Polyphony 4 - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0972054766 ISBN 13: 9780972054768

Publisher: Wheatland Press, 2004

Synopsis

INTRODUCTION

It’s been a long, strange road since the first volume of Polyphony was conceived by the dashboard lights along the lonely miles of I-5 in the Willamette Valley. Two and a half years have gone by, three volumes have been published in the series, markets have changed, production technology has evolved, and somehow, our book has found a home in genre.

When Polyphony first took off, it was on a wing and a prayer, with the help of a few dozen supporters and a hell of a lot of hope. New Weird was not the topic of the hour, the definition of slipstream was even more arguable than it is now. The phrase "interstitial arts" hadn't crept into the critical lexicon, let alone spawned a foundation or a conference. We weren't even sure whether to call Polyphony "cross-genre" or "slipstream" or "literary with a genre sensibility" (the last being the least elegant but most descriptive). As Supreme Court Justice Potter STewart said in another context, "We know it when we see it."

We weren’t the first. Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Leviathan and Strange Horizons, to name several, had charted this oh-so-literate genre territory before us. We haven’t necessarily been the best—only the years will tell that. But we have been privileged to make a mark, and perhaps even set a standard, for a kind of fiction that many wanted to write, and many more wanted to read.

We could fill this book thanking all the mentors, authors, publishers, reviewers, critics, booksellers, friends, fans, and family members that have helped drive that winding road. Instead we thought we’d fill this book with stories.

Curl up and read. That’s what we’ll be doing because we still love short fiction. Deborah Layne and Jay Lake
Portland, Oregon
July, 2004

About this title

About the Author

ABOUT THE EDITORS

DEBORAH LAYNE founded Wheatland Press in 2002 and has been co-editing the Polyphony series ever since. Her own fiction has appeared at Clean Sheets, The Fortean Bureau and will soon appear in Flytrap 3. She is a member of the Wordos Writers Workshop of Eugene, Oregon. Having earned degrees in history, philosophy, history and philosophy of science and law, she is content to focus on speculative literature. Deborah lives in deepest, darkest Oregon with her family.

JAY LAKE is a 2004 Hugo Nominee (for his novelette "Into the Gardens of Sweet Night") and a 2004 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer nominee. His stories have appeared in places too numerous to mention including Realms of Fantasy, Strange Horizons and Asimov’s. He has three collections in print: Greetings From Lake Wu, Green Grow the Rushes, and American Sorrows. In addition to his work on the Polyphony series, he is the co-editor with David Moles of All Star Zeppelin Adventure Stories and the editor of TEL: Stories. He is a member of the Wordos Writers Workshop of Eugene, Oregon. Jay lives in Portland, Oregon.

From the Inside Flap

Wheatland Press is a 2004 World Fantasy Award Nominee.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wheatland Press
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0972054766
• ISBN 13: 9780972054768
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 428
• Editor: Layne Deborah, Lake Jay