Introduction to The Trembling Fist

Introduction to The Trembling Fist (published 2013)

Son, we live in a world that has words, and those words have to be guarded by men with dictionaries.

Who’s gonna do it?

You?

I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom.

You have the luxury of not knowing the connection between words like macabre and macramé.

And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, is a literary necessity.

You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me in that thesaurus; you need me in that thesaurus.

I use words like penis, fart, retarded.

I use these words as the backbone of a life spent in the creative process.

You use them as a punchline.

I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the spell of the very prose that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it.

I would rather you just said thank you and went on your way.

Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a laptop, and write a story.

Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you’re entitled to.