The Poison Pie Publishing House presents:

November 1, 2021
Periboea followed a path through the swamp that seemed neither especially direct nor meandering. It skirted deep pools as necessary but wound its way beneath particularly picturesque oaks when the opportunity arose. There was little risk of losing the path. It was wide enough to accommodate two pedestrians and sufficiently well-traveled that no significant undergrowth obstructed it. She knew the temple lay at one end and reasoned that the destination at the far end was home to the congregation. The calls of birds subsided not in the least as she progressed along the route, which she interpreted as a hopeful sign.

written while listening to:  François Tusques, Alexandra Grimal & Sylvain Guérineau - La Jungle Du Douanier Rousseau (Improvised Beings, ib24, 2014, France, cd, discogs.com)

November 2, 2021
Periboea heard sporadic sounds—a call for assistance, the thud of an axe splitting wood—which indicated her approach to the village. She made no attempt to hide. There was little doubt that she would be out-numbered soon; she thus judged the benefits of subterfuge to be short-lived. She needed information, if she were to devise a plan to confront the beast outside the protective fumes of the temple. Glancing behind her and to either side, she detected no sign of pursuit. Apparently, she was to waltz into the village and simply announce her arrival.

written while listening to:  Ornette Coleman - Something Else!!!! (Contemporary Records, C 3551, 1958, United States, lp, discogs.com)

November 3, 2021
The inhabitants of the village had not attempted to fell all the trees in a certain area. On the contrary, their one-room homes, raised on stilts, necessary in a land where flooding was an annual part of the rainy season, were nestled between the wide trunks of old growth and shaded by the canopy. It was therefore difficult for Periboea to estimate the number of houses. The wooden buildings blended with the trees, concealing what lay beyond. A web of winding, earthen streets, scarcely more than wide footpaths, led from the crude ladders at the entrance to each home.

written while listening to:  Janel Leppin, Susan Alcorn & Meghan Habibzai - Sister Mirror (Atlantic Rhythms, AR-34, 2020, United States, cassette, discogs.com)

November 4, 2021
Several women, seated on mats of woven reeds, were chatting as they worked. Two mended clothes while another cut leather thongs from hide for use as sandal straps. They spoke the same tongue as Periboea and not the wicked words of the high priest. Their ages ranged from twenty to fifty and no obvious hierarchy was apparent in their interactions. One of them whispered what must have been a joke for the group tittered with a nervous laughter, looking around afterward to make sure that they had not been overheard. Only then did they spot the swordswoman observing them.

written while listening to:  Ingrid Laubrock - Dreamt Twice, Twice Dreamt, disc 1 (Intakt Records, Intakt CD 355, 2020, Switzerland, cdx2, discogs.com)

November 5, 2021
The women, in garments neither fine nor especially worn, jumped to their feet. Evidently, the arrival of a stranger was a rare occurrence in this remote village. Full of excited curiosity, they gathered about Periboea but kept a measured distance for not one of the half dozen reached out to touch her. Rather than greeting their visitor, they speculated among themselves regarding her origin and purpose. Periboea detected in their expressions and in the intonations of their speech a mixture of surprise and confusion, unmistakably tinged with sorrow.

written while listening to:  Tomeka Reid Quartet - untitled (Thirsty Ear, THI57210.2, 2015, United States, cd, discogs.com)

November 6, 2021
Eventually, the youngest woman in the group, with gray eyes and braided hair, addressed Periboea directly, asking, "Have you come from the temple?" Immediately, all conversation ceased as the others waited for a reply.

Periboea had indeed followed the path from the temple to the village. Although she sensed that there was another intention to the question, she answered, "I have."

