Fantastic Metropolis

Jeffrey Thomas: You’re a writer yourself, with a chapbook forthcoming from Flesh & Blood Press; has your experience reading for Leviathan Three effected in any way your own approach to writing?

Forrest Aguirre: My writing has not been so strongly influenced since that Thomas Ligotti/Steven Millhauser/Jonathan Carroll month-long triple read-a-thon I engaged in a few years ago. Yes, reading for Leviathan Three made me extremely self-conscious about my own writing. I have slowed my writing significantly since then and am routinely writing longer stories, more fleshed out stories, more subtle stories. When The Butterfly Artist comes out in early September, you’ll note that my early writing tends to be rather thickly layered, very short and strange. Someone once called me “Poe on acid”. Since then, I’ve become a little more subtle in my writing—more subdued, in ways. I think this change came about because I read so many stories that tried too hard to be “cool” or “extreme” or, heaven forbid, “intellectual”. This contrivance became a little much for me and I vowed that I would take my time to explore my thoughts a bit, to go beyond visceral reaction, only using it when it really helped to move plot or expose character or create atmosphere. I’ve found there are different gears in writing—and you don’t have to be in overdrive all the time to enjoy the act of writing. Slow down, enjoy the scenery, breathe the air and, if the need is there, by all means, gun it, but save your gas for when you really need it. One other thing I’ve learned is that no matter what you think, someone has written a story using your idea before. Luckily most people have done it badly—we call these “hackneyed” pieces—and these poor imitations of art are easy to spot. I cannot tell you how many stories for which I read the first and last pages (slowly, methodically) and scanned the rest, only to come to the conclusion that the work was hackneyed. It really showed quickly—tropes that were old by the time Laurence Stern was writing, phonetically spelled southern accents, and every possible permutation of The Monkey’s Paw. I have always tried to avoid hackneyed ideas, but strive even harder to do so now.

Jeffrey Thomas: The next volume, Leviathan 4, will have a theme of city-oriented fiction, but more importantly, will be edited entirely by yourself; the first installment not to have Jeff VanderMeer as a co-editor. Will this effect in any large measure the direction Leviathan’s contents will take?

Forrest Aguirre: Of course it will, that is inevitable. I have my own opinions which will show in the selections I make. Jeff has brainwashed me well, however, while giving me the freedom to act unilaterally in editorial decision making. Leviathan will continue to contain only the best fiction out there, with a breadth of scope which will continue to amaze and astound (and upset) the masses. Fair warning, Leviathan 4 will not, I repeat not, be as big as Leviathan Three in physical size. Leviathan Three sometimes scares me. My friends who work for OSHA give me a leery sidelong glance when they see me carrying the volume around, as if it is a threat to workplace safety. They usually scatter when I threaten them with it, though. Seriously, I am committed to making the Leviathan series of anthologies one which the world won’t soon forget. We will continue to dance in that darkly beautiful surreal courtyard-with-no-name, with the music of the best authors on Earth droning in our ears.

Jeffrey Thomas: Jeff VanderMeer has turned over the Ministry of Whimsy’s captain’s chair to you, which must be a bit intimidating. Do you see Leviathan as being an on-going series, beyond Four, and what else can we expect from the Ministry under your own personal vision?

Forrest Aguirre: I suppose I am in the captain’s chair, so to speak, but Jeff will always be the admiral. I’ve told him that I’ll take care of his baby as well as an adoptive parent can. I think the most intimidating aspect about this transfer of authority is the great success we are having with Leviathan Three. We have broken through the invisible small press ceiling by being reviewed in Publishers Weekly, The Washington Post and Booklist, among others. That kind of success breeds expectations. I’m confident, though, that Leviathan 4 will deliver the goods. There will be more Leviathans beyond Four. I have some ideas, but we’ll keep most of the cat in the bag for the time being. We have several projects under way now: A nonfiction novel by Lawrence Dyer about establishing a life in rural England, entitled A Cottage on the Moss; Zoran Živković’s astounding work The Fourth Circle—shades of The Troika, structurally, but a decidedly Živkovićian work that will knock your socks off; and an as-yet untitled collection of short stories by English writer Tamar Yellin. We will continue to explore decadent works and their modern legacy, works that are impossible to categorize and who knows what else?

Jeffrey Thomas: I’ll be looking forward to the future of Leviathan and the Ministry of Whimsy—and your own writing career—with great interest. Thank you, Forrest.

Forrest Aguirre: And thank you, Jeffrey. You are a worthy inquisitor.