[ Update: See also, Brevity’s rountable discussion of TriQuarterly Online’s  “The Facts of the Matter,” written by an anonymous author, regarding the obligation to fact in work that declares itself to be nonfiction.]

Written by an anonymous author, “The Facts of the Matter” explores the obligation to fact in work that declares itself to be nonfiction.

From the Editors’ Note: “When we received this anonymous nonfiction submission it caused quite a stir. One staff member insisted we call the New Haven, Ct., police immediately to report the twentieth-century crime it recounts. But first, we figured out by the mailing address that the author was someone whose work had been solicited for TriQuarterly. Other questions remained. What animal was this? A memoir? Essay? Craft essay? Fictional autobiography? Should we publish it with an introduction, a warning—and what should we say?….”

From the essay: “I’m all for lies in literature, but there’s a form for that—fiction.

Read “The Facts of the Matter,” at TriQuarterly Online.