Her response generated greater bewilderment among the women. "Where is your escort?" They looked behind her into the trees to confirm that she had arrived alone.

written while listening to:  Okkyung Lee & Lasse Marhaug - Trost Jukebox Series #6 (Trost Records, TR-JBX006, 2016, Austria, 7", discogs.com) & Okkyung Lee & Jon Wesseltoft - Piper (Holidays Records, HOL 063, 2014, Italy, single-sided lp, discogs.com)

November 7, 2021
Only then did Periboea intuit that each of these women had been brought to the temple by the high priest. Each had succumbed to the fumes and the spell-laden chalice. They had been visited by the beast and later escorted to the village where they now dwelt. As to the rest of their story she could only speculate, but this much rationalized their surprise at her arrival, the confusion at the absence of a guard by her side and the sorrow that another had been added to their unfortunate number. "I did not allow the ceremony in the temple to be completed," she explained. "I escaped."

written while listening to:  The Space Between with Joëlle Léandre - The Space Between (482 Music, 482-1017, 2003, United States, cd, discogs.com)

November 8, 2021
Hearing these words, a hushed dread fell over the women. The gray-eyed woman whispered, "Flee!" An adjacent villager silenced her with a hand over her mouth while the others shook their heads sadly and consulted openly among themselves. "No, it is too late. He knows she is here and he will know that we have spoken with her. It will go badly for us if we allow her to leave." Having already escaped a horde of half-animals, Periboea thought these women stood little chance of restraining her. However, it was their humanity, aside from her oath, which prevented her departure.

written while listening to:  Lawrence "Butch" Morris - Testament: A Conduction Collection, disc 2: Conduction #15 (New World Records/CounterCurrents, 80478-2, 1995, United States, cdx10+book, discogs.com)

November 9, 2021
"Let there be no misunderstanding," Periboea announced. "I have come to slay the beast that dwells in the temple." She rested her hand on the hilt of her sword to emphasize the weapon with which she would accomplish this labor.

The women jumped back as if the stranger in their midst had revealed that she carried the plague and her mere proximity threatened their lives. Not one among them was able to find words to articulate a response to Periboea's declaration. They fled alone and in pairs down the streets leading farther into the village.

written while listening to:  Kazuhisa Uchihashi, Tatsuya Yoshida & Satoshi Mishiba - Deposition and Erosion (Magaibutsu Limited, MGC-43, 2012, Japan, cd, discogs.com)

November 10, 2021
There were no walls around the village. These women had created their own labyrinth and trapped themselves inside it. All the same Periboea pitied them. She followed along the main street and it was soon clear that word of her arrival had rapidly spread. Other women either peered from the entrances of raised houses or emerged to gawk at her. They followed at a safe distance until she reached what must have served as the public square, though it was scarcely more than a dry spot centered around a massive, old stump.

written while listening to:  Ballister (Dave Rempis, Fred Lonberg-Holm & Paal Nilssen-Love) - Worse for the Wear (Aerophonic Records, AR008, 2015, United States, cd, discogs.com)

November 11, 2021
Lest her courage falter, Periboea climbed upon the stump. Villagers gathered until there numbered more than forty. Most were women, save for one group of four men garbed in black cloaks, their hoods pulled back, huddled in the rear of the crowd. Although several women showed clear signs of pregnancy, not a single child was to be found. Periboea had traveled from Athens in years past to visit country kin and knew well the pastoral song of rural settlements. The total absence of the untroubled cries of children roaming free chilled her more than the suspicious glares fixed upon her.

written while listening to:  Steve Lacy - School Days (Emanem, 5016, 2011 (rec. 1960 & 1963), United Kingdom, cd, discogs.com)

November 12, 2021
Periboea gazed out at the throng. The men still plotted furiously among themselves but she had the rapt attention of the rest of the crowd. "I have been to the temple," she shouted. "I breathed the foul air within and did not swoon. Your accursed wizard lay helpless at my feet and I spared his life." Here Periboea drew the xiphos and thrust it into the air. "Such mercy I will not show the beast. Summon the creature now so that you assembled here may serve as witnesses to its demise. When the beast lies lifeless on the muddy earth, you shall be free."

