Writing instructors have said that it’s important to show those you love what’s on the page before it becomes public, to give them a chance to weigh in. But what about when you leave the ones you love off the page?
The northeastern region of Isan in Thailand is as far east as you can go before the Mekong River and the border with Laos. People here consume bugs the way Americans eat potato chips. They are served at breakfast, lunch and dinner and often carried around as a midday snack. Many people forage for them themselves, venturing a few times a week into the lush jungle landscape. Others simply stop by the nearest “jungle market” like the one I visited recently with the chef Weerawat “Num” Triyasenawat. These markets host dozens of vendors who display local insect delicacies by the hundred on plastic tables for shoppers to stop, peruse and munch.
On the day Num took me for a tour of one such market, he was looking for produce for his restaurant, Samuay & Sons. Located in the Isan city of Udon Thani, the small, rustic dining room serves a seasonal Isan tasting menu that frequently includes regional insect delicacies.
Science fiction luminary Joan Slonczewski, who is also professor of biology at Kenyon College, enjoys pushing the limits of biological speculation while questioning social hierarchies and societal assumptions. Their new novel, Minds in Transit, accomplishes both. Central to their speculation is a simple but startling question: can a microbe be a person?
Can any writer make objective, “true” statements about their characters? Or is all writing only projection, the placement of personal worldview and emotions onto the actions of others? Seduction Theory tends heavily into the latter style, channeled through the tumultuous feelings of a young, debut writer. Whether or not it is possible to describe the personalities of other people with truth and certainty, one who is inexperienced and has a bone to pick definitely cannot.