Short Story

by Mark Sonnenfeld and August Ciufo

Marymark Press, 2006
ISBN: 1-887379-85-1

Well, I haven't got a clue what's going on here, but it's fun! Actually I'd guess the Gysin-Burroughs cut-up method was being employed to combine separate works by the two authors. It certainly reads like that, in places, though what do I know? The story is indescribable, at least by me, but it includes such diverse elements as Tech 3, where "tests were being conducted," a "flat broke" Professor, a director called Hans Severe, a man who "goes bersek with a nail gun," and Norman, who "went home angry." The page design experiments with different fonts and font sizes and there's associated imagery too, including a map of Los Angeles and a picture of the Beatles at Shea Stadium. Visually it reminds me of those old mimeographed experiments by people like d.a.levy, only cleaner.
I've had people tell me, in the past, that it was pretentious to like something you didn't understand, but hell...you could write to Sonnenfeld or Ciufo (their addresses are included!) and ask for an explanation of the theory behind it all, and they might even answer you with a long involved treatise on their creative method (though I doubt it). But sometimes it's fun just to sit back and enjoy the ride, head scratching and mental obfuscation included. Reading only what you know already is like looking in a mirror, as that amusing nut Artaud hinted many moons ago.