The Poison Pie Publishing House presents:

March 1, 2025
Emerging from a cave on the eastern slope of Mount Ida, Melite stood at the edge of a cypress woodland. The gradual paling of the eastern sky did little to soften the assault upon her eyes of the rising sun when it breached the horizon. Fearing blindness, she hid in the shadow of an especially massive trunk. A tempest surged within her. Among the swirling emotions she detected the indistinct sensation of heartbreak. She was astounded to discover a yearning for the company of the Minotaur. Beyond belief, her gaze strayed to the mouth of the cave, tempting her to return.

written while listening to:  Giovanni Guidi Trio - Tomorrow Never Knows (Venus Records, TKCV-35377, 2006, Japan, cd, discogs.com)

March 2, 2025
Yet the world of the living called to Melite. The lure of unseen birds, in high rapid bursts and low melodies, reminded her of a forgotten song. The sough of the wind through the cypress resonated within her as if the same breeze gave rise to a timbre through her body. She rested with her back against the bark of the broad trunk, allowing the tree to calm her with its ancient presence. As a residual effect of the dilation of time in the labyrinth, it took Melite all morning to process the revelation that she had escaped from the Minotaur.

written while listening to:  Guillaume Gargaud - AARDE: A Whole Day (dirtydemos, DirtyCDR 025, 2007, United Kingdom, cd, discogs.com)

March 3, 2025
Shielding her eyes with her hand, Melite gazed upon the mountainous terrain beneath her. No sign of roads or habitation did she espy. Thirst prodded her to descend the slope toward a gentle ravine lined with trees, as it seemed a likely place through which a stream might run. Having wandered so long in the maze, she had no greater idea of a destination. Free of pursuit, she experienced a joyous luxury in a slow stride. It struck her as truly miraculous that she could see obstacles—a fallen log, a rock, a gully—before stumbling into them.

written while listening to:  Great Waitress - Flock (Creative Sources, CS 234 CD, 2013, Portugal, cd, discogs.com)

March 4, 2025
After the trees and the wind, the next creatures to greet Melite upon her return to the surface world belonged to a small herd of wild goats, foraging along the mountainside. Certainly the family took notice of Melite's presence though they did not immediately flee from her. Perched atop a boulder, a horned ram eyed her casually before he dismissed her as posing no threat. To be acknowledged in this way thrilled Melite for she interpreted it as a high compliment, an acceptance that she belonged again in the sunlit world.

written while listening to:  David Holland & Derek Bailey - Improvisations For Cello And Guitar (ECM Records, ECM 1013 ST, 1971, Germany, lp, discogs.com)

March 5, 2025
At her own pace, Melite eventually reached the bottom of the ravine and was rewarded by the musical notes of water flowing over rounded stones. Along the banks of the shallow creek, a border of Cretan maples grew, their glossy leaves a dark green though spring had yet to fully seize the season from winter's grasp. In their dappled shadow, she knelt and drank of the clear, cold water. Never had she tasted a superior vintage! She felt an extraordinary gratitude to the rain that had fallen to form this stream, the mountains that had guided it to her and the trees that stood sentinel about her.

written while listening to:  Keiji Haino - My Lord Music, I Most Humbly Beg Your Indulgence..., sides A & B (Black Editions/Purple Trap, BE-1004/PT005, 2022, United States/Japan, lpx2, discogs.com)

March 6, 2025
Because she had become accustomed to aligning her movements with the constraints imposed by tunnel walls, Melite followed the creek, as it provided a sort of analogous boundary with a corresponding route. The idea of exercising a complete freedom to wander the lands in an arbitrary direction of her own choosing overwhelmed her. Besides, the water continued to trill its lovely tune for her benefit as she walked. So generous a companion could not be rudely dismissed. In this way, Melite gradually descended the slope of Mount Ida.

written while listening to:  Joëlle Léandre, François Houle & Georg Graewe - Live @ Banlieues Bleues (Red Toucan Records, RT 9306, 1996, Canada, cd, discogs.com)

