#david galef

[novlr]

"Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth." — David Galef (from "Albert Camus, Creative Writing Instructor")

[motif-motifs]

I'm reading Where I Went Wrong by David Galef.

Setting: U.S.

Published: 2025

Genre: Fiction

[batgovernor]

David Galef, 'How to Say "Thank You" Abroad'

Donkey, mercy, grassy ass, Effin’ Christ, something with God? Spacey bow and airy ghetto, Tic-tac-toe—or smile and nod. Glossary: danke, merci, gracias, efcharisto, deo gratias, spasibo, arigatō, tak. ***** David Galef comments: “The idea for this short (previously unpublished) poem came to me years ago when I was learning Japanese, and the mnemonic for the phrase “you’re welcome” (dō…

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[batgovernor]

Weekend read: David Galef, 'A Question of Emphasis' or 'Wanna Make Something of It?'

“poetry makes nothing happen . . . .”—W. H. Auden, “In Memory of W. B. Yeats” Poetry makes nothing happen. Song lyrics, on the other hand, Wedge into people’s hearts When sung by a heartthrob band. Poetry makes nothing happen. It doesn’t enforce a cause. That’s the way of propaganda, With all its fixed applause. Poetry makes nothing happen. But I’ve seen something sublime In the eyes of a…

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[kilterstreet]

You can work on the art of noticing. What do you pick up as you walk along the corridor to class? What do you smell when you hit the cafeteria? Our sense of sight is so primary that "I see" is tantamount to "I understand," but that doesn't mean you should neglect sound, touch, taste, or smell. Or invent your own sense, some other way to apprehend the world.

from Brevity: A Flash Fiction Handbook by David Galef

[batgovernor]

Epigram: 'The Gods Compete'

Epigram: ‘The Gods Compete’

The gods compete; some harvest verse, some tears, Some deaths in battle, some vague hopes and fears. This epigram is nondenominational–in the sense that I don’t have any preference for how people view, or are attracted to, some particular god. More challenging is the punctuation. Good punctuation definitely helps guide the reader through the meanings of the passage, but what is ‘good’ varies by…

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[batgovernor]

Potcake Poet's Choice: David Galef, 'Justification'

Potcake Poet’s Choice: David Galef, ‘Justification’

And malt does more than Milton can To justify God’s ways to man. —A. E. Housman When I am beaten down by work and love, And others head for local dives to drink, I clench my soul and strive to rise above, For stimulating words to make me think. O show me Milton’s paradisial route, Far airier than the foamiest of stout. Of man’s first disobedience and the fruit Are all I need and all I care…

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[batgovernor]

Potcake Poet's Choice: David Galef, 'The State of the Art'

Potcake Poet’s Choice: David Galef, ‘The State of the Art’

Literature, that romantic old bastard, Is sick again, aslant on his chair Like a spread-eagled book, already plastered By noon and mumbling life’s unfair. He speaks these days, ventriloquizing In a voice long ruined by social disease, His brilliant spasms slowed to writhing And minute gestures that nobody sees. What can we do for the drunken degenerate? Tear up his license, make sure he’s not…

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