There are short stories, and then there are Corwin Fox short stories - and those donBԪַt get much shorter.
The B.C. musician and music producer has added BԪַpublished authorBԪַ to his portfolio, with Kill Love - a book of one-sentence stories.
Fox said the idea for a book of one-sentence stories came by happenstance.
BԪַI started writing one-sentence stories by accident - I was just trying to crack up my bandmate, Laurel,BԪַ he said. BԪַI was replying to an email and I just wrote this funny once-sentence response that turned into a story - which is in the book, incidentallyBԪַ I cracked myself up; it was just funny. But then that night I started thinkingBԪַ I wondered what else I could do?
BԪַSo I just started writing more to see what I could do. Could I write sad ones, funny ones, dark ones? What can I do with a one-sentence story. I was writing them every night until I had dozens of them. Then I realized there was a theme tying a whole bunch of these together, so I just cleaned it up, grouped them, and made Kill Love.BԪַ
The Vancouver Island-based artistBԪַs one-sentence stories are akin to extremely free verse poetry. There is no consistent pattern or word count from one story to the next. Some stories are 20 lines long; others are five words long.
BԪַItBԪַs almost a literary form - or it could be a literary form,BԪַ said Fox.
Corwinisms, if you will.
Fox said some of the stories are autobiographical, while others are pure fiction. There are even stories of invented words, such as BԪַampersymphonialocityBԪַ - the rate of speed at which two or more musical ideas merge. BԪַFox said the book is BԪַnot really for kids - there is some dark and weird stuff in it, along with some cuss words and stuff. I wanted it to be really unfettered and experimental, but also to make it very personal.BԪַ
As much as anything, Fox figures once he starts doing music gigs again, Kill Love will be a nice addition to his merch table.
BԪַThe state of the music industry has changed so much,BԪַ he said. BԪַNowadays people buy computers that donBԪַt even come with a CD drive, so some people still buy CDs, but not a lot of people; some people by vinyl, but not a lot of people; some people are even buying cassettes again, but most people consume their music these days through streaming.
BԪַSo I started thinking, what am I going to sell, once I go back on tour, because I will do gigs again, and it will be great, because you need your merch money. No one has CD players anymoreBԪַ I already supplement my merch tables with hats or shirts, but IBԪַm not super into clothing, soBԪַ
BԪַThat makes it sound like the impetus of writing this book was an economic one, but it wasnBԪַt. ThatBԪַs just a secondary thing. I was already creating this stuff and I just felt compelled to make the book - the same as writing a song.BԪַ
Kill Love is available at MoonBԪַs Records in his hometown of Cumberland, or order online at FoxBԪַs website,
terry.farrell@comoxvalleyrecord.com
Like us on and follow us on