The Poison Pie Publishing House presents:

December 1, 2021
As Periboea strode through the swamp, clouds gathered overhead, hiding all stars from sight. Even the moon was nowhere to be seen. Alone, our heroine briefly supposed that there would be no witnesses to the dark deed that transpired on this night, until she heard a rustling in the underbrush not far off. A fleeting silhouette alerted her to the presence of one of the frog man's inhuman siblings. Soon, she sensed a second presence on the opposite side and, not longer after, several more behind her. They kept their distance and did not impede her passage to the temple.

written while listening to:  Alexandra Grimal & Edward Perraud - unsui (Ovni Records, no catalog #, 2020, France, cd, discogs.com)

December 2, 2021
The children of the beast acted as shepherds, grossly outnumbering the solitary member of their flock. Nor did Periboea need to be herded to the temple. She knew the way on her own and brooked no detour or distraction. Still, her escorts persisted and grew steadily in number as she drew closer to her destination. As they gathered, they abandoned efforts to conceal themselves. The moaning drone that had greeted Periboea at the canal resumed, issuing from all around her. Periboea could not deny that their song achieved a curious harmony with the natural, nocturnal chorus of insects and amphibians.

written while listening to:  Yuma Uesaka & Marilyn Crispell - Streams (Not Two Records, MW 1010-2, 2021, Poland, cd, discogs.com)

December 3, 2021
She arrived before the black mouth of the temple to stand among the trees in the inch or two of water that formed a shallow film over the sodden earth. The members of her unbidden entourage gradually assembled into a large circle around her, merging with the sides of the temple. More creatures climbed from the canal and shuffled around the building to join the convocation. None approached within a stone's throw of her nor showed any sign of overt hostility. As one they sang their groaning dirge, while they waited for their father to appear.

written while listening to:  Sylvie Courvoisier & Mary Halvorson - Searching for the Disappeared Hour (Pyroclastic Records, PR 17, 2021, United States, cd, discogs.com)

December 4, 2021
On this, the third time that Periboea gazed into the open maw of the temple, she was again struck by its resemblance to an immense barrow. The stones were stacked at irregular angles like a haphazard road-side cairn that one traveler might have made out of necessity from scattered rocks for a loved companion, who expired unexpectedly on the journey. Should she die here, Periboea did not relish this monument marking her fall, but she conceded that the choice of gravestone was not a luxury reserved for wandering warriors.

written while listening to:  Violeta Garcia & Chris Pitsiokos - Uanmortaim (Relative Pitch Records, RPR1129, 2021, United States, cd, discogs.com)

December 5, 2021
Over the keening wail of her audience, she could not detect the beast's whispered invitation to enter its domain. She sought to draw her foe out lest she be obliged to battle the poisonous vapors alongside the beast. Before she issued her challenge, a cloaked figure stepped forth from the shadowed interior. The bald and bearded priest stood at the top of the stone steps, illuminated by a weak, watery light filtered through the cloud cover. "Welcome, my child," he called in sinister greeting. "You have returned to complete your passage, as has been ordained."

written while listening to:  Joëlle Léandre, Barry Guy, Zlatko Kaučič, Steve Swell, Ken Vandermark & Mikołaj Trzaska - Not Two...But Twenty!, disc 3 (Not Two Records, MW 1000-2, 2020, Poland, cdx5, discogs.com)

December 6, 2021
The priest appeared unconcerned by her escape from the village jail or her early arrival at the temple. Suspecting her reluctance to go further, he beckoned her to enter. "Come inside with me," he said, gesturing behind him. "Let me introduce you to your new lord and master."

"Have my lord and master come out!" Periboea shouted, "This bride would meet him with a head unclouded by his scent."

