Some fun facts. A group of jellyfish is sometimes called a bloom, sometimes called a swarm, sometimes known as a fluther, and once upon a time was referred to as a blubber. Sometimes, fantastically, it’s called a smack, and we’ve had a smack and a half of stories this month!
This was our celebrity issue, the response to a special call for submissions. We published more stories than usual, and whilst some of them were light and fun, much like celebrity itself, others were weighty and sublime. In particular, I recommend Sara Lippmann’s Hey Baby, Elaine Chiew’s Stronger, Beverly A. Jackson’s Dusty Hoffmann Isn’t Greek, and Stuart Greenhouse’s Bulbs. But honestly, every single story is worth reading, sharing, and reading again.
Some more fun facts. A jellyfish, of course, is neither a jelly nor a fish. In many countries it’s called a medusa, named for the snake-headed charmer of Ancient Greece. In Indonesia, where we’re based, it’s called an ubur-ubur. In Estonia, it’s a millimallikas. In Haitian, fossilize yo, in Icelandic, marglyttur, in Filipino, dikya. And, my favourite, in Portuguese the jellyfish is an agua viva, which translates more or less as ‘water alive’. The water alive this month has been incredible, and the water alive next month gets even better!
Stronger by Elaine Chiew
Dusty Hoffman Isn’t Greek by Beverly A. Jackson
Hey Baby by Sara Lippmann
Joseph Conrad Took Twenty-Five Years to Bust My Balls, That Twit by Louis Roddan Leggett
In Which Jabba the Hutt Stops By For a Coffee by Jonathan Cardew
Louis by Martin Heavisides
Lincoln in New York by Christopher Stanley
Huey Lewis and No News by Steve Bogdaniec
Bulbs by Stuart Greenhouse
Clyde’s Other Work by Daniel M. Shapiro
Sophia by Lynn Mundell
Nothern Manhattan (My Secret Life with Chris Noth) by Iris N. Schwartz
In Which Woody Allen Goes For a Pedicure by Jennifer Fliss
Alligator Wrestling with Elvis by Len Kuntz
Whoo! Talk about a fluther of millimallikas!
Coming soon – great stories by Paul Negri, Thomas Kearnes, Kevin Tosca and Paul Beckman, among others. Also, we may be releasing another special call for submissions, so keep your eyes peeled. In the meantime, we’re keen to keep receiving great stories, so please check out our submissions page and send us something amazing.
(Picture from here)
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