By Charles deLint
Books to Look For
May 1st, 2017
Fire, by Elizabeth Hand, PM Press, 2017, $13, pb
This
is only the third book published by PM Press that I’ve read, the
previous ones also being a mix of fiction and non-fiction. One was by
Cory Doctorow, the other by Ursula K. Le Guin, both riveting. As is Fire.
In the case of each of these titles, I’ve only happened upon them, somehow remaining oblivi- ous to the rest of the publisher’s large backlist and ongoing publish- ing plans. Given the other titles listed in the publisher’s catalog at the end of this Elizabeth Hand col- lection, and the quality of the three titles I’ve read, that’s something I need to remedy.
Because they’re excellent books, of course, but also because of the publisher’s mission statement, which appeals to the old hippie/anarchist in me:
“We seek to create radical and
stimulating fiction and nonfiction books, pamphlets, T-shirts, visual
and audio materials to entertain, educate, and inspire you. We aim to
distribute these through every avail- able channel with every available
technology, whether that means you are seeing anarchist classics at our
bookfair stalls; reading our lat- est vegan cookbook at the café;
downloading geeky fiction e-books; or digging new music and timely
videos from our website.”
Now, while I appreciate a pub- lisher
having an ideological slant, just as I appreciate a writer with
something to say, that alone isn’t a reason to support them. The best
intentions can sometimes result in a heavy-handed discourse. Excel- lent
art can be undermined by a shoddy or unprofessional presenta- tion
and/or design. There needs to be substance.
Happily, all three
of the titles I’ve read thus far from PM Press provide exactly that.
Substance and edge. And they look great. Smartly designed and easy to
read in both paper and electronic editions. And a quick glance at the
back catalog I mentioned earlier shows that they work with some of the
best and most provocative writers in our field. Writers such as Rudy
Rucker, Terry Bisson, John Shirley, Joe R. Lansdale, Karen Joy Fowler,
Nor- man Spinrad, and Nalo Hopkinson, to name a few. And that’s not even
taking into account the non-genre writers, as well as the broad choice
of writers from other fields, so they’re certainly doing something
right.
It reminds me a little of the latter part of the last
century, when publishers had a strong sense of identity and readers
would collect work from particular houses — DAW, Ace, Bantam Spectra,
Del Rey — because they knew these imprints would deliver the kinds of
stories they liked best.
That’s the sense I get with PM Press except,
instead of a certain style of book — such as how Del Rey was known for
great epic fan- tasy, DAW delivered top notch he- roic fantasy and space
opera series, etc. — PM Press appears to be creat- ing a community with
the singular aim of making the world a better place.
One of the best ways to do that is to understand where the world stands, where it comes from, and where it might be going, and Elizabeth Hand hits every one of those points with Fire.
The fiction (or at least two of the stories) looks ahead to natural disasters, focusing on the small and personal, which makes the greater problems beyond the confines of the characters’ lives all that more chilling. The third story, “Kronia,” takes us into the confused mind of a time traveler — or perhaps, if we don’t take what we’re told at face value, the narrator is on the spectrum.
For the nonfiction, Hand pro- files Alice
Sheldon (James Tiptree, Jr.) and Thomas Disch. A good writer, when
writing about the arts, makes you want to experience the work of their
subjects, and Hand is very good at what she does, because the whole time
I was reading, I wanted to go down to my library and reread books by
her subjects while taking in her observations on them.
The lives of
both these authors were filled with an unfair amount of tragedy, which
makes their artis- tic accomplishments even more astonishing and
poignant.
Rounding out the book is an interview with Hand by Terry Bisson, a bibliography, and a very heart-felt and revealing autobiographical essay in which Hand shows us the events in her life that led her to become the author she is today.
I loved everything about this book, just as I did with the Doctorow and Le Guin titles, and can’t wait to explore some more of the PM Press catalog in the months to come. You can have a look for yourself at their website where you’ll find not only some great sf but lots of fascinating titles covering everything from music, politics, and Latin America to gender studies and books on the African American and Native American experience.
