The Poison Pie Publishing House presents:

June 1, 2025
By engaging the aid of the handler, Melite had alerted the world outside the arena to the arrival of a baby behemoth. Even as the baby nursed, the daily delivery of more than a hundred pounds of fodder proved insufficient. While the wealth of the Minoan Empire was beyond estimate, the resources of the town of Lato were limited. Notice was sent to Knossos informing the court of the birth of the behemoth and requesting an increase in the allotment of forage provided for their feeding. Thus did the existence of Theopompos come to the attention of King Minos.

written while listening to:  Walter Beltrami - Ti Moka (re:think-artrecords, re 0009, 2009, Italy, cd, discogs.com)

June 2, 2025
Weighty matters consumed the waking hours of King Minos. He directed the positioning of the military to respond to attacks on trade routes as well as the construction of fortifications on foreign shores by which the Minoan presence in distant markets was maintained. The health of the empire at home and abroad relied upon the wealth generated by trade and the ability to distribute foodstuffs to ports where local agriculture had failed due to floods, drought or war. The birth of a behemoth mattered little by comparison and yet it stuck in the king's mind as a colorful badge of distinction, second only to the Minotaur.

written while listening to:  Guillaume Gargaud & Jean-Philippe Gomez - Marina On Mars (Creative Sources, CS 287 CD, 2014, Portugal, cd, discogs.com)

June 3, 2025
When Minos grew weary of naval deployments and the levying of taxes, his thoughts turned to those aspects of his empire that provoked his imagination. As he lay in his royal bed chamber with a woman from his harem, he daydreamed about beings greater than he and what made them so. Zeus had ordered an eagle to torment Prometheus. Poseidon had left Scylla to guard the Strait of Messina. The pursuit of power through mastery over beasts had led the king to elevate the Minotaur to a symbol of his realm. He pondered a suitable role for the behemoth.

written while listening to:  Splitter Orchester - Splitter Musik, disc 1 (Hyperdelia, HEX 008, 2024, Germany, cdx3, discogs.com)

June 4, 2025
Minos had in his employ learned men from across the realm. Among them were counted scholars educated in universities, priests who had been taught in cloistered seminaries, and itinerant lecturers whose formal training was supplemented by knowledge and experience acquired during their travels. When the first two categories failed to provide him with satisfactory information regarding the proper use of a behemoth, the king ordered that a man of letters who had sojourned in Egypt, the supposed birthplace of the beast, be summoned to the palace.

written while listening to:  Derek Bailey & Susie Ibarra - Daedal (Incus Records, CD36, 1999, United Kingdom, cd, discogs.com)

June 5, 2025
Djedi-Khnet had been born in Bubastis in the Nile delta to a Cretan woman of Kydonia, taken from her home by a visiting vizier. He had studied astronomy in the House of Life and had a talent for painting. A polyglot, he had traveled the Great Sea widely—Sparta, Syracuse, Tyre and many ports between. Amphora decorated with exotic hieroglyphics by Djedi-Khnet were sought after objects of wealth in noble households. His knowledge of behemoths was passing but his desire to visit the palace in Knossos bade him accept an invitation when it came his way.

written while listening to:  Mamoru Fujieda & Keiji Haino - Homeogryllus Japonicus Orchestra 2004, track 3 (Great YEar Soundings, no catalog #, 2005, Japan, cd, discogs.com)

June 6, 2025
Djedi-Khnet long harbored a wish to visit Kydonia, the birthplace of his mother on the western coast of Crete. He found the reception by his maternal relatives warm but fleeting. In truth there was a limit to their interest in a sister who had disappeared twenty five years ago and whom they would not see again. The traveler found Kydonia rather too provincial for his tastes. It lacked a wealthy sponsor to host him in the manner to which he had become accustomed. These facts contributed to his willingness to board a vessel and make the short trip to Knossos.

written while listening to:  Joëlle Léandre & Gianni Lenoci - Sur Une Balançoire (Ambiances Magnétiques, AM 126, 2004, Canada, cd, discogs.com)

June 7, 2025
Then as now, itinerant lecturers lived by their wits, for their livelihood depended upon moving from one benefactor to another for room and board. Not only must such a man fulfill the role of erudite philosopher but he must also possess a charisma to form a bond with his host and a sensitivity to maintain it while dwelling in the same house. This unlikely combination of traits was to be found in perfect proportion in Djedi-Khnet. He employed his natural intelligence and cultivated charm to nurture in his hosts an enduring pleasure in his company.

written while listening to:  Susan Alcorn Septeto Del Sur - Canto (Relative Pitch Records, RPR1170, 2023, United States, cd, discogs.com)

