Note from the Editors
Amal says: Happy fall! This issue comes to you in part from Penryn, Cornwall, more precisely from a wine bar replete with squiggly electric chandeliers, a gilt-framed mirror draped in strings of faux-pearls, and chartreuse walls covered in patterned, pistachio-coloured felt flowers that would do William Morris proud if he were opiatic. The sky is full of seagulls and jackdaws, the houses are made of stone and plaster, and the air outside smells of dry leaves and smoke. Inside it smells of alcohol and chocolate. It's a good time of year to be indoors, to be outdoors, to be breathing in or sighing out, to go digging in the woods for secrets. This is a creepy issue if ever there was one, so fortify yourselves with mulled drinks and warm friends before perusing it, and take particular care when reading certain items aloud.
Special thanks this issue go to Catherynne Valente and Mike Van Helder for technical assistance at zero hour. We are particularly grateful to the former for bringing more belladonna into our lives. Thanks too, as ever, to our brilliant, amazing contributors, who never fail to leave us completely in awe.
Jess says: And now, for some items of interest! For those who are interested, there is an interview up at Cabinet des Fees with your innocent editrices -- yes, of course I mean us. In the days directly following the interview, so many people e-mailed about mugs and t-shirts that we were finally motivated to dust off CafePress and give it a go. In case it needs to be said, we make no profit; every cent goes to paying our contributors and maintaining our server. Follow the link that says "Market."
We were greedily gleeful to note that a total of seventeen poems published in Goblin Fruit received honorable mentions in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008, edited by the Ellen Datlow, Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant. What poems could those be, you wonder? What poets? Well, here you go -- motivation to comb through the archives! By issue, the honorable mentions went to --
Winter 2007: "Winterborne" by J. C. Runolfson, who has two poems in this season's issue;
"Flax" by Catherynne Valente;
"Elise" by JoSelle Vanderhooft;
"Handless Came the Maiden" by JoSelle Vanderhooft.
Spring 2007: "I Met A Mermaid on the Metro" by Casey Fiesler;
"They Threw Their Daughters Into The Sea" by Karen Romanko.
Summer 2007: "Reflected" by Rosalind Casey, who has another poem in this season's issue;
"Seducing the Crone" by Katharine Mills;
"How does he know?" by Kate Chadbourne;
"Tales for Children" by Joshua Gage;
"Postscripts from the Red Sea" by Sonya Taaffe.
Autumn 2007: "Her Last Murder" by Jennifer Crow, who has two poems in this season's issue;
"The Monkey's Eye" by Marlo Dianne, who has another awesome poem in this season's issue;
"Alabama Ghost Pool" by J. T. Glover;
"Old House" by Alex Dally MacFarlane;
"Golem Branle" by Katharine Mills;
"Longing" by Jaime Lee Moyer.
It's no big secret that autumn is a favourite season here at Goblin Fruit. This issue is full of ghosts, of longing and of wind; we hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed putting it together, which was very much indeed. Don't forget to read poetry, new and old. Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath are witching poets; John Donne is a good poet to snuggle up with. Here's a poem of his, to set the tone:
THE APPARITION.
by John Donne
WHEN by thy scorn, O murd'ress, I am dead,
And that thou thinkst thee free
From all solicitation from me,
Then shall my ghost come to thy bed,
And thee, feign'd vestal, in worse arms shall see:
Then thy sick taper will begin to wink,
And he, whose thou art then, being tired before,
Will, if thou stir, or pinch to wake him, think
Thou call'st for more,
And, in false sleep, will from thee shrink:
And then, poor aspen wretch, neglected thou
Bathed in a cold quicksilver sweat wilt lie,
A verier ghost than I.
What I will say, I will not tell thee now,
Lest that preserve thee ; and since my love is spent,
I'd rather thou shouldst painfully repent,
Than by my threatenings rest still innocent.
Now head back to the Table of Contents and start reading!