“The Marlin” by Aaron Calvin appeared in Issue 35 and can be found here.
We’d love to hear more about “The Marlin.”
“The Marlin” is the kind of story one can write when one stops worrying about the rest and just writes. There’s a naturally unhinged position the adolescent mind assumes, assuring a compelling narrative voice that’s nearly self-propelling. Desire rarely manifests itself in predictable ways or in a straight line and always seems to bring the desirer to a different place than envisioned at the outset, even if it’s only just slightly off enough to be unsettling.
What was the most difficult part of writing this story?
In many early drafts of stories I write, I end up overloading the exposition and meander along at the wrong pace before reaching the real action. Dismantling this bloat and developing a better narrative pace without sacrificing the voice I wanted to develop required a thoughtful scalpel.
Recommend a book for us which was published within the last decade.
If you want to read a book that makes short stories feel inventive and new, I recommend Jen George’s collection, “The Babysitter At Rest.” Being published by the press Dorothy is really the only letter of recommendation George needs, but even among other books they’ve published, George’s collection really stood out to me. Plus, I have a lot of affection for a short story that’s longer than most people think short stories should be.
If you could have a drink with any living author, who would it be? Why?
Ross Gay. I imagine it would be a remarkable experience to share a drink and a light meal with someone who must think the way Gay does in order to write the way he does. I also think it would be a joy to talk about NBA basketball as I’m sure he probably has something to say about every team in the league.
What are you working on now? What’s next?
I’m trying to take it one short story at a time, but I’m hoping to publish a few as a collection at some point.
Our thanks to Aaron for taking the time to answer a few questions and share this story. Read “The Marlin” here: https://www.sequestrum.org/fiction-the-marlin.
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