written while listening to:  Evan Parker, Mikołaj Trzaska, John Edwards & Mark Sanders - City Fall, disc 1 (Fundacja Słuchaj!, FSR 04|2016, 2016, Poland, cd, discogs.com)

November 13, 2021
For this inspiring oration, Periboea received no applause. The women recoiled. The mundane call of an egret in the distance pierced the ensuing silence. As one, the quartet of men moved forward. Their sunken eyes betrayed the evil on their minds. The women parted, allowing them to approach the heretic. The men were armed only with walking sticks. When they faced Periboea, she gestured toward them with her iron sword and tried to reason with them, saying, "There is no call for me to spill your blood this day. Though if you beg me to do so, you will find me obliging."

written while listening to:  Company - Epiphanies I - VI (Honest Jon's Records, HJRLP212, 2019 (rec. 1982), United Kingdom, lpx2, discogs.com)

November 14, 2021
These men, like the high priest they followed, were cowards by nature. They had surrendered what modicum of independence they might have known for the lure of sharing, however unequally, in the power of the beast. Accustomed to lording their limited authority over frightened women, they capitulated completely when confronted by the ferocity of the warrior before them. In a servile voice, one among them said, "We must wait for the master to arrive. Only he can summon the hallowed one whom you seek." The others offered sycophantic smiles and nodded in mute agreement.

written while listening to:  Matthew Shipp String Trio - Symbolic Reality (RogueArt, ROG-0096, 2019, France, cd, discogs.com)

November 15, 2021
The men attempted neither to disarm her nor to relieve her of her pack. Insisting that their priest would not return until nightfall, they escorted her from the public square to a nearby building constructed differently than the rest. Whereas the homes on stilts were lightweight to accommodate their elevated form, the rectangular structure to which she was led was situated on the ground and more solidly made. Thick logs formed the walls with clay pressed into the gaps. There could be no mistaking this building for anything other than the jail that it was.

written while listening to:  Joe McPhee - Nation Time (CjRecord Productions, CJR-2, 1971, United States, lp, discogs.com)

November 16, 2021
Having escaped the labyrinth, Periboea had no intention of ever willingly confining herself within another prison. Therefore, when one of the men opened the door and beckoned her to enter, she refused. The cultists around her judged their chances of shoving her inside without sustaining injury to be slight and so did not act. They would have remained at an impasse save for an inhuman voice that called from the shadowed interior. "Periboea," it hailed, "you have come calling. Step inside, my friend, and join me. We will pass the afternoon in a pleasant way while you wait for your host to arrive."

written while listening to:  Harry Bertoia - Sonambient Complete Collection, disc 3: Unfolding / Sounds Beyond (Important Records, IMPREC419, 2016 (rec. 1978), United States, cdx11, discogs.com)

November 17, 2021
Even Periboea now accepted that it was her destiny to face the beast. No squalid hut would prevent that fate. Without further sign of hesitation, she strode into the darkness of the jail. She did not react when the door was closed behind her nor when the thud of a bar sealed the exit. Her eyes adjusted to flecks of sunlight slipping through gaps in the roof. Off to one side of the single room she found a stone pillar of precisely the same size and shape, which had rested beside the throne of the faerie on a starlit night that seemed to have passed ages ago.

written while listening to:  Peter Evans, Agustí Fernández & Barry Guy - Free Radicals at DOM (Fundacja Słuchaj!, FSR 15|2018, 2018, Poland, cd, discogs.com)

November 18, 2021
"Why have you been imprisoned?" she asked Ridibundus, for that is who stood before her, though he had not yet deigned to acknowledge her entrance. Eventually the frog man opened his eyes. Periboea was once again filled with an unnatural repulsion arising from his curse. He politely said nothing of her involuntary step back. Instead, he spoke in his gravelly voice. "Thankfully, my incarceration is a result of my own choices. I consider myself fortunate that I am not one cast helplessly about by fate but, rather, remain a master of my destiny."

