The Fiction of truth, the truth of fiction

I wrote this Tiger Song in response to an USAID announcement that they were about to map the tiger's genome. It was published in the Kathmandu Post. If you want to sing it, drop me a line! The Tiger Song Tiger, Tiger burning bright, in the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye--could frame thy fearful symmetry? But today you are going to be genomically mapped, your genes extracted, sequentially isolated, trapped, Great scientists will use your genes to splice into a fish, create a monster tiger-fish to be turned into a restaurant dish. Maybe they will put your soul into a mouse, or a vole, to see if mice can act, with your ferocious strength If the mice escape the lab, too bad. The lab has stated in a disclosure statement— did you read it?—it is not responsible for things that occur outside its four walls. Maybe these great scientists of our times, take a fancy to your stripes, and splice your fur into a rabbit to see, if he will metamorposize ...

Read the français version of my short story "The End of the World" here. The translation was kindly done by: Benoîte Dauvergne ________________________________________________________________________ U n j ou r , l a nouve l l e fut s ur t ou t es l es l èvre s . L es j ournaux eux - m ê m es l ' annoncère n t . U n s adhu érud i t et re s pec t é ava i t préd i t un i ncend i e, une i mm en s e ca t a s t rophe na t ur e ll e capab l e d ' anéan t i r p l us de l a m o i ti é de l a popu l a ti on m o nd i a l e. D i l ren t ra i t de s on t rav a i l au chan t i er de con s t ru c ti on, l or s qu ' i l s ' arrê t a br i èv e m ent pour écou t er un ho mm e expo s er l es b i en f a it s d ' une herbe con t r e l 'i m p u is s an c e. Il r e m arqua a l ors l a l ongue f il e de chèvres qui s e d i r i ge a i t vers l e t err a i n de m a n œ uvres de T und i k h e l , une v a st e é t ...