The taste of God.
Posted: May 25, 2015 Filed under: Uncategorized 7 Comments
Art by Hazel Lee Santino. Honeycomb and Castilleja.
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My short story “Gustus Dei” (Latin for “the taste of God”) is up today on The Baffler. I love this story so much and I’m so happy to finally share it with the world.
Morsels be:
(1) I wrote it for my application to Clarion in 2008. It’s based on a conversation I once had with my sister Clare at the Cleona Dairy Queen about how much we wished there was a “buffet bar” for the Eucharistic wafer.
(2) It has been rejected 51 times, as you can see in my anti-résumé. From the time it was last rejected in 2011 to when it was published in 2015, I did no revisions. It’s exactly the same story.
(3) So hey, fuck the “merit alone” argument. It was finally published because (Kim) Stan(ley) Robinson, who was reading Clarion applications in 2008 and loved the story so much that he called me on the phone to convince me to attend, remembered and recommended it to The Baffler a few months ago.
(4) This is why I always say that, while talent and hard work and luck and circumstance all matter to success as a writer, so do connections. They really do. For better and worse.
(5) Eat something you love today. Maybe while reading this story.
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monica byrne 
A slight adaptation of the 5 laws of librarianship might fit here: Every editor his/her story and every story its editor. Really enjoyed Gustus Dei!
Thank you!
A yes 🙂
Drink Mild!
I love all your Morsels be: but (4) I adore. True blue you.
First of all, congratulations on Gustus Dei, I’m looking forward to reading it. Also, imagining its inception conversation at a Dairy Queen in which a Eucharist buffet is imagined is too wonderful for words.
I think it is amazing that you have shared your anti-resume with the world. It is beyond heartening for struggling artists of all kinds. Wow and thank you.
I will definitely be eating something I love today and it will involve nutella, so this day is already looking up.
You’re so welcome. And thank you for your kind words.
Reblogged this on adieiman.