On "Naked Lunch" by Savannah-Louise (575 words) ***

Titular focuses on titles--titles that have already been used and are now used again, for a new piece. The new works themselves don't necessarily have anything to do with the originally titled works, except that they share the title and its somehow works. It's an interesting experiment and an interesting way to try to write a piece (titles are usually the last thing I slap on a story, after I know what the story is about--rarely do I know that at the start).

One of the better pieces at Titular right now is this short bit by Savannah-Louise, a story about a girl having lunch with, I think, herself--her ideal self, that self that is attractive and loved, that self that she emulates but never quite reaches. Read the story here at Titular.

On “Punch-Drunk Love” by William Walsh (867 words) ****

Titular is a really interesting journal in that it asks writers to take another’s title (from a book, movie, or TV show) and write something brand new with the same title. The results are always fun, though the concept, while leading to some interesting pieces, haven’t really spoken to me as short stories. (And in trying to do one myself, I can see why. I don’t start off with titles--that’s the last thing I assign--so switching it up is difficult and, for me, has yet to bear any fruit with which I’m satisfied.) This piece here, however, by William Walsh is one of the most successful of the items up at Titular that I’ve seen. Essentially a dialogue between two brothers, according to Walsh, one a hermit and one vagrant, it manages to get inside the head of these people and create something heartfelt, sincere, and singular. (In fact, I think one could read the story as that of a single man--the brothers have some commonality.) Each line is a piece of poetry. Each line is could be the start of its own story. These are interesting men, though not necessarily men I’d want to know. Read the story here at Titular.