The surrounding throng grumbled and took a step forward as if they might en masse force her into the temple. However, the priest waved them off. To Periboea he replied, "As you wish."

written while listening to:  Tom Rainey Obbligato - Float Upstream (Intakt Records, Intakt CD 292, 2017, Switzerland, cd, discogs.com)

December 7, 2021
"You shall have an audience to the act of your ascendance and remain conscious through each excruciating moment." These last, threatening words of the priest soon gave way to unintelligible utterances and intonations as he began the ritual phrases to summon the beast from the pool. It was clear to Periboea that the congregation knew well the purpose of his chanting for their moans grew fevered and the air electric with the anticipation of seeing their father. It took all of Periboea's willpower to leave her sword in the scabbard.

written while listening to:  Erin Rogers - 2000 Miles (Relative Pitch Records, RPRSS005, 2021, United States, cd, discogs.com)

December 8, 2021
Within the temple, a massive appendage erupted from the still surface of the pool. It terminated in a webbed foot; the individual toes were elongated and prehensile, covered in barbs, useful for burrowing into muddy bottoms. The foot planted its weight on the stone stairs and a second forefoot eventually joined it. The beast paused, as if gathering strength to hoist its considerable girth from the buoyancy of the water. The hide of the creature shared the color of the mud from which it arose and yielded to a translucency over thick, bulging veins that glowed like amber.

written while listening to:  Henry Threadgill Zooid - Poof (Pi Recordings, PI92, 2021, United States, lp, discogs.com)

December 9, 2021
The crest of its bony head broke the water and it leapt completely from the pool with surprising agility. Drawn by the chant of the priest and the song of its children, the beast made for the temple exit. Emerging into the open air, it reared back on hind legs and drew itself up to its full height, equal to the trees about it. Water yet clung to it in a viscous film of mucus. Two globular eyes scanned the assembly and quickly settled upon the one figure who was unfamiliar, though the purpose of her presence was well known.

written while listening to:  Ivo Perelman & Dave Burrell - Brass and Ivory Tales, disc 1 (Fundacja Słuchaj!, FSR 11|2021, 2021, Poland, cdx9, discogs.com)

December 10, 2021
As the great batrachian orbs found her, Periboea experienced not only a heart-stopping terror but also a stomach-churning revulsion, like that which Ridibundus induced in her but magnified a hundred fold. If the latter was only a curse, then the former too must be a trick of the mind. With that logic, she pushed aside her fear or at least mastered it to such an extent that her limbs remained under her control. Her triumph manifested in a wry, closed smile. She experienced a surge of exhilaration in arriving, finally, at the inevitable battle to which she had been drawn since making her oath to the faerie.

written while listening to:  Roscoe Mitchell & Mike Reed - The Ritual and the Dance (Astral Spirits, AS145, 2021, United States, lp, discogs.com)

December 11, 2021
Periboea drew the xiphos, an act which elicited mad howls and enraged hisses from the congregation of humans born with the features and predilections of turtles, salamanders, prawns, snails, serpents and other crawling creatures of the swamp. Yet none encroached, leaving the handling of her impertinence to the discipline of their father. She raised the sword in defiance, which provoked, or so she imagined, the same wry expression on the face of the beast. In that instant, she perceived that her foe was also obligated to assume a role, whether it desired her or not.

written while listening to:  Evan Parker - Collected Solos: Aerobatics 5-14 (Otoroku, ROKU(RE) 11, 2021 (orig. 1989), United Kingdom, lpx4+cassette, discogs.com)

December 12, 2021
The beast was not accustomed to a bride such as Periboea. Without express haste, it lowered itself back onto all four legs, then crept down the stone steps until it occupied the same wide, shallow pool as its betrothed. It pressed one massive claw against the base of a hickory tree, which groaned at the pressure. With the other claw it reached rather sluggishly for Periboea, as if expecting her to remain perfectly still while she was gathered to it. Periboea easily jumped to the side and watched the webbed foot splash down in the spot that she had occupied several moments before.

