Jessica Anthony, "The Virgin Oyster"

It’s December 2. Jessica Anthony, author of Enter the Aardvark, has time to lean, but no time to clean.

How would you describe your story?

JESSICA ANTHONY: A mood from a lost era, speaking to another lost era...

When did you write it, and how did the writing process compare to your other work?

JA: I wrote the story an incredible eighteen years ago, and it is unusual in that I wrote it very quickly. Under a week. I have been mainly writing novels and novellas since.

What kind of research went into this story?

JA: I studied forms of oysters and oyster-farming techniques. I listened to Edith Piaf while writing it, and a few of her lines forced their way in.

What, to you, makes the short story a special form? What can it do that other kinds of writing can’t?

JA: I am reminded reading this collection why I love the short story: a whole world compressed into a single, breathless experience. The beauty of the form lies in its refusal to allow the outside in. 

Where should people go to learn more about you and your work?

JA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Anthony. And here is an interview I'm partial to: https://creative-capital.org/artists/jessica-anthony.

What's the best gift you've ever been given?

JA: Every year, my mother gives me and my sister a family heirloom. Two years ago I was gifted the gold retirement watch of my great-grandfather. Etched into the back is the following: 

With Appreciation to Robert L Anthony from Fruit of the Loom, July 1948

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