Interfictions 2 Anthology Issue #42

Edited by Delia Sherman & Christopher Barzak

By Sarah Culver
Published: October 1st, 2009 | 3:23pm

Though the genre-be-damned approach of interstitialism is freeing for the author, it may be uncomfortable for the reader. I prefer to know what is on my fork before I put it in my mouth, and similarly, I psychologically anticipate a story. The anti-genre does not afford this luxury. Through discomfort, though, the mind is laid bare to receive exactly the impressions devoid of preconceptions.

Shira Lipkin’s “Valentines” is not fiction or biography, but a series of loops building a powerful picture of an epileptic’s inner life. On the one hand, Stephanie Shaw’s “Afterbirth” is a realistic account of childbirth with Picotin and a C-section. On the other, the event is attended by dragons. Surrealism is a part of birth just as the doctors are. The interstitial writer’s honest pursuit of a story and disregard of form catches us off guard. These stories are disconcerting and real.