written while listening to:  Liz Allbee - Rille (Relative Pitch Records, RPR1124, 2021, United States, cd, discogs.com)

November 19, 2021
Periboea felt much the same way, for she too had entered the village and then the jail of her volition. "And what choice brought you here?" She worried that his incarceration would be traced to the blessing, which he had ostensibly granted her when she was exposed to his blood while tending his wound. The priest had clearly sensed the influence of another. Ridibundus seemed to follow her thoughts. He croaked a ghastly chuckle. "No, my friend, the fateful decision that has led me down this path was made long before you pricked me with your iron needle."

written while listening to:  John Zorn - Elegy (Eva Records, WWCX 2040, 1992, Japan, cd, discogs.com)

November 20, 2021
Without answering her question, the frog man's eyes moved to the sword at her side. "I see that you have acquired a new blade, somewhat larger than the last." He allowed a gruesome smile to flit across his stone face. "I shall do my best not to upset you." He then examined her jerkin, trousers and boots. "It appears that you stand prepared." He took a deep breath. Several crickets who had earlier wandered inside the jail seized this pause to interject a few trills. "Is it your desire," Ridibundus asked, "to confront the beast this night?"

written while listening to:  Yea Big + Disorganizer - An Emptiness Supreme (FPE Records, 36, 2021, United States, cd, discogs.com)

November 21, 2021
"It is," Periboea replied, "not only desire but the fulfillment of an oath, to which you were witness, and a first step toward vengeance." The frog man nodded, and acted as if his gesture was all it took to ensure that her fateful appointment would come to pass. Outside she heard the cultists' footsteps recede; she and her fellow inmate were alone. "Before I attend to the beast, I should like to ask you a few more questions."

"Only three," replied Ridibundus, resuming the role of a pointlessly inflexible tutor.

written while listening to:  Art Ensemble of Chicago - Live At Mandel Hall (Trio Records/Delmark Records, PA-6022~23, 1974, Japan, lpx2, discogs.com)

November 22, 2021
Periboea gestured at the damp, earthen floor and the rough-hewn walls. "Why are you here?" she asked the frog man again, for he had not answered her the first time that she put the question to him.

For his part, Ridibundus felt as if he had already divulged this information to Periboea. However, the truth of the words he was to share filled him with joy so he had no reservations in giving voice to them again. "I fell in love with a faerie and allowed the urgings of my heart to overwhelm my duty to my kin."

written while listening to:  Caspar Nyvang Rask - Slow Evolution Ensemble (Gotta Let It Out, GLIO27, 2019, Denmark, cd, discogs.com)

November 23, 2021
"How are these people kin to you?"

Ridibundus explained in a roundabout manner. "It isn't told why the priest sought sanctuary in the swamp. Perhaps, he fled persecution just like you. But once here, he felt the old magic, the residual signs of the beast before it burrowed into the mud to sleep away the ages. Tantalized by this latent energy, the priest dreamt of establishing a colony in the swamp. He especially dreamt of a harem of lithesome beauties who would cater to his needs. He beseeched the slumbering power in the earth to aid him in this endeavor, promising in exchange a devoted congregation."

written while listening to:  Tiger Trio (Joëlle Léandre, Myra Melford & Nicole Mitchell) - Map of Liberation (RogueArt, ROG-0093, 2019, France, cd, discogs.com)

November 24, 2021
"On the night that the priest brought the first young captive to the ancient temple, he intended the carnal act to serve as an homage to his unearthly benefactor. How keen his disappointment when, before the union could be consummated, the great beast arose from the pool to claim the maiden for itself. Then and there the priest belatedly understood his role as procurer and court eunuch. No conjugal comforts would he know. From the womb of that first coupling betwixt woman and beast, I emerged. I did not allow myself to be cradled in my mother's arms but slithered into the pool under my father's care."

written while listening to:  The World Heritage (Natsuki Kido, Seiichi Yamamoto, Yuji Katsui, Mitsuru Nasuno & Tatsuya Yoshida) - The Land of Light (Magaibutsu Limited, MGC-50, 2016, Japan, cd, discogs.com)

