View From The Cellar

In 1974, Laird Koenig published the novel The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane. A film version, directed by Nicolas Gessner and starring Jodie Foster, appeared two years later. A dramatic adaptation by Mr. Koenig was published decades after in 1997. Considered a one-of-a-kind thriller and cult classic, TLGWLDTL now undergoes a considerably extensive analysis by Canadian poet R. W. Watkins. A longtime fan of writer Koenig and actress Foster, Watkins examines the story from various angles, pointing out its Judeo/Christian themes, Holocaust symbolism, film continuity errors, similarities to Ayn Rand's objectivism, etc. Many of these essays originally appeared in Watkins's 2003 fanzine Cellar. Watkins drew upon TLGWLDTL for his 2005 haiku chapbook, New England Country Farmhouse. The introductory essay from that volume is collected in this book. Rewardingly eccentric, View From The Cellar is essential reading for any hardcore fan of Koenig's tale and 1970s pop culture in general.
About the Author: R W Watkins is a poet, essayist, indie publisher and social critic. He is the author of two volumes of haiku and related poetry, October Twilight and New England Country Farmhouse, and the co-author (with Robin Tilley) of a third, In The Grip of Sirens. He has also edited and published issues of Contemporary Ghazals (the world's first English-language journal dedicated exclusively to the titular form) and the one-off Contemporary Sijo. His poetry has appeared in several journals throughout Canada and the US, and he was the only Canadian included in Agha Shahid Ali's Ravishing DisUnities, the world's first anthology of English-language ghazals. He has also published numerous literary essays and reviews in various print journals throughout Canada and the US. Others, of a more sensational nature, have appeared on various websites. Over the years, Watkins has been a member of such literary organisations as Haiku Canada, The League of Canadian Poets, and the Writers' Alliance of Newfoundland & Labrador (WANL). In more recent years he has turned his attention to the internet and comics criticism, editing poetry at Red Fez and launching The Comics Decoder website. His latest major works are View From The Cellar: A Critical Analysis of Laird Koenig's The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane; Contemporary Ghazals: An Anthology of the best poems from his sporadically published magazine; and Trinity, which collects his three aforementioned chapbooks. Watkins holds a bachelor's degree in Religious Studies and English Literature, but invests very little faith in contemporary formal education. Outspoken on many issues, he resides in Newfoundland, Canada.