Where is the fandom for short stories? Some of the best fiction I’ve ever read has been in short form. From the most chilling tales – Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and H. P. Lovecraft’s “The Music of Erich Zann” – to the funniest (anything by Arthur Bradford), the key is brevity. It forces a story in between two walls, which may or may not be a beginning and an end – shaving the exposition that plagues many works seeking to be dubbed “high art.” Short stories can be deceptively simple, with implication coming only upon careful scrutiny.

Take, for example, the first piece in the latest Johnny America anthology, “The Battery Lickers,” by Jonathan Holley. Only nine paragraphs long, it describes two youngsters removing a battery from their older brother’s smoke detector and tasting it. A disturbing bit of black humour, yes, though it took me several reads to appreciate what is really being communicated. Perhaps a comment on the nature of bad behaviour and ideas being passed from one sibling to another? Such things must go on in every household. It’s not my place to claim for sure that I know what Holley means to say, though the concise nature of the form ironically leaves much greater room for interpretation. If the author had continued, the impact of his scenario would have lessened.

The Johnny America format is reminiscent of the McSweeney’s publishing phenomenon (at least it’s a phenomenon in my mind). Not only are they both warehouses for high-quality short fiction, but work to highlight the absurdities of modern literature. Much of the fiction in this anthology functions as both homage and send-up of traditional stuffy writing, utilizing esoteric language and references without taking the idea too seriously.

James Joyce’s monstrosity Ulysses is a common target for this kind of thing, here parodied in Jimmy Chen’s “My Father’s Bloomsday.” Instead of following the path of an average Dubliner, Chen documents a day for his titular elderly fellow, complete with many exaggerated displays of ill health and a three-hour lunch break. Of course the parody is pretty meaningless without knowledge of the reference. For those of you with lives outside of the library, there is “Say, Whatever Happened to Vidal Sassoon?” (Hosho McCreesh) and “Review: Wendy’s Baconator” (Holley again).

Not every piece works – even in short form some ideas overstay their welcome – but as an alternative to what passes for "funny" in North America these days, Johnny America’s publishing is a comfortable fit for our eyes and minds. I could go on ...

The Moon Rabbit Drinking Club & Benevolence Society Presents: Johnny America Six

More info:
www.johnnyamerica.net

Jessie Skinner has had his work published in TORO, MONDO, and other magazines that use capital letters excessively.