June 8, 2025
Gentle Reader, do not think of Djedi-Khnet as manipulative or sycophantic. Rather, he found both great joy and cerebral challenge in the skillful maintenance of a precarious existence. Though his talents came to him naturally, living so required diligent effort. His excitement at being escorted into the court of King Minos was entirely genuine. The praise that flowed from his lips at the magnificent surroundings was due equally to an appreciation of the architecture as to his upbringing in Egypt, where a stream of floral plaudits was considered proper etiquette.

written while listening to:  Mario Pavone Dialect Trio - Chrome (Playscape Recordings, PSR 060316, 2017, United States, cd, discogs.com)

June 9, 2025
King Minos warmed to the Egyptian scholar immediately. Before he heard the man speak of astronomy and other lofty topics or learned of his reputation for creating highly sought after amphorae adorned with a rare calligraphy of hieroglyphics, he appreciated his physical appearance. Here too, Djedi-Khnet projected an image of vitality. His build was solid, his complexion an ambiguous but attractive shade reflecting his mixed heritage, his handsome face quick to adopt a smile. Discovering that he shared the blood of Crete pleased the king to no end.

written while listening to:  Angelika Niescier, Tomeka Reid & Savannah Harris - Beyond Dragons (Intakt Records, INTAKT CD 412, 2023, Switzerland, cd, discogs.com)

June 10, 2025
Djedi-Khnet listened to the king describe the behemoth. He soon realized that the creature was not some mythological wonder as the king supposed, but an earthly, wild animal who dwelt along the Nile, known in varying dialects as the "water pig" or "horse of the river". To be sure, Djedi-Khnet did not share this fact with the monarch. He assumed correctly that Minos would not appreciate one who demoted his prize beast to the status of mere wayward fauna. The scholar agreed that the birth of a behemoth on Crete or any island so far from Egypt represented an unprecedented achievement in bestial husbandry.

written while listening to:  Thumbscrew - Wingbeats (Cuneiform Records , Rune 520, 2024, United States, cd, discogs.com)

June 11, 2025
The king invited Djedi-Khnet to a night of stargazing with his own astronomer-in-residence. After a flurry of compliments intended to set the local scholar at ease, the trio surveyed the panoply of stars. King Minos inquired regarding the absence of a constellation representing a behemoth. Rather than cite the broad inutility of the beast, the Egyptian suggested that should a worthy monarch devise a way to catapult the beast to cosmic fame, the gods might place it in the sky among the hydra and the lion. "To what use can a behemoth be put?" Minos asked.

written while listening to:  Søren Nørbo, Wadada Leo Smith & Kresten Osgood - Dét, Som Ikke Kan Kaldes Tilbage (ILK Music, ILK358CD, 2024, Denmark, cd, discogs.com)

June 12, 2025
Djedi-Khnet then held forth on the general attributes of the species. This background, he suggested, was essential for identifying its path to glory. "It is a voracious beast," he said, "second only to the locust in the rapidity with which it may decimate a field of crops. Despite the predilection of the males for chaos and destruction, female behemoths are revered. They dwell in the Nile, our source of life. Many homes contain a statue of the goddess, Taweret, to ward off evil. She possesses an amalgamation of physical features, those of the behemoth foremost among them."

written while listening to:  Evan Parker - The Heraclitean Two-Step, etc., disc 2 (False Walls, fw16, 2024, United Kingdom, cdx4, discogs.com)

June 13, 2025
The Egyptian continued, "Their hide makes fine belts and sheaths, the meat is mild like lamb to the palate, the fat an oil useful for both perfumes and lamps. Their tusks are prized as ivory upon which artisans carve." Not yet willing to slaughter the behemoth, the king silenced his visitor with a dismissive shake of his head. "Should a behemoth make good sport in the arena?" He recounted his experience in Lato. "It did trample one handler," he concluded optimistically. Having anticipated this question, Djedi-Khnet delivered a prepared response. "It depends upon the disposition of the individual beast."

written while listening to:  Marilyn Crispell - Selected Works 1983-1986, disc 2 (Golden Years Of New Jazz, GY 11/12, 2001 (rec. 1985 & 1986), United Kingdom, cdx2, discogs.com)

June 14, 2025
Thus was Djedi-Khnet dispatched to Lato to ascertain whether the first native-born Cretan behemoth possessed the truculent nature common to champions of the arena. The king, of course, did not accompany him—one disappointing trip to Lato being more than sufficient. The Egyptian opted to follow the land route, which Melite had taken, for he was inclined to view the verdure of the summer countryside firsthand. A small retinue accompanied him, including a driver, a burly soldier and a lesser factotum of the court.

written while listening to:  Lao Dan - To Hit A Pressure Point (Relative Pitch Records, RPRSS045, 2025, United States, cd, discogs.com)

