North Carolina Miscellany
hookup is a coworker.” The squares are not meant to be read linearly; instead, the phrases in the squares bounce off each other. While some squares are clearly connected to the theme, others need elaboration by the reader. In “First Day Bingo,” squares in columns one, two, and four include the word “dream”: “Dream in which your arm and hand are goo,” “Dream in which you can only meow,” “Dream in which your new boss melts,” and “Bits of dreams.” The reader must decide whether these dreams are alternatives or all part of first-day anxiety. The bottom square in the middle column says, “Shouldn’t have slept with the window open.” Again, the reader must decide if this item is significant and how it relates to the other spaces. The non-linear connections between the squares, provided by the reader, create narrative potential to unravel. The flash fiction in the volume follows a similar pattern as the squares on the bingo cards. Flash fiction, as editor Tara L. Masih notes in The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction (2009), had a resurgence in the 1980s that continues today: a length of one to three pages and 250–1000 words is a general guideline for the form.* In Bingo Bango Boingo, the flash fiction stories are scattered throughout the book; themes such as isolation, connection, and the meaning of life recur, but the juxtapositions must be found by the reader. These connections make the book read somewhat
like a short story sequence. As critics like Susan Garland Mann, J. Gerald Kennedy, and James Nagel observe, the short story sequence combines independent short texts into a larger volume that takes on more thematic depth with the juxtaposition of the stories. Arguably, both the bingo cards and the flash fiction pieces follow this pattern. A number of the flash pieces have an absurdist aspect to them, such as “Dreaming, The Pregnant Women,” in which pregnant women dream about giving birth to anything but human babies. (This piece is reminiscent of Donald Barthelme’s “The Balloon.”) Similarly, “The Miniatures” features a young boy who finds and then searches (in that order) for the title scenes. The texts utilize the brevity of the form to highlight moments of insight, the epiphanies of good short stories. Bingo Bango Boingo is a fun book to read. The bingo
*
Tara L. Masih, The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction: Tips from Editors, Teachers, and Writers in the Field (Rose Metal Press, 2009).
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cards provide a novel way to participate in creating narrative by pulling together fragments in good postmodernist style. I found myself reading the squares out of order, starting with the bottom row or the right column and then working across. The device still works pleasantly that way. Parker even includes a “Your Turn” section with bingo cards that have titles, a few filled-in squares, but also blank squares for the reader to complete. The invitation to participate creatively is offered in a fresh and non-threatening way. The book could sink into the novelty of its method, but it pulls out of that danger. Several of the flash pieces, notably “In Defense of Solitude,” “Trees,” and especially the final “The Bridge,” take on deeper themes about identity and death. The stories have the focus of a lyrical poem without the limitations of self-conscious poetic form. While the method is part of the message, the message exists. Bingo Bango Boingo is an entertaining collection of flash fiction that is not limited by its somewhat novel form. For readers who like to be engaged in the creation of their literary texts, it is a worthy addition to a library. n
ABOVE “First Day Bingo” card, designed
by Matthew Revert