November 25, 2021
"I was the first," said Ridibundus without any show of pride, "but as you know many others followed." The frog man frowned. "You have come to a village of hapless mothers. Their woeful children lurk not far off but few are the tender meetings between them." The tutor's tone abruptly sharpened. "As the eldest son, special obligations were placed upon my shoulders. I have been unconscionably derelict in the performance of these duties. I dare not even voice the suggestion to abdicate, knowing as I do the violent response with which such a proposal would be met."

written while listening to:  Vijay Iyer & Mike Ladd - In What Language? (Pi Recordings, PI09, 2003, United States, cd, discogs.com)

November 26, 2021
Periboea could no longer pretend that there existed no link between the frog man and his half-beast kin, whose many unnatural forms she had seen splayed upon the walls of the canal, or the turtle-woman who had accosted her so rudely in the moonlight. It was an overdue recognition, one that she had subconsciously postponed until such a denial was no longer tenable. She pitied Ridibundus, for though her plight was dire, she glimpsed a possibility of triumph, while she reckoned that his curse should plague him until the end of his days.

written while listening to:  Brad Barrett, Joe Morris & Tyshawn Sorey - Cowboy Transfiguration (Fundacja Słuchaj!, FSR 05|2019, 2019, Poland, cd, discogs.com)

November 27, 2021
"Does the beast have a weakness?" she asked as her third and final question, though she had already asked it once before. Here, it becomes clear, gentle reader, that Periboea no longer sought additional information for her own benefit. Rather, she intended to cultivate a narrative in which each participant could present themselves in their best possible light.

Ridibundus very much appreciated her magnanimity. Her tutor, once again, he answered faithfully. "Your foe thinks it better to be powerful than to be loved."

written while listening to:  Charles Mingus - Mingus Moves (Atlantic Records, SD 1653, 1974, United States, lp, discogs.com)

November 28, 2021
"It is time to go," announced the tutor. "Each of us should meet destiny on our own terms." That portion of the stone pillar which corresponded to the frog man's legs tensed. Suddenly, he launched himself vertically, like a bullet from a sling, leaving a ragged hole in the thatched roof. He landed with a thump just outside the walls. With a more modest leap, Periboea managed to grab hold of the edge of the opening and pull herself out. She jumped from the roof to the ground, alighting beside Ridibundus. "I thank you," she said, "for postponing your jailbreak until I could join you."

written while listening to:  George Lewis - Chicago Slow Dance (Lovely Music, Ltd./Vital Records, VR 1101, 1981, United States, lp, discogs.com)

November 29, 2021
Warrior and tutor stood in the light of early evening. The villagers were making their way over to investigate the source of the disruption. However, just as the chorus of the swamp had drowned out the shouts of the pursuing men when Periboea first entered its confines, so too now did the call of tree frogs, the rubbing of cricket legs and the many-voiced melody of birds overwhelm the words of those who approached. Neither escapee harbored a desire to avenge themselves upon their captors for the brief incarceration that had allowed them the pleasure of this reunion. Into the trees they quietly departed.

written while listening to:  Merdh Laleh - Water for Your Eyes (Petrola 80, PET-006, 2019, Denmark, lp, discogs.com)

November 30, 2021
After securing themselves in the vastness of the swamp, the pair paused beneath a plane tree with a crown of branches, some in leaf and other bare. The frog man admired the tree, halfway through a decades-long process of dying, for the equanimity with which it accepted its deterioration. By such testament, it made possible the idea that any demise, no matter how ignoble, could be imbued with grace.

Unaware that the high priest had visited Periboea in her dreams, Ridibundus pointed her in the direction of the temple. "I promised to send you to him. Alas, I shall not join you."

written while listening to:  David Murray - Children (Black Saint, BSR 0089, 1985, Italy, lp, discogs.com)