March 7, 2025
On her first day free of the mine, Melite cut a strange, wispy figure. The wind from the Great Sea had wound its way over the mountains, still bearing the scent of salt. Her hair, grown longer than deemed fashionable in the past year, was caught by the breeze and tugged leeward across her shoulders and face. She traipsed in a gown, once fine and white, now worn thin, stained with earth and wrinkled from having been routinely slept in. She continued to periodically shield her eyes from the glare of the rediscovered sun.

written while listening to:  Susan Alcorn, Simone Baron, Lynn Grisset & Killick Hinds - New Baltimore Quiet (self-released, no catalog #, 2024, United States, digital files, discogs.com)

March 8, 2025
Her expression was perhaps at odds with her plight, for no sign of anxiety etched her face as one might expect from a young woman lost and alone in a foreign land, a fugitive with naught to her name but her wits, the clothes on her back and a pair of sandals. Melite detected a faint odor of smoke in the air and followed it. In doing so, she made a conscious choice to reunite herself with civilization. She had no other option; the idea of remaining a recluse in the wilderness had not yet occurred to her.

written while listening to:  Tyshawn Sorey, Adam Rudolph, Sae Hashimoto, Russell Greenberg & Levy Lorenzo - Archaisms II (Defkaz Productions, FKO19, 2024, Greece, lp, discogs.com)

March 9, 2025
Melite came upon a hunter's footpath that led to a wider road, which in turn delivered her to a small village. From a distance, she heard voices calling to each other mingled with the squawk of quails, the bleat of sheep and the oink of piglets. The menagerie of sound drew her forward where the smell of smoke grew stronger and was joined by the aroma of cooking spices and the stink of manure, gathered in mounds to fertilize fields come spring. A roan mare left untethered approached Melite and, by way of welcome, nuzzled her in the crook of her neck.

written while listening to:  Nicole Mitchell & Ballaké Sissoko - Bamako*Chicago Sound System (For Practically Everyone Records, FPE 060, 2024, United States, cd, discogs.com)

March 10, 2025
The men were in the fields, plowing and planting. The women of the village paused at their chores to gather around the stranger. Melite felt both curiosity and concern in their entreaties. They commented openly in the Cretan dialect on the former quality of her gown, for such finery was uncommon in the countryside. Her Athenian accent drew guffaws, for they had never entertained a visitor with such outlandish speech. An old widow took the newcomer under her care, leading Melite to a hut where she offered a humble lunch of bread and olive oil.

written while listening to:  Tomas Fujiwara, Ben Goldberg & Mary Halvorson - The Out Louds (Relative Pitch Records, RPR1042, 2016, United States, cd, discogs.com)

March 11, 2025
Melite moved from the entrance of the hut deeper into its modest interior, for the relentless light of the sun had caused her eyes to ache. The old woman remained sitting in the doorway, with the sun warming her back. As if to prepare her guest for an interrogation to come, she said to Melite, "How will you answer when you are asked to explain yourself?" The food in her belly made Melite sleepy. She gazed mutely back at her host, who clarified, "You will be obliged to tell them who you are and where you come from."

written while listening to:  Roscoe Mitchell Trio - Angel City (RogueArt, ROG-0061, 2014, France, cd, discogs.com)

March 12, 2025
As Melite napped in the shadows within the woman's hut, she was visited by an uneasy vision of the impending questioning. Even in the half-waking dream, she understood that, were she to reveal her escape from the labyrinth, she would almost certainly be returned to the prison. More poignantly, Melite did not want to betray the faithful courtship of the Minotaur who had escorted her throughout his realm and, in accordance with his own rough sense of propriety, had released her once he had concluded that their fates were not to be entwined.

written while listening to:  David S. Ware Quartet - Cryptology (Homestead Records, HMS220-2, 1995, United States, cd, discogs.com)

March 13, 2025
That evening, the village chief showed little regard for Melite's gentle nature nor did he display any sympathy for her precarious situation. After a brief pause in which she had hesitated to speak in the face of his initial barrage of questions, the gruff man shouted, "Woman, give me one reason why I shouldn't have you thrown out of Anogia right now?" Melite had lived a sheltered upbringing. She had never been exposed to such harsh treatment. Even the Minotaur, in his subterranean maze, had exercised greater sensitivity than this petty, local autocrat.

