“Borrowing” from the Best

Kenneth Nichols over at Great Writers Steal has constructed a tutorial in thieving from Brendan Mathews’s short story “My Last Attempt to Explain to You What Happened with the Lion Tamer.” Mathews’s story first appeared in issue 6.1, and later lit up the pages of Best American Short Stories 2010. Here’s a little something we pilfered to give you a peek:

“First, I’m going to point out that Mr. Mathews borrowed from Hamlet, whether he knew it or not. The narrator’s jealousy leads him to strike back in a manner unique to his situation. He plans to perform a parody of the lion tamer’s underwhelming act using Scottie terriers instead of giant cats. The narrator expects the audience to release great peals of laughter as they mock his romantic rival. Now, it doesn’t work out that way in the story, but Mr. Mathews gets a great deal of mileage out of describing the image. We’ve all resented those who stand in the way of the man or woman we love (or think we love), and wouldn’t it be great to enlist a couple thousand people in your campaign to make the rival feel terrible about themselves?”

Read the complete post at: http://www.greatwriterssteal.com/2013/11/02/what-can-we-steal-from-brendan-

mathewss-my-last-attempt-to-explain-to-you-what-happened-with-the-lion-tamer/.