14 Reasons to Read Eric Miles Williamson’s 14 Fictional Positions

1. To spite him. He doesn’t care if you read his work. Williamson realizes that most great writers aren’t truly appreciated in their own time. He doesn’t want your attention. He cares about art, not popularity. He also cares more about his novels and essays than he does about short fiction. If this book eventually garners more attention than his others, it will, no doubt, piss him off.

2. Known primarily for his novels and literary criticism, this is Williamson’s first story collection. It gives the reader an opportunity to see his approach to the short story. Although his take on the short story in the introduction is interesting and insightful, it is not a glowing defense of the genre: “The American Short Story, as a popular form, is extinct. Its descendant, the Short Story as Art Form, survives, albeit in the literary fringes of the culture” (16). Points like these are not what a reader might expect of an author attempting to sell a short story collection.

3. Williamson studied with some of the best and most influential American post-modern writers, including Ronald Sukenick, Robert Coover, John Hawkes and Donald Barthelme. Most of them are well-known for their short fiction. The simultaneous influence/rejection of these great writers is evident in stories such as The Teachings of Don B., in which Williamson’s narrator claims, “My books are haunted. This does not please me…Don B. was my teacher. He died. However, he has not discontinued his tutelage” (144).

4. Williamson is controversial. One never knows what he’ll say next. The first chapter of his most recent novel, Welcome to Oakland, would make Henry Miller blush. However, reading the stories and the critical introduction to this collection provides some context for Williamson’s radical stances on literature, and helps to explain his views on writing. 14 Fictional Positions allows the reader into the mind of one of America’s most influential, yet divisive, contemporary writers.

5. Williamson is popular in France. The prestigious French literary magazine, Transfuge, named him one of the world’s twelve greatest living writers. As we all know, the French have impeccable taste. (Come on, admit it: even Jerry Lewis is, in his own way, a comedic genius.) If it weren’t for French writers and literary scholars, American writers no less significant than Edgar Allen Poe may have fallen into relative obscurity.

6. In many respects, Williamson shares some uncanny similarities with Poe. Like Poe, Williamson is one of the most influential players in the American literary scene. As a board member of the National Book Critics Circle and through his editorial positions in journals such as Boulevard, The Texas Review, and American Book Review, he is a powerful player indeed. Also, like Poe, he’s not shy about ripping any writer a new one if he deems their work to be substandard.  Again, Williamson’s goal is not popularity.

7. Advocates of literary progress should support small presses. Much of the best literature produced today is coming from small presses. Raw Dog Screaming Press has published the work of some of today’s greatest, most innovative writers like Williamson, Harold Jaffe, Larry Fondation, George Williams and Jake Fuchs, to name a few. Small presses typically allow writers to take more chances and are not usually burdened by political correctness, contemporary art’s greatest detractor, the same way that large presses are. Writers like these, if given the appropriate critical exposure, are likely to be remembered fifty years from now, when many of today’s darlings of the large presses are long forgotten.

8. Williamson’s collection will change people’s minds about the kind of writer he is. It is obvious from the collection that he is well-versed in post-modern experimentation. Since most of these pieces pre-date his novels, we see Williamson move beyond this style, incorporating a new aesthetic. He has taken his post-modern influences in another direction, engaging in working class meta-realism, a style that takes a political stance while paying close attention to the history and tradition of literature. At the same time, the post-modern stylings exhibited in 14 Fictional Positions are still part of his roots, and his experimentation with short fiction has, no doubt, made him a stronger writer.

9. 14 Fictional Positions demonstrates the author’s range. The book shows off Williamson’s skills as a writer of short fiction and proves that if he so chooses, he could be one of the country’s best short story writers. He can write using economy of language, but chooses to explore the language in more extensive detail in his novels. However, his minimalist aesthetic in this collection is certainly worth observing.

10. One word: Idiosyncrasy. Few living writers do it better than Williamson. He attacks everything he writes from all angles to create the desired effect.

11. The price of the book ($13.95 paperback) is almost worth it for one of the most unusual author photos I’ve ever seen. Plus, if you do the math, that’s less than a dollar per story.

12. Williamson is fearless, as a great writer should be. As far as I’m aware, he’s never held back what he’s wanted to say. Although these stories capture the essence of his audacity as a writer, this “gateway” collection is ideal for those afraid of the full weight of Williamson’s authorial punch. Those who cringe at the subject matter of his novels and criticism might find 14 Fictional Positions somewhat more approachable.

13. 14 Fictional Positions is simply a good read. Countless hours of work and experimentation in the hands of Williamson result in fluid, seamless, substantial fiction.

14. Finally, if you are a writer, there is a good chance he’ll read your book someday. As a critic, and board member of the National Book Critics Circle, he sifts through dozens of books every day, looking for hidden gems and great art, as well as opportunities to scorn those he feels are committing an injustice to contemporary letters. He feels that it is his duty as a man of letters. Read 14 Fictional Positions and do your duty: return the favor.