Forum / Tribute to Sally Houtman in Flash Frontier

• 
  Rachna K.

  Sep 30, 02:06pm

  Beautiful Tribute to Sally Houtman, a dear friend and mentor, in the latest issue of Flash Frontier. http://www.flash-frontier.com/september-2017-trees/#birds. The issue showcases her stunning work and has flash/prose poem by Jamey Claffey, Charlotte Hamrick and many others. Thanks to Michelle Elvy for putting this together.

• 
  Charlotte Hamrick

  Sep 30, 02:36pm

  Sally was a beautiful, giving soul and is greatly missed. I'm so happy to be a part of this tribute to her.

• 
  Sam Rasnake

  Sep 30, 02:54pm

  Wonderful tribute issue.

• 
  strannikov

  Sep 30, 08:40pm

  Sally Houtman: memory eternal!

  (Absolute elsewhere or thereabouts for most of the summer, I was unaware.)

  I never shall forget the editorial zeal she showed in helping me separate "The Haunted Coins" from "The Invisible Corpse Candle" in the summer of 2015 (I continue to treasure the comments she posted in the sidebars and ever shall).

  Good work on the tribute issue, all, and thank you for the notice.

• 
  Erika Byrne-Ludwig

  Sep 30, 08:49pm

  Beautiful tribute.

• 
  Jill Chan

  Oct 01, 12:21am

  Great tribute issue.

• 
  James Claffey

  Oct 05, 04:44am

  So sad at Sally's passing. Terrible blow to the writing community, and shocking to her family. Always such a generous soul here on FN. Sorely missed.

• 
  David Ackley

  Oct 05, 01:27pm

  You had to love Sally for her writing and her willingness to stand up for her friends and her convictions. Along with all of you, I'll miss her.

  David

• 
  Mathew Paust

  Oct 06, 11:13am

  I just learned of this moments ago, gracefully informed by Matt Dennison. I'm deeply saddened. Sally was the first to welcome me when I started here, and her irreverent wit and spunk was always gave me a lift. I have yet to open the tribute, but will do so immediately. I'm emotionally distraught over this news.

• 
  Mathew Paust

  Oct 06, 11:29am

  Beautiful tributes.

• 
  Michelle Elvy

  Oct 06, 12:21pm

  Thank you so much for sharing, Rachna. And thank you also, along with James Claffey, Vivienne Merrill and Charlotte Hamrick, for writing beautiful works for Sally. And to Carol Reid, who contributed a hauntingly beautiful image for the top of the issue.

  We hope this is a fitting tribute to a remarkable writer and contributor to the creative community.

  For readers interested, there is a page of Sally's work in the issue as well. You can find it directly here:

  http://www.flash-frontier.com/2017/09/30/sally-houtman-12-stories-from-2012/

  One of those pieces -- To Dislodge -- will be included in the 2018 anthology of New Zealand flash fiction and prose poetry, Bonsai: The Big Book of Small Stories. Sally got word of her making the finalist list but she died before final selections were made. Sadly. But her children and remaining family have been informed -- and I'm really glad her work will continue to resonate in this way, too.

  Sally was a wonderful contributor to the writing community; she is remembered here and elsewhere so fondly.

  Sending a warm hello,
  Michelle

• 
  Smiley McGrouchpants, Jr-Esq-III

  Oct 19, 11:36pm

  That's so sad. I can't believe she's gone. I feel taken by surprise in a weird, shouldn't've-known way. How can I express this? She was just so *present*, I feel like her absence is an unfair cord-yank from my heart and psyche ... what, she's gone? I didn't know she loomed so large of the people I know, through Fictionaut or otherwise, 'til now. When she said things, they stuck with you. It's unbelievable she's gone, not there, and I'm discovering ... what? She went right to the nerve center, every time she *posted* something, every time she *talked* that way? I just thought I liked her, that she was a pal. So sad, and so stupid feeling is calculating the loss: "Oh, she'll be around, she rants back at me on Fictionaut with wit and aplomb ... " She once called New Zealand a "cultureless volcanic rock," so I linked to a Playlist of three songs by NZ indie artists respected in America: The Bats, The Clean, and Chris Knox, like she'd be tipped off, like why should she know who Tortoise or Yo La Tengo were? What the fuck? She's gone?

• 
  Smiley McGrouchpants, Jr-Esq-III

  Oct 19, 11:39pm

  EDIT: "couldn't've-known way," above.

• 
  Matthew Robinson

  Oct 22, 01:16am

  Hello all,

  I only learned of Sally's passing today, thanks to a gentle email from Matt Dennison. I'm stunned, stunned and totally heartbroken. Still processing it. I look forward to reading the tribute issue of the Frontier. Obviously this is a gigantic loss for the online writing community, beyond, and her family.

  Sally was an excellent writer, and an even better person. She loved her kids, and bragged about them often. With her writing, wit, and candor, she had such an impact on me, along with so many others here. She must've spent hours giving me feedback on my writing, just talking about life and whatnot. She also entrusted me to read early drafts of her work. I'm not sure how helpful I was, but I felt honored she would ask.

  I had the tremendous fortune of meeting her in person last November. She was stateside, had some people in Los Angeles, where I live, and yet found time to meet me for dinner at Petrelli Steakhouse in Culver City. She was every bit as funny, kind, and real in person as she was here. A lot more so, in fact. Sharing laughs and good conversation over steak and drinks made my day, my month, and probably my year. Sally kicked major ass.

  She referred to me as her internet son, and though I would never act like her loss will have anything close to the impact on my life like it will her real children, who my heart really breaks for, right now the hurt is real, because she did mean so much to me. It meant so much to me, that she would call me that even if, true to Sally form, it was a little tongue-in-cheek.

  Rest in Peace and Power, Sally Houtman.

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