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Authors: Gordon Lish

Collected Fictions

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GORDON LISH
, born in 1934 in Hewlett, New York, is the author of numerous works of fiction, which together with his activities as a teacher and editor have placed him at the forefront of the American literary scene. Fiction editor at
Esquire
magazine from 1969 to 1976, in 1977 he became an editor at Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, where he worked until 1995. Among the writers he is credited with championing are Harold Brodkey, Raymond Carver, Don DeLillo, Barry Hannah, Amy Hempel, David Leavitt, Gary Lutz, Cynthia Ozick, Christine Schutt, and Lily Tuck. From 1987 to 1995, Lish was the publisher and editor of
The Quarterly
, a literary journal that showcased the work of contemporary writers. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship (1984), and in the same year won the O. Henry Award for his story “For Jeromé—with Love and Kisses,” a parody of J. D. Salinger’s story, “For Esmé—with Love and Squalor.” Among his seven novels are
Dear Mr. Capote
(1983) and
Peru
(1986). The present volume is comprised of stories from the collections
What I Know So Far
(1984),
Mourner at the Door
(1988),
Self-Imitation of Myself
(1997), and
Krupp’s Lulu
(2000). He lives in New York City.

ALSO BY GORDON LISH

Dear Mr. Capote
What I Know So Far
Peru
Mourner at the Door
Extravaganza
My Romance
Zimzum
Selected Stories
Epigraph
Self-Imitation of Myself
Arcade
Krupp’s Lulu

Gordon Lish

Collected Fictions

 

OR BOOKS, NEW YORK

© the entire collection 2010 Gordon Lish

Visit our website at www.orbooks.com

First printing 2010.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except brief passages for review purposes.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data:

A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress

British Library Cataloging in Publication Data:

A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library

Typeset by Wordstop Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Chennai, India

Printed by BookMobile, USA

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

TO JONN MEYER GREENBURG GREENE

CONTENTS

 

FOREWORD

EVERYTHING I KNOW

HOW TO WRITE A POEM

WHAT IS LEFT TO LINK US

GUILT

I’M WIDE

IMAGINATION

SOPHISTICATION

TWO FAMILIES

FOR RUPERT–WITH NO PROMISES

WEIGHT

FLEUR

THREE

IMP AMONG AUNTS

THE PSORIASIS DIET

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL

FEAR: FOUR EXAMPLES

FOR JEROMÉ–WITH LOVE AND KISSES

[ENTITLED]

THE DEATH OF ME

MR. GOLDBAUM

THE MERRY CHASE

SHIT

RESURRECTION

HISTORY, OR, THE FOUR PICTURES OF VLUDKA

THE LESSON WHICH IS SUFFICIENT UNTO THE DAY THEREOF

CAN YOU TOP THIS?

THE WIRE

MR. AND MRS. NORTH

LAST DESCENT TO EARTH

THE TRAITOR

SPELL BEREAVEMENT

THE PROBLEM OF THE PREFACE

LEOPARD IN A TEMPLE

THE HILT

MY TRUE STORY

BALZANO & SON

THE FRIEND

AGONY

DON’T DIE

WHAT MY MOTHER’S FATHER WAS REALLY THE FATHER OF

THE DOG

KNOWLEDGE

BEHOLD THE INCREDIBLE REVENGE OF THE SHIFTED P.O.V.

ON THE BUSINESS OF GENERATING TRANSFORMS

FISH STORY

AFTER THE BEANSTALK

SQUEAK IN THE SYCAMORE

HOW THE HEAD COMES OFF

SOPHOCLES

THE DEAD

WOULDN’T A TITLE JUST MAKE IT WORSE?

EATS WITH OZICK AND LENTRICCHIA

PHILOSOPHICAL STATEMENTS

A PARTY OF ANIMALS: IN LESS THAN THIRTY MINUTES

THE FOREIGNER AS APPRENTICE

PRAISE JABES!–AND MYRON COHEN

GHOST STORY

THE LITTLE VALISE

KONKLUDING LABOR OF HERKULES

UPON THE DOORPOST OF THY HOUSE

DOG STORY

IN THE CITY OF GRAMMAR

REVISION OF THE PRODIGAL SON

MISS SPECIALTY

DE PROFUNDIS

FANGLE OR FIRE

THE HOTEL HE’S IN

THIS CRAZY THING CALLED LOVVVV

MRS. ORTESE

TRAVELING MAN CONTINUES TO OVERCOME RULES OF STATE

JOUISSANCE

THE OLD EXCHANGES

NIGHT OF THE HARNESS, DAY OF THE TRUSS

WARBIRD

THREE JEWS ON THE WAY HOME FROM A CLASS

PRACTICE

LIFE OF THE WRITER, DEATH OF THE WRITTEN-UPON

BUON DIVERTIMENTO, ANNA!

ESQUISSE

NO SWIFTER NOR MORE TERRIBLE A CONFESSION

APPEARANCES

AT LEAST THIRTEEN WAYS OF LOOKING AT LOOK

FUCK JAMES JOYCE

WIND

NARRATOLOGY TO THE PEOPLE!

BRRR

WHAT WAS GOING ON OUTSIDE OF 458 BROOME? OR, WHICH WAS IT HEMINGWAY HAD, PATIENCE OF A SAINT, OF A HUNTER, OF THE DUMB?

MARTIN

PEOPLE REALLY TAKE THE CAKE AS FAR AS HER

ACT

IN REALITY

FACTS OF STEEL

GROUND

THIS SIDE OF THE ANIMAL, OR, BRICOLAGE

THE POSITIONS

MERCANTILISM

THE PRACTICE OF EVERYDAY LIFE

CRAW

LOUCHE WITH YOU

PHYSIS VERSUS NOMOS

AMONG THE POMERANIANS

THE TEST

MAN ON THE GO

ORIGINS OF DEATH

UNDER A PEDIMENT

HOW THE SOPHIST GOT SPOTTED

BOOK: Collected Fictions
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