written while listening to:  Marilyn Crispell - Selected Works 1983-1986, disc 1 (Golden Years Of New Jazz, GY 11/12, 2001 (rec. 1983 & 1985), United Kingdom, cdx2, discogs.com)

March 14, 2025
In the square building where official business of the village was conducted, the chief proved unable to extract a single word from Melite. His shouting had induced a mute paralysis. He next summoned the old widow to act as her representative and interpreter. Upon her arrival, the chief demanded of the woman, "Can she speak?" Accustomed to his brusque manner, the woman remained composed. However, before she could answer, he barked, "What's her name?" "Melite," said the woman. "How do you know?" The widow replied, "She told me so."

written while listening to:  Ryoko Ono - The Days (Relative Pitch Records, RPRSS034, 2024, United States, cd, discogs.com)

March 15, 2025
"To whom does she belong?" asked the chief. In those times, a woman was the property of her father until she was transferred to her husband. Melite no longer belonged to her father, who had surrendered her in the lottery. Nor did she belong to King Minos, who had offered her to the Minotaur. She did not believe that the beast held any title over her as he had released her of his own will. She was a free woman. She dared not say as much to the village chief, a man for whom no answer was satisfactory, much less a woman's claim to independence.

written while listening to:  Marc Ribot - Spiritual Unity (Pi Recordings, PI15, 2005, United States, cd, discogs.com)

March 16, 2025
The old woman feared for the safety of Melite, though she was careful not to risk her own tenuous position in the village. She pointed out the quality of the gown, still apparent despite age and rough usage. "Such garments are only found in noble houses, perhaps even the palace." She said this to provide an aura of protection about Melite, for no one dared cross the tyrannical King Minos. Her words had their intended effect. The chief swiftly delivered his judgment. On the morrow, their visitor would be turned over to the local garrison.

written while listening to:  Sophia Djebel Rose - Sécheresse (WV Sorcerer Productions/Oracle Records/Ramble Records, WV113/OR003/RAM-187, 2025, France/Australia, lp, discogs.com)

March 17, 2025
Melite spent the night in a small room with the door barred from the outside. The old woman was allowed to deliver a meal. She attempted to counsel Melite, saying, "I have bought you a little time. I hope that I have not put you in worse straits than that from which you fled. As long as there is the possibility that you belong to someone powerful, the soldiers tomorrow will be less likely to lay hands on you." She finished by admonishing her, "You would do well to think of your own welfare and act accordingly."

written while listening to:  The Jimmy Giuffre 4 - Liquid Dancers (Soul Note, 121 158-1, 1991, Italy, lp, discogs.com)

March 18, 2025
Alone in her cell, Melite contemplated what actions she might take in the interests of her own welfare. No obvious advantageous options presented themselves. Moreover, she was disinclined to lie, as she hoped to maintain an image of herself as free of culpability in the events that befell her. It mattered not. In the morning, two men of the village did not solicit her opinion as they escorted her along a well-trod road to a small settlement. Here, soldiers of the Minoan army were temporarily lodged, as they traveled to various duties across the island.

written while listening to:  Gerry Mulligan & Chet Baker - Carnegie Hall Concert Volume 1 (CTI Records, CTI 6054 S1, 1975, United States, lp, discogs.com)

March 19, 2025
The captain of the garrison was a long-serving veteran, accustomed to having matters go smoothly. He had the fugitive brought to his office. Although he was both husband and father, and knew the value of tenderness, he rarely had cause to invoke it at work. In a paternal tone, he addressed Melite. She confirmed her name with a nod. The captain explained to her that runaway daughters and brides must be returned to their families. "It would make life easier for both of us if you kindly shared with me the name of the lord from whom you have fled."

written while listening to:  Hank Mobley - Hank Mobley (Blue Note, BLP 1568, 1957, United States, lp, discogs.com)

