Jon McGregor is an
author new to me.
In the 2017 Betty Boop flasher New Yorker (Great cover!) you’ll
find a piece about McGregor by James Wood.
So much of what
Wood said (and quoted) from McGregor’s latest novel, RESERVOIR 13, sent shivers
through me.
Like hearing the
surprise rattle-clang of a cow bell, or the rush of soft soles through a long
pile of dry leaves, the ribbed red oak leaf between my thumb and forefinger …
I bought RESERVOIR
13 at my local book shop and it was the last copy on the shelf. The man who
collected my money, whose taste I respect, said he was reading it himself. “Very
good” was his welcome critique.
On the cover’s
back leaf I saw that McGregor (I like to use his name because the protagonist
of my as-yet-unpublished pseudonymic
novel is called McGregor) edits something called The Letters Page.
I went online to
look for it – and loved what I found. (Try it here http://bit.ly/2j41E48 )
It’s been awhile
since I’ve felt the urge to send out new work to journals, but this one edited
by McGregor put me in the mind to come up with a letter and send it along to
him. If nothing else, I’d be thrilled to think that a writer as talented McGregor
would be sitting down and reading my work.
With that, I think
I’ll go for funny. In writing letters to friends and family I find they (the letters,
not the recipients) are at their (same, the letters) best when I think of my
reader being tickled enough to laugh.
Yup, I’ll be
sending a letter to McGregor soon. Definitely something to look forward to!
Next: Running for
Your Life: Curling? In Brooklyn?