written while listening to:  The Cecil Taylor Quartet - Looking Ahead! (Contemporary Records, S7562, 1959, United States, lp, discogs.com)

December 13, 2021
She did not taunt the beast for its apparent clumsiness. She suspected a god of this kind had not yet displayed its full range of capabilities. What followed was a grotesque parody of ballet in which the male partner moved in languid but brutal sweeps while the female dancer lunged and dodged, eluding his touch. The throng provided a chorus that sang in counterpoint to the action, gasping at any near miss. Each combatant tested the speed and agility of the other, until, like a cat that tires of playing with a mouse, the beast lost patience with the game.

written while listening to:  Wadada Leo Smith, Jack DeJohnette & Vijay Iyer - A Love Sonnet For Billie Holiday (TUM Records, TUM CD 060, 2021, Finland, cd, discogs.com)

December 14, 2021
With a swiftness belied by its previous movements, the beast suddenly swatted Periboea with the back of a foot, sending her flying through the air until she crashed against the broad trunk of an oak. The air was knocked from her lungs and her body slunk to a water-filled crevice between roots. The beast pounced. For a moment all four legs were in the air. When it landed, the very ground shook and water splashed to such a height that it fell like a passing rain on the assembled crowd, who exploded with animal whoops and calls in appreciation.

written while listening to:  Matthew Shipp & Nate Wooley - What If? (RogueArt, ROG-0097, 2019, France, cd, discogs.com)

December 15, 2021
The beast towered over Periboea. Thinking the battle over, its head swayed back and forth with no sense of urgency. It lowered its muzzle and sniffed at the inert form of its bride. In this woman, the creature detected the scent not only of its firstborn but of another destiny. From her strength would the beast draw forth a new scion, one worthy of the mantle of its lineage, one who would not abandon the sanctuary of murky waters for the momentary appeal of a shiny bauble, no matter its otherworldly origin nor its ancient claims to the swamp.

written while listening to:  Muhal Richard Abrams - Vision Towards Essence (Pi Recordings, PI23, 2007 (rec. 1998), United States, cd, discogs.com)

December 16, 2021
Periboea opened her eyes to a view of folds of flesh beneath the jaw and neck of the beast. The eel-like skin gleamed with the sheen of a slimy film. Had she held the sword in her grasp she would have seized that moment to plunge it through what she hoped was a soft underside. Alas, the blade had been knocked from her hand when she slammed against the tree. She turned her head to find the weapon lying several feet away, just beyond the beast's left foot. In the smooth, polished metal Periboea yet saw her salvation through violence.

written while listening to:  Craig Taborn - Shadow Plays (ECM Records, ECM 2693, 2021, Germany, cd, discogs.com)

December 17, 2021
She dove from the base of the tree to a spot beneath the belly of the beast. She rolled between two legs and emerged from the side, where she quickly regained her feet and reached for the sword. A surge of confidence ran through her as her fingers wrapped around the iron hilt. "I am not so easily overcome!" she shouted at the beast, who responded in a most lackadaisical manner, turning its head to observe her with an expression of bemused irritation. The throng found only impudence in her escape and roared its disapproval.

written while listening to:  Company - Epiphanies VII - XIII, sides A, B & C (Honest Jon's Records, HJRLP213, 2019 (rec. 1982), United Kingdom, lpx3, discogs.com)

December 18, 2021
The dance of warrior maiden and gargantuan beast resumed, though the tempo now increased. The creature offered no opening while Periboea remained vigilant lest she be tricked into complacency and felled with another abrupt swing of a claw. Indeed, as soon as the thought crossed her mind, the beast launched another lightning blow. She leapt aside at the last moment and its claws raked the ground, leaving long gashes in the soft soil. It crossed her mind then that, as the battle stretched on, the beast might have forgotten why it required its bride to survive the night.

written while listening to:  Peter Brötzmann - I Surrender Dear (Trost Records, TR 190, 2019, Austria, lp, discogs.com)