March 20, 2025
"I have fled from no one," Melite replied. "I was set free." Her foreign accent immediately set alarm bells ringing for the captain. None but the king would have an Athenian woman in his house. He instantly summoned the maidservant to have their guest washed and her garment laundered. To his men, he issued an order to avoid all contact with the woman, should they value their lives. Melite was placed in another room and her gown taken from her. Naked, she waited, listening to the idle conversation of two guards standing outside the door.

written while listening to:  John Zorn - Filmworks III 1990-1995 (evva, 33006, 1995, Japan, cd, discogs.com)

March 21, 2025
The maidservant returned with a bucket of water and a towel. Under her attentive care, the grime of a year in the labyrinth was washed from Melite. Within a matter of hours, the gown was restored to her in a state far from its original resplendence but more clearly retaining signs of lavish tailoring. The maid scrutinized Melite, evaluating her work. "Your hair is too long," she said, "and you are too short and thin to make a proper beauty, but I have done the best I could. Whomever your lord may be, I doubt he will be sorry to see you again."

written while listening to:  Rob Mazurek & Exploding Star Orchestra - Lightning Dreamers (International Anthem Recording Company, IARC0065, 2023, United States, cd, discogs.com)

March 22, 2025
On the following morning, Melite was placed in a mule-drawn wagon headed east for Knossos. From behind, Melite watched a man walk beside the animal, his stride setting their tempo. The two seemed well-matched companions, accustomed to traveling together. The same could not be said for the pair of soldiers who followed her. Grumbling throughout the day, they supposed that they could have been spared this hike if not for the woman who had taken their seat. The mule was driven at an unhurried but steady pace. Still, the palace came into view only with the setting sun.

written while listening to:  Jim O'Rourke - To Magnetize Money and Catch a Roving Eye, disc 3 (Sonoris, sns-16, 2019, France, cdx4, discogs.com)

March 23, 2025
Melite's first visit to the palace at Knossos had occurred at night, when she had traveled from the port. Entering in darkness from the north, she had missed much detail. She now approached the west entrance while the rays of the setting sun illuminated palatial complex. Upon the hill rose the rectangular forms of many buildings, lined with porticos. No show of strength was lacking in the architecture; the walls were constructed from stone three feet thick. The streets were paved with limestone slabs. Pine trees offered shade in the outdoor courtyards.

written while listening to:  Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie - Bird and Diz (Mercury, MGC-512, 1952 (rec. 1949 & 1950), United States, 10", discogs.com)

March 24, 2025
The monumental grandeur of the skyline was lost on Melite, whose thoughts had descended to the turmoil in her stomach, for she rightly feared the Minoan justice soon to be done upon her. Having arrived without invitation or advance notice, she was waylaid at the gate. First the eunuch in charge of the royal harem was summoned. He ordered Melite down from the wagon. Inspecting her face, he did not recognize her as one of his charges. He shook his head. "Not mine." However, when his attention focused on her garment, he called for the high priest.

written while listening to:  Duke Ellington & His Orchestra - Masterpieces By Ellington (Columbia, ML 4418, 1951, United States, lp, discogs.com)

March 25, 2025
Melite remained standing outside the west entrance as dusk settled on the palace. By lantern light, the eunuch and the priest examined her. Notably, they put not a single question to the subject of their interest. Either they regarded her as an untrustworthy source of information or they simply treated her as chattel, unworthy of being addressed by royal appointees. When the soldiers complained that they had traveled all day and not yet eaten, the pair eventually concluded their inspection. Melite was transferred to palace guards and the soldiers roughly dismissed.

written while listening to:  Mal Waldron & Steve Lacy featuring Reggie Workman & Andrew Cyrille - The Mighty Warriors, disc 1 (Elemental Music, 5990446, 2024 (rec. 1995), Spain, cdx2, discogs.com)

