The Weekly Atticus (07/29/2017)

A recap of the week at Atticus Review, along with some extras.

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Dear ,Lately I've been having a hard time figuring out what to write. Ok, that's not entirely true. I know what to write, I'm just not sure how to write it. A lot of this predicament is about whether to write fiction or nonfiction. Mostly, my concerns lie with the question of what is "fair game." Many of our stories also belong to other people. My problem with figuring out what to write has a lot to do with being concerned about the "after." Recently, I re-read To Kill a Mockingbird as background research for managing this journal that shares a name with the main character of that book. The first time I read the book was in Ms. Coburn's 10th Grade English class which was *ahem* … 27 years ago. I needed a refresher.In the process of reading the book, I also read articles about Harper Lee and her relationship with Truman Capote. It's extraordinary that these two individuals, who were childhood friends at five years old in the same small town in Alabama, each went on to produce two of the most recognizable titles in 20th century American Literature. And it's similarly inconceivable that after each had written their respective "masterpieces," (or in Lee's case, her only book) neither of them published another book, unless you count Go Set a Watchman, which actually preceded Mockingbird. There is something both ominous and captivating about neither author ever finishing another book, especially given the fact that Capote lived another 20 years and Lee another 56.There has been much theorizing as to why each author wound up not producing any more books after having such success: Lee was a recluse and wanted out of the spotlight; Capote was an alcoholic and fell prey to his demons. I guess these are fine reasons, as reasons go. But each had projects in progress, which would indicate they were still at least trying to write. It was well known, for instance, that Capote was working on what he thought would be his next masterpiece, Answered Prayers, and a few chapters of it had even been published in Esquire. Those chapters may have led to some “fallout” from his friends, which may have made it difficult for him to get the book finished. I wonder: are the "recluse" and "alcoholic" explanations the causes or the symptoms? Maybe the simple answer is that neither could figure out how to write the things they wanted to write. Maybe they struggled with protecting people. Maybe they struggled with protecting themselves. Maybe they stopped wanting to deal with fallout. I don't believe wells dry up. But I believe that the motivation to go to the well may. Every untold story is a love story, a sort of beginning. And in that way, every told story is the story of an end, a break-up. Getting from the untold to the told is a path to heartbreak. Maybe the writers who keep writing are the ones who don't mind continuing to get their hearts broken. Or maybe they are just the ones with bad memories. I am still trying to figure out which of those two categories I fall into. Maybe both.We have some more great stories, essays, poetry, and reviews for you below. But first, a bit of scheduling business: Atticus Review will be going on break for August. We will start back up again with fervor in the fall.Thank you for reading. We hope you enjoy the rest of your summer. We're glad you're here.

David Olimpio Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

THIS WEEK AT ATTICUS

FERAL TOWN by Adam Gustavson

WERNER

BOOK REVIEW: LOVING A NIGHTMAREA Review of Cult of Loretta by Kevin MaloneyReview by Alyssa Gillon"Cult of Loretta is a quick and wild ride, funny in a way that makes a campfire-listener shake her head with disbelief at the survivor. At times the story reads like a drug memoir, and there’s some raw and gross imagery I’d rather not revisit. Other than that, spend a day or two lost in Nelson’s unrelenting and tumultuous love story. Nelson’s here to tell the tale, to provide a deadpan screen for a melodramatic story about obsessive love that sticks."READ MORE

FICTION: KEEPERby Lauren Becker"Having calculated the mathematical unlikelihood of someone better coming along within the next five years, Jonathan wooed her and they moved in together quickly. In this third year of living in the small Midwestern town, a pretty girl with short hair and few belongings started the PhD program in Linguistics. Jonathan moved into her immaculate studio apartment."READ MORE

POETRY: THERE IS A DEAD CROW IN THE FREEZER, ANNIEby Nicole Mason“Gender will be dead soon, and good riddance, I say. There is a dead crow in the freezer and you should feel its weight.”READ MORE

NONFICTION: THE ARTICHOKE’S HEARTby Isabel Houck"She thinks it’s clean, that after the initial shock, it is no longer sad. But she forgets death's clutter. How her records won't sound the same if she isn't the one dropping the needle. How all the things she will leave behind are worthless once empty of her. How just like the bit of artichoke meat left on the leaves, her home will decay without her."READ MORE

MOVING WORDS from Arts by the People"Moving Words is an ARTS By The People project made possible by a generous grant from The Santiago Abut Foundation, in loving memory of Santi Abut. It is an exciting transnational collaboration amongst artists of prose, poetry, voice acting and animation. Moving Words intersects voices of all ages through twelve writers of various groups whose submitted works will transform into short films by students at the Shenkar School of Engineering and Design. These writers, under the guidance of ARTS By The People’s writing scholar, have their works voice acted by students at Drew University, and subsequently animated by college students in Israel."READ MORE AND WATCH A TRAILER

FILM REVIEW: Nolan’s Modernist Masterpiece: A Review of Dunkirkby Emily Moeck"DUNKIRK, directed by Christopher Nolan, is not a war film, at least not in the way that Hollywood has trained us to expect. There are no grand heroics of male camaraderie, no narrative backstory of what the soldiers are fighting for, no epic battle sequences against the enemy. In fact, the enemy stays largely out of it."READ MORE

THEATER REVIEW: A Revival of Nuance: A Review of Lynn Nottage’s “Intimate Apparel”by Rachel E. Diken"To revive a play by Lynn Nottage is to revive nuance. Under the direction of Daniela Varon, Intimate Apparel shows this summer at Shakespeare & Company in the Berkshires."READ MORE