I've seen many things on and around Boston Common during the 25 years I've worked in the area, but Wednesday's walk was interrupted by something I had not seen before: A stark naked man with long dreadlocks casually strolling about greeting people. Not the most pleasant sight, I'll admit, and some of the people he greeted were visibly, and understandably, more bothered than others, but the novelty of seeing something so unexpected along a route I walk almost daily and on which I see more or less the same things day in and day out was a welcome jolt to attention in its own way.

Later that day, between classes, I walked a couple of blocks from my office for something to eat and while waiting at a crosswalk I was passed first by a cybertruck then a moment later not much farther along by a woman towering above me on a penny-farthing bicycle. Two poles of personal transportation, each presented as the vanguard in its time, each looking a bit ridiculous on the road (much, much sooner in its lifespan for one than the other). Each chosen by someone who presumably hoped to stand out in their choices and taste.

I thought of those sightings again yesterday while reading submissions to the journal, sometimes accepting stories another editor elsewhere might not be drawn to and at others declining a story even while knowing some other editor would snap it up right away. Not every story works for every reader, but the submission queue is such a rejuvenating, inspiring place to spend time seeing all the different ways in which different writers respond to the world. There's an illusory sameness to the surface of things, to daily mass culture and to the klaxon of misery and suffering of daily news. It's reassuring to know, whether or not I'm an enthusiast of naked men with dreadlocks in the park or of cars that look like cardboard mockups in a low-budget science fiction movie or of penny-farthings on busy streets, that there are people out there doing their thing, shaking the everyday up, and that there are writers shaping and submitting stories doing the same. There's a whole lot to notice out there and it's no use for all of us to see all the same things.

Here are some things I would like you to notice, though:

On Monday, Rachael Nevins reviewed The New Seoul Park Jelly Massacre by Cho Yeeun, translated from Korean by Yewon Jung for Honford Star. Rachael has been reviewing books for NF since  2018. Her previous reviews can be found here, here, and here. For the past two decades she has been writing about books, motherhood, and running, most recently at her Substack, The Variegated Life.

Then on Wednesday we kicked off October series of spooky stories, this year with the theme "Dangerous Creatures." First in that series is "The Killeen" by Nancy Connors, published with us for the first time. 

In contributor news, I'm pleased to share that Terena Elizabeth Bell ("A Good Leg Is Hard To Find," 2020) saw her debut short fiction collection Tell Me What You See (Whiskey Tit, 2022) named one of the "best books of the 21st century (so far)" by the New York Society Library.

And early NF contributor Robert Kloss has a new novel, The Genocide House, available from Bridge. There's also a multipart trailer available here.

Until next time, thanks for reading, and I hope you see some interesting things in your comings and goings this week.

Steve Himmer