HUFFINGTON
09.23.12
Preface
A
Note
from
Electric
Literature
COVER ARTWORK: TRIMSPA BY ADAM CVIJANOVIC /
ISSUE DESIGN: BILL SMITH, DESIGNSIMPLE.COM
by
Halimah Marcus
and Benjamin Samuel,
co-editors
We’re thrilled to share with you
Aimee Bender’s “The Red Ribbon,”
which originally appeared in Electric
Literature no. 3. It’s a story about secrets and identity, about how much
of ourselves we are willing to expose,
about the consequences of taking con-
trol of our desires. “The Red Ribbon”
asks what happens when a couple surrenders to fantasy and must struggle to
find their way back. Perhaps most compelling is how far the story pushes their
relationship, so close to revulsion and
yet always within reach of tenderness.