grump
Issue 2 — November 2011

Editors' Note:

Welcome, gentle readers. It is with great pleasure, and very little humility, that we present to you the second issue of the Journal of Unlikely Entomology. That you are here once again, noses pressed to the glass that contains (if barely) the rarest of entomological specimens tells us that you have managed to overcome, or at least suppress, the aversion that so many two-legged creatures hold for those with six legs, or more. For that, we thank you.

As you may note, the tales gathered here speak largely of transformation - the journey from one place, or state, to another. We, being but humble collectors, can take very little credit for this theme. Rather, like a spider’s web, the pattern emerges to the appreciative eye, and we merely stand witness to it. In these digital pages you will meet a strange, multi-legged girl traveling down a river with her faithful beetle companion; a carpet salesman who wakes to find he is not the man he used to be; a lonely centipede girl who craves nothing more than the comfort of human touch; a car full of unlikely, inhuman companions journeying to the quasi-mythic realm of Ferny Grove; a child, forced to grow up too soon by the circumstances of her life; and a woman who transcends humanity, aided by the ants, spiders, and other insects who share her home.

And so, without further ado, and again with many thanks to our most generous sponsor, Sir Reginald F. Grump XXIII, we invite you to delve into this collection of tales and witness the wondrous act of transformation, which is fundamental to life – both insect and human.

Table of Contents:

Zaar by Forrest Aguirre

Centipede Girl by Ada Hoffmann

Such a Lovely Shade of Green by Samantha Henderson

@carpetsalesrep by Brenta Blevins

Abandoned in the Courtyard of Youth by C.A. Cole

The Ferry Quick Like Rain: An Insect Tragicomedy by Kirk Marshall

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