Stop the World: Snapshots from a Pandemic

© by Gerald So | 7:00 AM

My first blog post referencing COVID-19 was titled Stop the World. The title above is a Thalia Press anthology to be published August 4, to which I contributed a poem.

On the whole, the book will include seven poems, eleven short stories, and twenty-two personal essays by George Arion, Meredith Blevins, Jacqui Brown, Robin Burcell, Tim Cahill, Taffy Cannon, Richard Cass, Sarah M. Chen, John Clark, Matt Coyle, Z.J. Czupor, J. Madison Davis, Eoghan Egan, Dan Fesperman, Kate Flora, Tami Haaland, Naomi Hirahara, Wendy Hornsby, Jody Jaffe, Paul Jeffcutt, Allen Morris Jones, Tatjana Kruse, Craig Lancaster, Adriana Licio, Lise McClendon, Mike Monson, Donna Moore, Sharan Newman, Jim Nisbet, Gary Phillips, John Rember, Travis Richardson, Merrilee Robson, Caitlin Rother, Wendy Salinger, John Shepphird, Keith Snyder, Gerald So, Marian Stanley, and Piet Tiegler.

The print paperback is available to bookstores through Ingram. If your local bookstores would be interested in selling it at $12.99, give me their contact info, and I'll have Thalia send a press release and electronic advance copy.

Individuals can pre-order online from Amazon ($7.99 Kindle | $12.99 Paperback), Barnes & Noble ($7.99 Nook | $12.99 Paperback), Apple, and Kobo.

All 2020 profits ($5 per ebook, $3 per paperback) will be donated to charity at the end of the year.


JULY 1, 2020 UPDATE: Below is a copy of Thalia's press release.

STOP THE WORLD: Snapshots from a Pandemic
ISBN: 9780578717753
Thalia Press pub date: August 4, 2020
Contact: Lise McClendon
Email: StopTheWorldAnthology@gmail.com

Thalia Press is pleased to announce the release of a topical, up-to-the-minute anthology of personal essays, short fiction, and poetry based on experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in this unique year. Forty writers from around the world took time during this spring of lockdown, contagion, and uncertainty to explore and share their emotions and creative impulses for the record.

STOP THE WORLD: Snapshots from a Pandemic, a brainchild of editor Lise McClendon, was shepherded by her with her co-editors— Taffy Cannon, Kate Flora, and Gary Phillips—to bear witness to the events taking place all around us, and especially within us, as we grapple with disease, isolation, death, and, yes, a healthy dose of chaos.

Some writers chose to mine their own psyches and experiences, whether the challenges of life in lockdown or their struggles with productivity and focus. Others felt called to dystopian and wry, dark fiction. Across the globe the reactions portray a similar anger, pain, and struggle from writers from the US, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, Northern Ireland, Spain, Italy, and Romania.

As mystery writers the editors found many of their fellow crime writers willing to contribute, as was the well-known Romanian journalist and writer George Arion, true crime writer Caitlin Rother, German mystery writer Tatjana Kruse, thriller writer Robin Burcell, travel writer Tim Cahill, and more. The full list of 40 contributors appears at the end of this release.

Poetry by 92nd St. Y Literature Director Wendy Salinger, Irish poet Paul Jeffcutt, haiku poet Z.J. Czupor, and crime writers Jim Nisbet, Gerald So, and Keith Snyder adds its own special punch between essays and stories. Illustrations are included, especially from the United Nations Covid-19 Response Team Creative Content artists worldwide.

All profits will be donated to charity at the end of year. Global health and authorship charities are being considered as beneficiaries but readers are encouraged to nominate their favorite charity.

Thalia Press, an independent publisher, will bring out the book as both a paperback and an e-book. It is available now through all major online retailers and physical bookshops as a pre-order.

Authors, editors, and excerpts are available to booksellers, bloggers, reviewers, and other outlets to discuss and share their thoughts. Virtual events are encouraged in this unusual year.

Please contact Thalia Press at StopTheWorldAnthology@gmail.com.

Father's Day

© by Gerald So | 5:00 AM

My father died aged 66 in May 2001 from a reccurence of pancreatic cancer almost six years after a first operation saved his life. He is, of course, the first father I think of every Father's Day. I hadn't planned to blog about him this year because last year's post summed up my feelings well enough. This post is intentionally late, though, because it's in memory of one of my father's surgical partners, who, we heard yesterday, died from Alzheimer's disease June 4.

From 1984 to 2016, the doctor, his wife, and two sons lived in the house facing ours on Long Island. That final year, he and his wife moved to Boston to be closer to their younger son, two years my junior, now an economist. They didn't tell us then, but the doctor had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and his family had a history of the disease. One of his motivations to move was realizing he'd forgotten how to drive.

Saddened as I am by his death, I also feel the same sense of relief I did at my father's. Doctors know well the limits of what humans can do to preserve life. When we hope for loved ones' suffering to end, sometimes that only happens in death. But with that, we can remember them as we wish and make their goodness even more part of us.

Interfacing

© by Gerald So | 4:00 AM

Last week Blogger announced it was switching to a new interface in June. I switched early so it wouldn't surprise me. There are things I like about it and things I don't. For me, the best way to compose posts is still in plain text with markup tags. WYSIWYG mode throws in clutter.