March 26, 2025
The clicking call of a nightjar followed Melite as she was led into an interior corridor. She had every expectation of being locked inside the same cell in the dungeon that she had occupied during her previous visit. However, the guards led her past a stairwell that descended to the lower levels. She was instead deposited in a side room of the temple annex, located far from the women's quarters. A servant brought Melite dinner and wine but otherwise did not acknowledge her, for she was a slave, prohibited from using her voice on palace grounds.

written while listening to:  Kazuyuki K. Null with Fred Frith, Guy Lohnes, Ichiro Agata & Jim O'Rourke - Guitar Organism (Nux Organization, NUX-D13, 1996, Japan, cd, discogs.com)

March 27, 2025
The wine made Melite unusually sleepy. She again suspected a sedative. To be drugged against her will seemed a small injury when added to the heap of wrongs already wrought upon her. She perversely welcomed the dreamless oblivion. Drowsy on the soft bed, Melite enjoyed the physical comfort it provided, for she fully believed that soon she would rejoin her paramour. She knew well that in his dark domain he offered no such luxuries—no warm blankets, neither sweet meats nor floral bouquets—with which to spoil her.

written while listening to:  Agustí Fernández & Barry Guy - Aesthetic of Prisms, disc 1 (Fundacja Słuchaj!, FSR30/2024, 2024, Poland, cdx7, discogs.com)

March 28, 2025
If Melite had expected an audience before King Minos on the following day, she had greatly misjudged her importance to the monarch of an empire spanning the far lands of the Great Sea. On the contrary, for most of the day it appeared that her presence had been entirely forgotten. She then imagined a fate languishing away in the palace. It was late afternoon when a servant brought one of the women who worked as a royal seamstress to the room. She too did not speak to the prisoner, for so Melite clearly was, during her inspection of the garment.

written while listening to:  David Grubbs - The Coxcomb/Avocado Orange (Blue Chopsticks, BC5, 2000, United States, cd, discogs.com)

March 29, 2025
The high priest faced a conundrum. It seemed that he had in his care one of the Athenian youths offered as a sacrificial victim to the Minotaur a year past. He was not inclined to report this bothersome complication to the court, for all knew the fiery temper of their liege and his propensity, in anger, to punish the messenger who delivered ill tidings. The holy man contemplated having Melite quietly killed and the body discretely buried. What stayed his hand from implementing this simple solution was fear that her reappearance was an act of the divine.

written while listening to:  Andrew Hill - Dance of Death (Blue Note, LT-1030, 1980, United States, lp, discogs.com)

March 30, 2025
Several restless nights passed before the priest mustered up the courage to bring the matter before his sovereign. He sensed his chance at the end of a lengthy session tending to mundane matters of court. The king was clearly ready to retire. "Before you part, my lord, I've one last trivial matter for your attention" said the priest. "It appears that one of the maidens from Athens, whom you generously offered to the Minotaur last year, has been found unsuitable by the bull and expelled from the labyrinth. Have you a preference regarding her fate?"

written while listening to:  Cocteau Twins - Head Over Heels (4AD, CAD 313, 1983, United Kingdom, lp, discogs.com)

March 31, 2025
Such a thing had never happened before and, much to the dismay of the priest, the curiosity of King Minos was aroused. "My lord, there is nothing to her rejection," he assured the king, "Clearly, she was not pure, as promised." Minos grunted without issuing an opinion, which granted Melite another night in her room. On the following day, the king made it barely half an hour into state business before he abruptly changed the discussion. "Bring me the girl who escaped the labyrinth," he bellowed, "I want to see the one who almost got away."

written while listening to:  Mika Vainio - Behind the Radiators (Touch, TS 06, 2008, United Kingdom, 7", discogs.com), Jim O'Rourke - Despite the Water Supply (Touch, TS 07, 2008, United Kingdom, 7", discogs.com), People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz - Withers in the Waking (Touch, TS 08, 2008, United Kingdom, 7", discogs.com), Lawrence English - Incongruous Harmonies (Touch, TS 09, 2010, United Kingdom, 7", discogs.com) & Philip Jeck & Marcus Davidson - Spliced (Touch, TS 10, 2010, United Kingdom, 7", discogs.com)