Christopher Walken on Bees
So. Bees. They’re funny characters. They move
around.
Making that noise they make. I have a hunch.
They’re talking
somehow. So. It’s not a noise they’re making.
It’s just bees. Talking.
The pub’s atmosphere is soaking with music. Drifting down, it fills the air with a gentle fog of sound. Quiver orders a citrus Gender Cracking cocktail and looks around. At the far end of the room there is a small commotion. A crowd of star hoppers, all celebrating the Bad Boys of Blasty’s decisive victory in aggravated desk tennis, have stormed the room. A pause, a moment’s quiet, and there she is, the redhead, spectacular, translucent, her skin the color of green jade, wearing a tight white suit of derived homeo-static photons, and walking her way, a robokitty neatly tucked beneath her right arm. Never before has Quiver felt so absolutely, irreversibly, made of flesh. This is what it is, she thinks, flushed and rising, to be what Mic calls CHARISMATIZED. The music swells a current pop hit by the Chromatids—Jelly:
Even before she has a moment to consider it, Quiv and the redhead effortlessly collide, dissolve, and in sweetness adhere—an amalgam of Matter and Light. Another instant and they are entwined, nymphs converging in a sudden turquoise cocoon woven of stardust, mica, and moss—one couple among a multitude suspended from the ceiling. In such ways is love attained on Trafik—that place not above or behind but between; a place where love gains access in the lee of immeasurable life.
After love, the redhead tells Quiver her name is Tremor and her robokitty is Flutter. Quiver expresses her delight in Flutter’s fleece and Tremor’s everything, including her green skin.
“Everyone who hangs out on Trafik long enough becomes green,” Tremor explains. “Soon my little robokitty will be green, too, as, my beloved, will you!” Then, reaching for the sky and yawning, Tremor says, “Hey Quiv! Let’s take a run together in the unfolding afternoon’s virtuals and realities!”
Coffee House Press began as a small letterpress operation in 1972 and has grown into an internationally renowned nonprofit publisher of literary fiction, essay, poetry, and other work that doesn’t fit neatly into genre categories.
Cofee House is both a publisher and an arts organization. Through our Books in Action program and publications, we’ve become interdisciplinary collaborators and incubators for new work and audience experiences. Our vision for the future is one where a publisher is a catalyst and connector.
Funder Acknowledgments
Coffee House Press is an internationally renowned independent book publisher and arts nonprofit based in Minneapolis, MN; through its literary publications and Books in Action program, Coffee House acts as a catalyst and connector—between authors and readers, ideas and resources, creativity and community, inspiration and action.
Cofee House Press books are made possible through the generous support of grants and donations from corporations, state and federal grant programs, family foundations, and the many individuals who believe in the transformational power of literature. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to the legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Coffee House also receives major operating support from the Amazon Literary Partnership, Jerome Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Target Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). To find out more about how NEA grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
Cofee House Press receives additional support from the Elmer L. & Eleanor J. Andersen Foundation; the David & Mary Anderson Family Foundation; Bookmobile; Dorsey & Whitney LLP; Foundation Technologies; Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.; the Fringe Foundation; Kenneth Koch Literary Estate; the Matching Grant Program Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation; Mr. Pancks’ Fund in memory of Graham Kimpton; the Schwab Charitable Fund; Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner, P.A.; the Silicon Valley Community Foundation; and the U.S. Bank Foundation.
The Publisher’s Circle of Coffee House Press
Publisher’s Circle members make significant contributions to Coffee House Press’s annual giving campaign. Understanding that a strong financial base is necessary for the press to meet the challenges and opportunities that arise each year, this group plays a crucial part in the success of Coffee House’s mission.
Recent Publisher’s Circle members include many anonymous donors, Patricia A. Beithon, the E. Thomas Binger & Rebecca Rand Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation, Andrew Brantingham, Dave & Kelli Cloutier, Louise Copeland, Jane Dalrymple-Hollo & Stephen Parlato, Mary Ebert & Paul Stembler, Kaywin Feldman & Jim Lutz, Chris Fischbach & Katie Dublinski, Sally French, Jocelyn Hale & Glenn Miller, the Rehael Fund-Roger Hale/Nor Hall of the Minneapolis Foundation, Randy Hartten & Ron Lotz, Dylan Hicks & Nina Hale, William Hardacker, Randall Heath, Jeffrey Hom, Carl & Heidi Horsch, the Amy L. Hubbard & Geoffrey J. Kehoe Fund, Kenneth & Susan Kahn, Stephen & Isabel Keating, Julia Klein, the Kenneth Koch Literary Estate, Cinda Kornblum, Jennifer Kwon Dobbs & Stefan Liess, the Lambert Family Foundation, the Lenfestey Family Foundation, Joy Linsday Crow, Sarah Lutman & Rob Rudolph, the Carol & Aaron Mack Charitable Fund of the Minneapolis Foundation, George & Olga Mack, Joshua Mack & Ron Warren, Gillian McCain, Malcolm S. McDermid & Katie Windle, Mary & Malcolm McDermid, Sjur Midness & Briar Andresen, Daniel N. Smith III & Maureen Millea Smith, Peter Nelson & Jennifer Swenson, Enrique & Jennifer Olivarez, Alan Polsky, Robin Preble, Alexis Scott, Ruth Stricker Dayton, Jeffrey Sugerman & Sarah Schultz, Nan G. Swid, Kenneth Thorp in memory of Allan Kornblum & Rochelle Ratner, Patricia Tilton, Stu Wilson & Melissa Barker, Warren D. Woessner & Iris C. Freeman, and Margaret Wurtele.
For more information about the Publisher’s Circle and other ways to support Coffee House Press books, authors, and activities, please visit www.coffeehousepress.org/pages/donate or contact us at [email protected].
We gratefully acknowledge the following supporters of our 2020 Give to the Max Day campaign:
Nancy Baumoel, Meenakshi Chakraverti,
Neal Davis, Kay Emel-Powell, Michael Ferry,
Katharine Freeman, Dean Kimmith, Linda LeClair, Allegra Lockstadt, Matthew McGlincy, Craig Mod, Timo Parfitt, Nolan Skochdopol, Eric Tucker,
Lani Willis, Tarn Wilson, Grant Wood, C Pam Zhang, and many anonymous donors
Rikki Ducornet is a transdisciplinary artist. Her work is animated by an interest in nature, Eros, tyranny, and the transcendent capacities of the creative imagination. She is a poet, fiction writer, essayist, and artist, and her fiction has been translated into fifteen languages. Her art is exhibited internationally, most recently with Amnesty International’s traveling exhibit I Welcome, focused on the refugee crisis. She has received numerous fellowships and awards, including an Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Bard College Arts and Letters Award, the Prix Guerlain, a Critics’ Choice Award, and the Lannan Literary Award for Fiction. Her novel The Jade Cabinet was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
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