December 19, 2021
Periboea predicted that she would tire before her betrothed lost interest. Her vantage point on the open ground offered no opportunity to strike. Thus, she sought to the use the trees to her advantage, for they constrained the movement of the beast. She raced into their midst. The beast followed as far as it was able, pressing its claws against two trunks and extending its neck between them. It bared its wicked teeth and, for the first time, loosed a cloud of the same sickly sweet breath that filled the temple.

written while listening to:  Harry Bertoia - Sonambient Complete Collection, disc 5: All and More/Passage (Important Records, IMPREC419, 2016 (rec. 1978), United States, cdx11, discogs.com)

December 20, 2021
To escape the billowing, noxious fumes, Periboea was forced to scramble up an oak tree. She climbed with reckless abandon, leaping from branch to branch with no thought to the consequences of falling. Soon she had ascended to a great height where the air was clean and blew freely. She stood on a sturdy, horizontal bough and steadied herself with her left hand placed against another limb at shoulder height. She looked down upon the audience, the priest aside the temple entrance and upon the crested head of the beast as it slowly craned its neck upward until its eyes again settled on her form.

written while listening to:  Lawrence "Butch" Morris - Testament: A Conduction Collection, disc 4: Conduction #23 (New World Records/CounterCurrents, 80478-2, 1995, United States, cdx10+book, discogs.com)

December 21, 2021
The beast shuffled one clawed foot up a tree to her right and the other up a trunk to the left, raising its body as it did so, until it was propped on its hind legs. Its sinuous tail stretched into the puddle behind it, creating ripples in the water as back and forth it swayed. The creature paused when its head was at eye-level with Periboea. Then it lifted itself a little farther so that it might look down upon its prey. The trees bent under its immense weight. Sword in hand, Periboea met its gaze without flinching.

written while listening to:  Blind Idiot God - Undertow (Enemy Records, EMCD 107, 1988, United States, cd, discogs.com)

December 22, 2021
There next came a most curious and unexpected lull in the battle for a will-o'-wisp, blown astray on the high currents, appeared amidst the trees and floated dreamily between the two foes until it alighted on the very tip of Periboea's upraised sword. The length of the polished blade was sheathed in the eerie green light and reflected the glow upon Periboea and the beast. It was at this instant that our heroine's vision of the magic xiphos, which burned with the flame of a violent justice and granted her the gift of flight, was realized.

written while listening to:  Albert Ayler - Spirits (Debut Records, DEB 146, 1964, Denmark, lp, discogs.com)

December 23, 2021
Releasing the blade, the will-o'-wisp drifted up and to Periboea's left. Entranced by the pale smoldering of the emerald ember, the beast's gaze fixed on the dot and its jaw raised as its eyes tracked the ascending orb. With a force of will, Periboea tore her own eyes from the ethereal sight. Whether by chance or by design, the beast had now assumed a posture in which its neck was fully exposed. There could be no hesitation on Periboea's part; such a stroke of luck would not come again.

written while listening to:  Lester Bowie's Brass Fantasy - Avant Pop (ECM Records, ECM 1326, 1986, Germany, cd, discogs.com)

December 24, 2021
Story-tellers of old peddled a precarious trade and did best when they could please many in their audience. With this tale, we hope to alienate neither the realist nor the fantasist. It takes no supernatural ability to leap from a tree, only courage. Still, to describe the act of Periboea as she ran the length of the branch and sprang into the open air as merely jumping or anything less than flight seems to us a disservice. With sword clenched overhead in both hands, she hung in the air, an expression of exultation etched on her face.

written while listening to:  Ornette Coleman and Prime Time - Virgin Beauty (Portrait, R 44301, 1988, United States, lp, discogs.com)

