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arthurmandal.bsky.social
Brit/US writer of uncanny fiction. Over 30 stories in The Barcelona Review, LITRO, december, The Forge, 3:AM, La Piccioletta Barca,The Summerset Review and others. @nightjarpress Based in Eugene, Oregon (but grew up in UK). www.arthurmandal.com
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My top ten list of literary criticism – no. 5: “Is There An Indian Way of Thinking?” by A. K. Ramanujan. I love this essay because the author answers the question in such a sprawling, confident, unabashed way. It twists, and turns, and mocks itself, and quotes everyone and -thing it feels like.

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

I’m not here to slander academics. But if you do write that history of the transatlantic human slave trade, maybe look a little less cheerful when you promote it at your book fair.

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

Just watched the film “Don’t Look Up” for the 2nd time. It pains me to say this, but as time goes on, this film is only going to get truer.

submitted 9 days ago • 0 comments

The peer I’m sharing this week is Laurence Foshee, an Oaklahoma poet who somehow manages to write poetry inbetween (whilst?) working full-time at a hospital in Tulsa. Here are two of my favorite pieces of his – couldn’t find a website.

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

A flash fiction of mine came out yesterday with Marrow magazine. It’s called “A Ghost Story”. Many thanks to Caitlin Woolley for accepting the piece. marrowmagazine.com/a-ghost-story/

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

One of my favorite ghost stories is an Indian film by the director Satiyajit Ray – Monihara (1961), based on an famous story by Tagore. Don’t let the flickering, scratchy, b/w feel of the film put you off – it has some chilling moments. Eerie soundtrack, too. www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEcU...

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

My top ten list of literary criticism – no. 6: Eliot Weinberger on translating the Bible (or trying to). www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v3...

submitted 18 days ago • 1 comment

Just read two stories that truly creeped me out. “The Removal” is the story of a move which has some odd aspects to it; “The Junction” is an uncomfortable tale about a man who befriends sb in a car accident. Low-key, underrated horror. @iancritchley.bsky.social @nightjarpress.bsky.social

submitted 20 days ago • 1 comment

This week, I’ve had two bits of good news. 1.Finally got a piece accepted in the Los Angeles Review, after three fails. 2.Got my second nomination within a week for Best Small Fictions prize, this time for my piece “History Lessons” in The Forge. Many thanks to both these journals.

submitted 24 days ago • 0 comments

Nice piece by Kamila Shamsie in the current issue of the Barcelona Review. The only other thing I’ve ever read of hers is HOME FIRE, a contemporary British-Muslim take on Antigone, which I loved. www.barcelonareview.com/111/e_ks.html

submitted 26 days ago • 0 comments

Time for some pics. Here are some photos of Mexico, something to remember it by when it gets invaded by the US.

submitted 29 days ago • 1 comment

Pain is just another form of information. -Don Delillo, "Underworld" (1997)

submitted 33 days ago • 0 comments

Watching “Paw Patrol” with my three-year old son. This episode: The heroes’ supertruck gets stolen. It looks like the toy product was designed first, and then an entire cartoon episode was written around it.

submitted 35 days ago • 0 comments

Just got my first nomination ever for an award (Best Small Fictions 2024). Even them getting my name wrong hasn’t dampened my joy. Many thanks to @rgvaughan.bsky.social and Bending Genres for suggesting me.

submitted 37 days ago • 4 comments

RIP David Lynch. What a unique mixture of sublimity, pathos and horror you gave us.

submitted 38 days ago • 0 comments