BCC Shines a Light On: James Sullivan
Name of the piece published by BCC:
When/where was it originally published:
Blotterature Literary Magazine, 2016
Tell us more about your piece! What is the background of the piece? What led you to write it? What’s your process?
I was living in Himeji, Japan at the time and, during my first sweaty summer there, caught a really nasty norovirus. My body had no immunity to this strain of evil, so I was really going through it. I’ll spare the gory details, but it went on day after day, night after sleepless night. I felt like a mummy. The thought I could die of dehydration, although a remote possibility, did occur to me—especially since I only spoke conversational Japanese and couldn’t read complex kanji. What medicine did I need? Would I talk to a pharmacist? What if I needed to see a doctor? It was my first and thankfully a relatively gentle brush with mortality. The moment when that youthful invincibility was stripped away forever.
Since I didn’t die, I realized I’d better hurry up and become a writer. Up until that point, I hadn’t written a successful story, but seemingly by accident—or maybe through something I’d obtained from my brief encounter with the shadow of death—I found one of my favorite creative tricks: combining things that don’t immediately fit together to see how they reverberate. During the hot summer, feeling like I’d just touched death, I started to notice owls everywhere.
So, scribbling away at my desk between English lessons, I wrote “The Summer of Owls.”
How did you feel when it was first published and how have your thoughts or feelings on the piece changed from then to now?
It was my first fiction publication, and I was exhilarated. I felt like I’d written something worthwhile, something I would like even if I hadn’t written it, and something that had my distinctive sensibilities oozing from every paragraph.
One of my advanced Japanese students read it, an older woman who read novels and story collections with me to discuss in her lessons, and I’m not sure she was so impressed. “It has the smell of literature,” is what she said. Damned through faint praise! Others tell me it’s still their favorite of mine, almost ten years later. Wait, haven’t I gotten much better?! What a life.
Before looking for a new home, since Blotterature is on indefinite hiatus (RIP), I did touch the story up, but I opted to leave almost everything in place. I admit, my post-MFA self cringes a bit at a story opening with a character waking up. One of those sins typical of the beginner. But I think the story gets away with it thanks to the surprising details that follow.
I’m also surprised how unafraid I was to include certain strange, demented, but honest details I know now would get me scolded by a workshop. I’m working to shed the fear that MFAs (or, rather, a minority of their students) tend to instill in writers. A recent story of mine, “Fin,” which came out in Necessary Fiction, felt like a spiritual successor to “The Summer of Owls,” and I was able to be a little naughty again there. The fact that the editors at NF reacted so positively to the story restored some of my faith in the literary world.
Even reading it now, I still like “Owls” quite a bit. I figured out a lot about myself as a creative from writing the story, and it helped me get accepted to some MFA programs, for better or worse. I’m grateful to my norovirus for squeezing it out of me, to the editors of Blotterature for publishing it, and to Bulb Culture Collective for giving it another life. Quite apropos of the story’s themes, if you ask me.
Is there a specific message you would like readers to take away from reading this piece?
I’m personally not into the idea of creative work as a vessel for a message. But I hope parts of it creep them out. I hope Mimi makes them laugh. I have some more philosophical hopes for my work that are far too embarrassing to admit publicly, but if the final moments of the story lift your spirit a bit despite death and pain lurking everywhere, maybe I’ve succeeded in some small measure.
But! Let me promote Harimano-Kuni Sohsha Shrine in Himeji! The shrine at the end of the story is real, it’s an easy stop on the way to the famous Himeji Castle, and there’s a real owl statue there said to bestow divine virtues. The shrine mascot, Mimimaru, is also very real and very unpopular (just like me). Please visit him (he’s lonely!) and buy some charms to support the shrine!
What else would you like to tell readers about your writing? (Doesn’t have to refer only to your BCC piece)
I shoot for variety. And I don’t think I belong to any literary camp, if such camps even truly exist.
While I think there’s a sensibility that carries over between works, I’ve published realistic family stories, experimental voicey ones with shifting perspectives or intrusive subvocalizing inner critics, surreal gags, and various literary nonfiction. That’s not to say, “There’s something for everyone!” or something cheesy like that, but I am always trying new methods, new moods, to interest readers in fresh ways while maintaining my voice throughout.
I’m also a huge fan of kaiju like Godzilla, so I occasionally dabble in literary genre works. I have a novelette Harboring out with ELJ Editions that’s a character-focused take on the giant hero genre, e.g. Ultraman, as well as a kaiju-themed story in the brand-new Devastation Songs anthology from Broken Sleep Books.
Where can readers find more of your work? (Website/social media, etc)
I’m @jfsullivan4th on both TwiXter and Instagram. I have a new site in the works, but for now, my archived work is at https://jamesfsullivan.wixsite.com/jfsauthor
