Ever wonder how journal editors make decisions about work to feature? The Take gives you a glimpse behind the scenes at Mud Season Review. Here, we feature one single poem or flash fiction piece that caught the attention of the editorial team, apart from the signature poetry portfolio or fiction piece in our bi-monthly issues. We hear from the author about the inspiration for his or her work, and we hear from a co-editor about why the poem or flash fiction story stood out.
Ace Boggess
Sermon
Sex toys, chickens, & a Spanish guitar I said I’d send you. Why? you ask. There is no logic in the universe. What physics claims or any televangelist promises, I assure you, it’s a joke told by a quantum god of fools to the cosmic audience, which includes you, includes me. That’s how my god works: he gives you the punchline after you’ve missed the setup, so you’re left musing on philosophies & incoherence: something about happiness, maybe, & how the key involves finding a proper balance of pleasure, food, & music; or, could be happenstance as how mud smells like a dead fish after rain.
From the Author
Awhile back, I took on a pen pal who was incarcerated (an experience I recommend, from the point of view of someone who both writes and has been locked up). This piece stemmed from that correspondence. It began as a meditation on the absurdity of prison, then quickly branched into thoughts on the absurdity of life and belief. It was a strange journey, but an enjoyable one.
From the Editors
In using long sentences with short lines, Boggess builds a skeptical momentum. If god is indeed telling jokes to fools, this poem has me believe it’s not necessarily a bad thing and to keep looking for a balance point. Although “Sermon” makes a case for a random universe, a reader is “left musing on philosophies” and “something about happiness.”
-Malisa Garlieb
