by William Kitcher
I have been asked by the editors of this fine and august magazine to write an introduction to my short story, “Brides Glue Component.” I’m very flattered to have received this request for two reasons. The first is that I have never been invited to do so before, and the second is that this magazine rarely, if ever, asks for introductions (or prefaces or forewords, for that matter). I’m truly honored.
In order to introduce my story, I must start with what it is not. It is not a horror story, which is designed to scare or shock or make one shudder; my story doesn’t do that, at least not intentionally. It is not science fiction or fantasy, genres of amazement and fantastica occasionally done well but more often poorly, using all the timeworn clichés that aficionados have railed against for years. It is these poor examples which often become successful films and TV series.
My story is not a western nor a mystery, nor a romance nor any particular category that can be identified as a genre. Nor can my story be called a comedy, although it contains comic elements. Publishers are always reticent to publish a story that is funny for the sake of being funny, unless your name happens to be Kurt Vonnegut, Steve Martin, Woody Allen, or Dorothy Parker. I am none of these humorists so I tend to stay away from outright comedy. The comedy in my story is hidden beneath a veneer of satire and drama, which seems to satisfy no one.
My story is not historical nor autobiographical and does not fall into the category of “coming-of-age story set in Depression-era Nebraska”, which seems to be popular these days.
It’s not a swashbuckling adventure, nor is it a slice-of-life vignette intended to illuminate part of the human condition. It’s not an analysis nor prose proem nor diatribe nor menu nor epistolary rhetoric. It doesn’t argue for or against any particular point of view.
Having determined what my story, “Brides Glue Component,” is not, it remains to be said what it is, although I seem to have eliminated almost every type of writing I can think of.
I’ve read the story again a few more times, and it seems to me that it is not unique nor of general interest. It plods along with only traces of a tangible plot, something about a couple of sullen dreary teenagers who find a ten-dollar bill on the street and then talk about it.
The story would appear to be a lame mishmash of many of the abovementioned types of writing, with both feet not firmly planted in any particular genre. It is not exceptional in any way, and therefore not something that I can, in good conscience, recommend that you read, and I trust that the editors of this fine and august magazine will withdraw my story from publication.
William Kitcher’s stories, plays, and comedy sketches have been published, produced, and/or broadcast in Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Czechia, England, Germany, Guernsey, India, Ireland, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, the US, and Wales. His stories have appeared in Fiery Scribe Review, Ariel Chart, New Contrast, Spinozablue, Eunoia Review, Defenestration, Yellow Mama, and many other journals. His noir novel, Farewell And Goodbye, My Maltese Sleep, the second funniest novel ever written, was published in 2023 by Close To The Bone Publishing and is available on Amazon.