Mystery
story receives recognition
Literature:
Faculty member Tyler Dilts is surprised
by the inclusion of his story in a prestigious
anthology.
By
Angelika Meyer
On-line Forty-Niner
Tyler
Dilts, an administrative support analyst
for the Cal State Long Beach English department,
recently received a letter informing him
of the publication of his short story "Thug:
Signification and the Deconstruction of
Self" in the prestigious collection
of "Best American Mystery Stories 2003."
"I
was very surprised to discover my story
would be included in the collection,"
Dilts said. "Most of the stories included
in the anthology come from established writers
in the mystery genre, and from magazines
specializing in that style of fiction."
"The
Best American Mystery Stories 2003"
is a collection of the top 20 mystery stories
published in 2003. Editors for the anthology
chose 20 stories from a field of more than
a thousand. Most authors are not aware their
story is even in the running until the editors
make their selection. Similarly, Dilts story
was published in a small circulation New
Mexico literary magazine, "Puerto del
Sol." He "didn't imagine many
people would even see it, let alone want
to reprint it in a major anthology,"
he said.
On
the contrary, when asked what makes a winning
story, Otto Penzler, head editor for the
mystery story anthology, said, "Excellence...
Tyler Dilts' story was utterly original
and wonderfully written, moving it to the
top of the list."
Dilts
has written an estimated 40 or 50 stories
that he said he would "be willing to
show anyone else." Of those, he has
had eight published. However, Dilts considers
"Thug: Signification and the Deconstruction
of Self" to be his greatest success
because of the prestige of the anthology.
When
asked what inspired Dilts to write "Thug"
he said, "The story came to me while
I was taking a literary theory class in
the Creative Writing MFA program here at
CSULB. I've always enjoyed crime fiction
as well, and I thought it might be amusing
to combine the two."
"Thug:
Signification and the Deconstruction of
Self" is a story combining the "mystery"
of language and rhetoric with the puzzlement
of a payment of some sort gone bad. The
story begins with a discussion of the word
thug and its usage in the English language.
The story becomes an interaction between
the author and Bobby, a man paying retribution
for failure to have full payment, all while
deconstructing language through self-identification.
Dilts
has also written a mystery novel.
"My
most immediate writing goal is the publication
of my novel. Although I don't have a firm
commitment from anyone yet, the reactions
so far have been very encouraging."
Dilts said.
When
Dilts is not busy with his stories, he writes
plays and screenplays, a few of which have
been produced.
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