Many thanks to Cheryl Pappas for this very thoughtful review of Wild Life: Collected Works published in Colorado Review. Pappas dedicated significant space to giving her thoughts on my piece “Collective Nouns for Humans in the Wild” which is being shared again in response to the most recent mass shootings in Gilroy, CA, El Paso, TX, and Dayton, OH:
“Perhaps the most prized among them is the first story, “Collective Nouns for Humans in the Wild.” In this hermit-crab-like tale, Fish replaces terms for groups of animals with groups of humans. The list begins with groups with positive, innocent, and even humorous associations, nestled in the comforting confines of a paragraph: “A group of grandmothers is a tapestry. A group of toddlers, jubilance (see also: a bewailing).” Our recognition of these groups and how Fish plays with them sets us immediately at ease. But then, she splits up the lines:
A resplendence of poets.
A beacon of scientists.
A raft of social workers.
The tone shifts ever so slightly here with the mention of social workers, with whom we might associate abandoned children or domestic abuse. The next paragraph is almost a foil to the first in that all the groups relate to some challenge or trouble: first responders, protestors, special ed teachers, neonatal ICU nurses, and hospice workers. Yet the names of the groups are pure light: protesters are a “dream,” hospice workers a “grace.”
The lines split once more, and here we enter the dark point that is this story’s destination: “Humans in the wild, gathered and feeling good, previously an exhilaration, now: a target.” She could have ended there, but she continues until we land on the last booming line, standing on its own, cleaving our heart with keen awareness.”
You may read the review in its entirety on the Colorado Review website. U.S. residents may purchase a personally signed copy of this collection directly from me HERE.