Elements

This project came about when I asked four writers, along with myself, to create a story in which an element played a part. Earth, Air, Fire & Water are the four elements that are supposed to make up all matter, but I wanted one more. In Chinese lore, Wood is the fifth element. Metal is sometimes mentioned as another choice. But when Lucia Berlin suggested the Element of Surprise, I knew Jane Wodening would have something to say about that.

The result, as you will see, is quite a range of narrative tastes, fancies and desires. Some are the necessary elements of our everyday lives, some the elements of dreams.

An excerpt from Air by Marilyn Krysl –

He'd waited for her to speak, but she'd seemed shy. So he'd forged ahead, with the idea that this pursing of his lips to produce profundities would power him closer, and there they would be, his words – and hers, whispering wisps – suspended, while the two of them together finessed a rather different structure. He thought his efforts would lead, eventually, to the air brush of a kiss, or at the very least near miss. But there she goes, only the back of her heels showing, so that he has to will himself after her, and then her trail through the woods turns a corner, and she's gone. He's reduced to silence.

An excerpt from Earth by Gayle Nosal –

She brings me a bowl of beef stew, with a roll and coffee. The other customers start to leave and Diane hollers, "Just once I'd like to say good-bye to you two without hollering." They wave as they go out the door. The telephone rings. It sits on the counter beside the cash register, a foot away from where Diane stands, but she turns away from it, walks over to the coffee pot, and pours herself a cup.

An excerpt from Water by Tree Bernstein –

Of course, I am a natural, but most of the children born on the island are. My mother gave birth to me in the water. I learned to swim before I could walk. My mother swam with me when she was in labor. I emerged from embryonic fluid into the blue-green sea. Dolphins circled and nudged me to the surface when I took my first lung full of air. I dove down for more of that blue-green world. First I swam with my arms tucked in and just used my long feet to paddle. Then I discovered the back stroke and leisurely took in the new, bright blue sky. The side stroke was fun for dolphin play, but the breast stroke really took me places. You might think that a baby would take to the crawl right away, but actually I didn't learn to do that until quite a bit later.

An excerpt from Fire by Niko Murray –

When I looked at Bella’s strong hands they were paws as she said. Her black wavy hair, her strong build – bear. “Being with a Brazilian woman is not easy.” Bella sighed.“ An American man told me he loved the sweetness of his Brazilian girlfriend, but he said the other side was, how do you say ‘hard to handle’. How can he expect to have that sweetness without the passion? They are missing a great opportunity.” I thought about passion. I saw myself dancing in black and red with Niles. I thought about the mare.

An excerpt from Surprise by Jane Wodening –

And on the third evening at twilight, she came. And the munching sound of her efforts to break through the plywood resonated through the cabin. I had already planned out an escape route—out the upstairs window, across the solar panels and down the ham radio antenna mast. I yelled out that upstairs window "Gwan! Geddouttahere!" But she was concentrating on chewing her way through that door and didn't hear. Finally by banging a metal bar on a rock, making a ringing sound, I got her attention and she came around the corner of the house, looked up at me, and then she was simply gone. She didn't return again that night.

Ordering information:
Elements
Five hand-sewn books
in hand-printed slipcase.
Limited edition of 100.

Earth- Gayle Nosal
Air- Marilyn Krysl
Fire- Niko Murray
Water- Tree Bernstein
Surprise- Jane Wodening

$35 + $5 postage and packaging

Send cheque or money order to:
TreeHouse Press
PO Box 1144
Ojai, CA 93024