Subject: (urth) My Experiences Writing Hoaxes by Gene Wolfe

From: Michael Andre-Driussi <mantis at siriusfiction.com>
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 02:56:24 +0000

Matthew Davis wrote:
>It was mentioned in one of Fantastic Metropolis's end of the year round-ups.
>Mike Moorcock got various authors to contribute and it was an interesting
>exercise, not least because quite a few of them seemed to be having more fun
>making up books than recommending genuine ones. The quotes from Wolfe in the
>recommendation were something along the lines of "Note to myself: am I being
>too recondite?" which seemed a little too deliberately bathetic to be true.

Thank you, Bibliographer!  Ah, so your sense is that it was a hoax?

=mantis=

SIRIUS FICTION
booklets on Gene Wolfe, John Crowley
57 Lexicons left until OP!
http://www.siriusfiction.com/

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From: Matthew Davis <matthew at michaelscycles.freeserve.co.uk>
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 16:12:33 +0000

>Ah, so your sense is that it was a hoax?
>
> =mantis=

Found the original reference online here:
http://www.sfsite.com/fm/show.html?rw,bestof2001-jeff,1
Look at the internal clues...

Most of the books he recommends are kosher but I have grave misgivings about
a couple. Jeff VanderMeer, from what I've read by him, seems a rather, oh,
um, ludic sort of a chap, not least given to writing reviews of imaginary
books as a means of sharpening the flacid moments. As the publisher behind
the Ministry of Whimsy Press he has a lot of practical experience to back up
this sort of chicanery.  Of course, it also he means he's probably in the
loop for finding out about such a book if it did genuinely exist. But I
spend all day chasing down people's often confused book requests and vague
wish lists so I'd like to think I know a hawk from a handsaw. Although in
this case I'd like nothing more than to be pleasantly surprised by and by.

If you feel like getting the word, VanderMeer's website is here, with
further details and email contact:
http://www.vandermeer.redsine.com/index.html

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