The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things. Of shoes and ships and ceiling wax, of cabbages and kings. And why The Account‘s list isn’t out, and whether pigs have wings.
Pigs might have wings:
(Please don’t sue me, Damien Hirst. Pigs Might Fly, 2008, Glass, gold plated stainless steel, resin, monofilament, silver, piglet, dove’s wings and formaldehyde solution, 803 x 498 x 435 mm | 31.6 x 19.6 x 17.1 in, Photographed by Prudence Cuming Associates © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2012.)
Anyway. For writers, the end of the year means the beginning of lists. “Best Books of 2013” is the big one. Someone, many people, are making their lists and checking them twice. Are these lists of who’s been naughty, or who’s been nice? Hm. The nice kind of naughty? The naughty kind of nice? The “Best of 2013” lists are fun curations to read, though of course any list is the organization of someone’s values or aesthetic. That’s OK. It’s fun to see who is paired up, and imagine those books having a cup of espresso together and sharing a really crumbly pastry. I put those books on wish lists and library lists. (More lists.) I read as many as I can.
The Account: A Journal of Poetry, Prose, and Thought also has a list for you. “The Account’s Wintery Mix: Our Best of 2013.” As editor-in-chief, I was going to call it “The Best 2013 List.” But I didn’t want to get in the middle of a snowball fight…though the whole point of making a list like this one is because you think that the other lists are lacking and that yours stands out, fills a gap, does something the others don’t…etc. (Hang on, I’m going to step behind this tree for a sec…Alright. All clear.)
I’m calling this list “our best” because we are giving you our best. We like you.
Here is our list of ten unforgettable books: these our 2013 authors’ most recent books (in alphabetical order).
The Account’s Wintery Mix: Our Best 2013 List
- Mary Biddinger's O Holy Insurgency (Black Lawrence Press, 2013).
- David Kirby's The Biscuit Joint (LSU, 2013).
- Karen An-hwei Lee's Phyla of Joy (Tupelo, 2012).
- Sandra Lim's Loveliest Grotesque (Kore Press, 2006).
- Stanley Plumly's Orphan Hours (W. W. Norton, 2012).
- Davis Schneiderman's [SIC]: a novel (Jaded Ibis Press, 2013).
- Jared Yates Sexton's An End To All Things (Atticus Books, 2012).
- Evie Shockley's the new black (Wesleyan University Press, 2011).
- Nicole Walker's Quench Your Thirst with Salt (Zone 3 Press, 2013). - Valerie Wetlaufer's chapbook, Nostrums (Unthinkable Creatures Press, 2013).
* In Courier font because Santa typed this up in the North Pole.
With magic typewriter tape that can hyperlink the titles of books.
-Santa.
Tyler Mills 