Publication: “A Philosopher Is Bitten by the Imp of the Perverse”

Posted on by Liz Gauffreau

Publication at Last!

I am thrilled to share that my short story, “A Philosopher Is Bitten by the Imp of the Perverse,” has been published in Book XI: A Journal of Literary Philosophy. The title is taken from Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Imp of the Perverse.”

I wrote the story back in the ’90s, based on a former colleague’s experience as a doctoral student in philosophy. It was accepted for publication shortly thereafter, but the publication went *poof* into ether, never to be heard from again.

Ow! You Bit Me!

I spent the next twenty-plus years submitting the story (changing the title twice) and getting it rejected time and time again. Here is just a small sample.

154 thoughts on “Publication: “A Philosopher Is Bitten by the Imp of the Perverse””

  6. Congratulations, Liz! That is great news and I’m so glad you persevered! If I may remind you, The Beatles were rejected by a record label with a phrase that’s made history: “‘they had no future in showbusiness!” Spot on! 😉

    Liked by 3 people

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  13. Congratulations! Your perseverance has really paid off. What a great way to end the year!

    But those rejections with ‘Dear Writer’ or ‘Dear Contributor’….how soul destroying but great to see it didn’t put you off!

    Liked by 2 people

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  28. Congratulations on the acceptance, Liz! And thank you for sharing the story of your journey there. How wonderful that you persisted. I enjoyed the story–and I’m so happy that my dissertation experience was nothing like that!!!

    Liked by 1 person

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  29. Congrats on your publication Liz. Great story and ending. I chuckled at the video. I admire your tenacity to keep submitting. I can’t believe so many editors declined. Sounds to me it’s the luck of the draw to get accepted. Good for you. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

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  33. I enjoyed your story, Liz. Your little bits of humor, like “off with their heads and Off with their hooves” made me smile! You did leave me wanting more after find the document was recovered!
    Well done and congratulations!

    Liked by 1 person

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  43. Congratulations!!!! Way to go!!! So proud of you for not being outcome centered and for knowing that writing is what the writer does – publishing is another horse of the apocalypse. 😁
    Congratulations!!! Congratulations most of all of keeping with writing!!

    Liked by 1 person

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  45. Liz – a profound read that captures the despair of being continually under a microscope by supervisors who may have outdated expectations and limited teaching/mentoring abilities. The study of philosophy is to experience an awakening, allowing a student to gain intellectual flexibility, the ability to write, analyze, and communicate new knowledge especially at the PhD level.

    Truly brilliant writing! I was moved by your narrative! Sorry for the late response – have been in transit and now in Ottawa waiting for a blizzard to come tomorrow. Happy belated birthday.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Thank you very much for your careful reading of the story and thoughtful response, Rebecca. I felt for Tyler, too. Throwing away a PhD after all that hard work and money spent seems just a shame. On the other hand, over the years, I’ve been surprised by the number of ABDs there are.

      Thank you for the belated birthday wishes. Stay safe from the blizzard!

      Liked by 2 people

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      1. Snow is here!! Staying warm with tea and a book. Education, literacy, knowledge and scholarship are experiencing a disruption with open access and ai. Just listened to what’s coming for WordPress in 2023/2024.

        State of the Word is the annual keynote address delivered by the WordPress project’s co-founder, Matt Mullenweg. It is over a hour but Matt addresses the interconnected nature of open access and working with new technology such as ChatGPT – a prototype artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI which specializes in dialogue. Also how language translations are evolving.

        We live in very interesting and transformative times!

        Liked by 2 people

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  46. Hi Liz
    Many many congratulations. I loved reading every bit of Tyler’s adventure. Though honestly I wish he could have salvaged the situation. I felt so sorry for him. We all panic sometimes.
    I also loved that little video of the rejections and a pat on your back for the perseverance. It’s inspiring.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Thank you for reading the story, Sonia! I wish Tyler could have salvaged that PhD, too. He was just not cut out for playing the games that are necessary to survive in the academy. I’m glad you enjoyed the video. It was a lot of fun to put together. Hey, all those rejection slips had to be good for something!

      Liked by 1 person

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