December 25, 2021
Woe to the beast who unleashed Periboea's buried rage, stoked for long months in the labyrinthine darkness of the minotaur. The hide on the underside of the beast was not as thick as that on its back; yet it should not have split like butter under a hot knife. That the xiphos first punctured the beast's neck then slid, under the weight of Periboea, in a long clean gash down its gullet can alternatively be attributed to Carlos' care in the selection of the weapon, the residual flame of the will-o'-wisp, the purity of Periboea's hatred for King Minos or simply the inexorable physics of gravity.

written while listening to:  John Coltrane - Infinity (ABC Impulse!, AS-9225, 1972, United States, lp, discogs.com)

December 26, 2021
As its intestines bulged from the slit along its belly, the beast fell backward. It hissed in agony and writhed and flailed, damaging itself further. It had lost all desire for this most intemperate bride. In the blink of an eye it slithered through the shallow puddle, up the stone stairs to disappear into the temple maw, leaving behind a thick trail of blood. There could be no mistaking the splash as the wounded beast slid into the pool, whether to live or die in those dark depths Periboea could not know.

written while listening to:  Steve Lacy - The Kiss (Lunatic Records, Lunatic 002, 1987, Japan, lp, discogs.com)

December 27, 2021
As one, the great wailing horde of bestial children fled after their lord. They raced past Periboea, intent on diving into the pool to press, if need be, their father's wound closed with the sheer weight of their numbers. Soon, only the priest remained, crouching beside the temple entrance. Although he had already been spared once, he feared for his life. With a backward, accusatory glance, he crept like a beaten dog into shadow. In the glade that had mere moments before been alive with combat and jeers, Periboea now stood alone amidst the somber song of crickets.

written while listening to:  Lustmord - The Place Where the Black Stars Hang (Side Effects, DFX 16, 1994, United States, cd, discogs.com)

December 28, 2021
She followed the bobbing form of the will-o'-wisp along a meandering path that led to the island court of the faerie, where the monarch sat upon her stone throne as impossibly radiant as ever. To Periboea's disappointment, Ridibundus did not stand in attendance. "What tribute have you brought the court?" the diminutive faerie asked with a mischievous look on her face. Out of the blue, Periboea thought of the silver comb that the oracle had given her. She rummaged through her pack until she found it, at which point she offered it to the faerie.

written while listening to:  Carpet Floor - Majestic (Forehead Eye, FE-1, 2007, United States, cd, discogs.com)

December 29, 2021
As she stood behind the faerie and brushed her long, golden locks, Periboea confessed, "I am afraid that I only wounded the beast but did not kill it."

written while listening to:  Julien Omeyer - withered gleaming / first step (EYE (earnyourears), no catalog #, 2007, France, cd, discogs.com)

December 30, 2021
The faerie gestured to a shirt of mail laid out on the moss beside her, previously hidden from Periboea's view by a trick of light. "The beast sloughs off its skin every few centuries. The last time it did so, a steward collected it and placed it among the many treasures in my vault. Knowing of your desire, I had one of my tailors craft a shirt for you."

Periboea donned the scaled shirt and found it extraordinarily supple. Only later would she test its resilience. She thanked the faerie, though privately she found it odd that one garbed exclusively in her own tresses should have tailors in her retinue.

written while listening to:  Mamoru Fujieda - Patterns of Plants II (Tzadik, TZ 8061, 2008, United States, cd, discogs.com)

December 31, 2021
On her way out, Periboea ran into the custodian, mopping up the swamp. He pretended not to recognize her in the dazzling armored shirt, though her garb was scarcely the greatest change to have come over her. The custodian supposed that, when she returned to the port, no one would mistake her for the frightened girl who fled into the mire. There was a bounce in her step for, on that morning, she harbored no worries. The faerie had graciously returned the silver comb, suggesting that she might have need to pawn it for passage aboard a ship bound for Athens or Knossos or whatever other destination her heart desired.

written while listening to:  Ellen Fullman & Theresa Wong - Harbors (Room40, RM4123, 2020, Australia, lp, discogs.com)