Here’s what I love about reading Ira Rat’s work: he is a visual artist as well, so his writing naturally mimics a piece of visual art. It doesn’t spoon-feed meaning and it doesn’t apologize, and it breathes, sweats, and oozes both the terrible beauty and beautiful terror of weird, transgressive fiction. As a prize in the cereal, its humor is whip smart.
Personal favorites in this sampling of Rat’s early work include “Frankie,” “Billy,” and “Learn’ed Animals.”