, in this reprinted ‘classic’ of his. In an effort to appear democratic I have included this essay here, although I personally heavily disapprove of its message.
The Beach (revisited) by Lyle McKeany
I chuckle and I say, “You know, if you boil it down, we drove over two hours and paid $7.00 so I could take a nap while sand blew in my face.”
Immaculately observed, touching and heartfelt stuff from Lyle, which of course is exactly what we have come to expect. I loved this one.
bookmark #523 by Deepansh
The sea, the mountain or the city? Compelling musing as always from Deepansh. An awful lot is said (and said beautifully) in a mere three paragraphs.
The Misunderstood Beach and Its Mnemonic Emesis by Trilety
I’m gonna echo two great observations from the comments section on this one. First, each paragraph here is like it’s own wave of memory ebbing and flowing and secondly, yes, Trilety’s use of language is fascinating and unique. Which is why we love her work. Another gem here.
The Adequacy of Desire by Lyle Enright
There are around 250 STSC members as of me writing this (out of a maximum of 300, sign up now while stocks last etc) and two of them are called Lyle meaning we probably have more Lyle’s per capita than any other online community. And they are both fantastic writers too.
Here Mr Enright gets into Tibetan Buddhism, mastery, ideal self vs actual self and much more. Wise, extremely readable and very vivid- a rare combination of skills on show.
Mesolithic me, Anthropocene I by Timothy
It’s no surprise that ‘the beach’ as a topic has brought out many of our contributors lyrical poetic side. What’s surprising (perhaps) is just how good everyone has proven to be at that mode of expression. Timothy here is a prime example. There is absolutely fantastic prose on display here.
The Greatest Moment of My Life by Clint
Canine seaside enthusiasm captured perfectly. As soon as you sea how a dog reacts to being on the beach, you realise that parks alone will not cut it. This is a really fun piece.
Why I Refuse to Scuba Dive by Samantha Childress
The way this hinges on the coffee percolating sound is masterful. And I know that won’t make any sense until you read it which is why you must read it.
Flowing Thoughts by G.K. Gaius
The title says it all- flowing thoughts brought on by the idea of bodies of water. This is a lengthier piece from the usually terse G.K. a writer of short, short stories and verses for the most part. It was nice to see the growing range here. Personal and powerful.
The Waiting Game by Yardena
Hurricane Ian is bearing down on us, and the coast is vulnerable. Thousands have evacuated, but I'm far enough from the water to ride out the storm at home. My fear is primal yet tempered from a lifetime in this place. We've prepared, and now we play the waiting game.
The prose, the metaphors, the way it all ties together. Sensational. And of course a reminder of those in the path of Hurricane Ian and what they face.
Learning to Paint the Ocean by Jeanne
I’m not sure what makes me happier- seeing the paintings themselves or reading about the process of their creation and how the STSC inspired that. Wonderful stuff either way.
Beach Pianos by White Rose
A deep dive (I make no apologies for this pun) into pianos on beaches, underwater pianos, youtube videos and more. ‘A showroom of soggy and sandy keyboards’ indeed. I really enjoyed this completely unique approach to the prompt of ‘the beach’ and this vindicates why we have each months topic be so vague. Because it gives creators more room to roam rather than be tightly constrained.
A Late Night, Unencumbered Walk Along the Shores of North Myrtle Beach by Tony
He’s back! I’ve missed his streams of consciousness pieces. And 200 subscribers is still way too few for our man, in my opinion. That’s all I have to say on the matter.
The View from the Pier by Thomas J Bevan
The fact I effectively make a living by being able to write about whatever I want (in this case a nearby pier) is a blessing. I’m eternally grateful to all of you who support my work.
Symposium #5 _Beach by Sam McFadden
Our man Sam once again wheels out the old typewriter for this months entry. Yes, you could argue this is fiction and not an essay, but I don’t care. The photo breaks up the text and links around it nicely just as a nice dip in the ocean breaks up a day at the beach. And yes, sand does have a way of getting everywhere. Lovely work here from Symposium Sam.
Video
Dry Beach by D.B.
D.B. deservedly gets his own Video sub category here. This is art with a big old capital A. I hope you enjoy watching this video as much as I did. D.B. is a phenomenal talent.
Art/Photography
Visual art should speak for itself. If it needs explanatory text then it is (arguably) not communicating what it was designed to say visually.
So with that being said I am going to simply present the painting and photography submissions with their title and creators name. They speak for themselves. Enjoy.
Grant’s Shell, 6 x 6, oil on canvas panel by Amanda
Laguna Beach, Oil on canvas by Dominic
STSC Symposium on "The Beach" Photobook by Sam Bartol
Click the link above to browse the whole series of Sam’s beach photography.
‘I didn't have time to write anything, other projects going, but here's a picture of a beach I'm pleased with... Feel free to include or not at your discretion’ by James
James didn’t submit any poetry or prose, simply the above photo (which is very good) with the above message. As he didn’t provide a title, I decided to make his message the title. Seemed fitting.
Fiction
The Three Arguments by Alex
This is a FICTIONAL story of a family: Hank, Helen, their baby son, and their dog Milt.
This story is most definitely NOT based on my life or the recent family vacation my wife Lauren and I took to Malibu with our baby and dog. Not at all.
To make it clearly, this piece is definitely fictional which is why it is in the fiction section. It is also very, very good as is the accompanying audio.
Gathering amber. A short story by Oleg
The promise of fame, however insignificant, always worked. The Bureau even had the stats to prove
Really enjoyed the tone of this one, the imagery, the central conceit. Gonna have to deep dive through Oleg’s whole archive now. Excellent stuff.
Digging The Beach by Mark Dykeman
A dispatch from the imagination indeed. Great to see Mark stretching into fiction and showcasing his range here.
The perfect gift by Yuelian
So much said in such a short space. Extremely evocative and really lovely clean prose too.
An Impossible Island, Chapter 1 by Edward
Vivid visuals and great dialogue from our man Edward. He is new to the substack fold but I’ve been enjoying his experiments in fiction and prose for a good long while now. I highly, highly recommend that everyone subscribe to his ‘stack immediately.
Look At The Horizon by Vanya
‘One day Illarion Illarionivich, an enthusiastic esthete with exquisite features of his appearance and even more exquisite features of thought sat marvelling at the setting sun sinking slowly down the murk beyond the edge of the ocean, and chatted with Vitya, grimacing, hunching, wrapping his arms around the warmth of his body, defending against the evening marine chill.’
This is how you open a story. Forget about the modern rules on short sentences and small words and all of that. If you’ve got Vanya’s gift for prose writing you need to luxuriate in it, just as he does here. Another great addition to his growing body of work.
Poetry
Poetry, like paintings, should speak for itself. For the heart more than the head. So I’ll just say click the links to explore more of the poets work and to support them.
The Beach: A Sonnet by Adam Kozek
The rolling sea did call to me so sweet
Where crashing surf meets yielding sand, two worlds
Colliding, foes locked in combative feats,
The sea, the stronger, strikes the land all furled.
The shore, deceptive refuge from sea’s ire,
Does grant a place to view Neptune’s domain,
The deep that beckons to the soul’s great fire,
A watery grave where silence does reign.
Enter the surf and taste primaeval fear
Between two clashing giants, sea and sand.
The savage surf did roll and cast me here.
Upon the shore again I take my stand.
I left the beach then for I hate the weather.
I have sand in my shorts that chafes my nethers.
Strands of Strand by David Torkington
Busy ears articulate cheerful hubbub
Breakers eat away crustacean homes
Boys etch asinine carvings here
Before eventide and cumulus heaps
Burnt epidermis a calculated harm
Birds edify a child happy
Boardwalk extends atop churning H2O
But extinct anon, cyclone hither
Bewitching effulgence, a colored horizon
Borne Edenic athwart creation’s hearth
Blest eyes attend, character heartened
Beauty exits and cycles henceforth
So that was the STSC symposium on The Beach. 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 support the STSC via my personal Substack, 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.
This is still just the beginning.
Cheers.
The Beach
Fantastic work, these Symposia just keep getting better and better.
Love this can’t wAit to read All of them. Also thank you for honoring the fact that my piece is definitely obviously without any doubt a work of fiction.