June 15, 2025
Early one morning, Djedi-Khnet accompanied the handler who drove the haywain from the storage house to the arena. We are obliged to report that his introduction to the young behemoth was overshadowed by his discovery of the woman living with the beasts, of whom no mention had been made to him. "There's a woman in here," he exclaimed to the handler upon entering the field. The rustic rolled his eyes. It was typical of Knossos to send a blithering bureaucrat to muck around and try to steal the credit for his successful raising of the beast.

written while listening to:  Steve Lehman Trio & Craig Taborn - The People I Love (Pi Recordings, PI82, 2019, United States, cd, discogs.com)

June 16, 2025
She stood like a bird with two spindly legs upon the back of the larger of the behemoths. The silhouette of her slight frame was limned by the sun rising over the ridge of the valley, for the fabric of the ceremonial gown had begun to wear thin. Her hair was again too long and there was no mistaking the utter serenity in which she belonged to the beasts. To have discovered such an unanticipated mystery dwelling in a place where he had expected only to find an animal and its muddy mother proved an exceptional delight to Djedi-Khnet.

written while listening to:  Perforto - Uragano (Ramble Records/Torto Editions, TRT015, 2023, Australia/Italy, cd, discogs.com)

June 17, 2025
When the Egyptian asked the handler for the name of the woman, the man shrugged. He did not confess that once she had attempted to introduce herself. At that first meeting he had silenced her, thinking that she would not long survive. Melite spotted the new arrival at the same time as the child, who swam toward the bank, eager to investigate. She dove from the platform of the mother's back then raced after her charge as he galloped toward the two men, who, seeking some measure of safety, climbed back on the wagon.

written while listening to:  The Don Pullen Quintet - The Sixth Sense (Black Saint, BSR 0088, 1985, Italy, lp, discogs.com)

June 18, 2025
At six months, Theopompos weighed over three hundred pounds, having gained at least a pound every day. Although he might well increase his bulk by a factor of thirty before full maturity, his barreling charge was already capable of instilling fear. He ran faster than Melite and reached the wagon ahead of her. The same horse delivered the silage to the arena each morning and was accustomed to the behemoths. Still, it shied nervously as the youngster halted beside the cart and glared up at the men, treed like quarry at a wild cat hunt.

written while listening to:  Chet Baker, Jean Paul Florens & Henry Florens - Rendez-vous (Bingow Records, BGW 3104, 1980, France, lp, discogs.com)

June 19, 2025
Gifted with but this one life, we are all occasionally guilty of thinking that the world rotates about us. So did Melite suspect that the unannounced visitor had come to impose some new sentence upon her, given that neither labyrinth nor arena had proved satisfactory at snuffing out the flame of her existence. She knelt beside Theopompos, wrapping her arms around his thick neck. With this single gesture, did Melite soothe the beast, calm her fear that she should be forcibly parted from her charge, and reassure the men that they would come to no harm.

written while listening to:  Hank Mobley - Soul Station (Blue Note, BLP 4031, 1960, United States, lp, discogs.com)

June 20, 2025
Djedi-Khnet's desire to put a flurry of questions to the woman living in the arena was postponed for, following the child, the mother had ventured from the stream to investigate. She could easily destroy the cart should she find something to displease her. The Egyptian watched with amazement as the woman affectionately gathered the pair to her before leading them back to the water's edge. With a glance over her shoulder, she communicated to the handler a request to empty the day's feed in the pavilion so as to placate and distract the beasts.

written while listening to:  John Zorn - Filmworks VI (Tzadik, TZ 7308, 1996, United States, cd, discogs.com)

June 21, 2025
The first conversation between scholar and maiden occurred with the bars of the metal gate separating them. It reinforced in the mind of the Egyptian that the woman was a prisoner of King Minos. As for Melite, she had much to take in as she formed an opinion of her visitor. He dressed in a long robe of fine linen, though the cut of the garment was foreign. His hair was nearly black and close-cropped. She found his movements and words judiciously chosen but could not decide if the overall impression was more thoughtful or calculating.

written while listening to:  Exploding Star Orchestra - We Are All From Somewhere Else (Thrill Jockey, THRILL 181, 2007, United States, cd, discogs.com)

June 22, 2025
They exchanged names then Djedi-Khnet told her openly of his ambition in coming to Lato. "I am here at the king's bidding to find a practical purpose for these beasts." Melite feared that any function deemed useful by Minos would come at the detriment of the behemoths. She intuited in the man's words an invitation to help him craft a destiny for the beasts that would suit her while advancing his standing in Knossos. They were to be allies, if not friends. She acquiesced because she had come to regard the behemoths as the most perfect family for which a woman could hope.

written while listening to:  Brise-Glace - When in Vanitas (Skin Graft, GR17CD, 1994, United States, cd, discogs.com)

June 23, 2025
"I forgive the King," she said in an admission that startled the Egyptian for its incongruency with the reality of her situation. Surely, Minos neither needed nor wanted her forgiveness. The cruelty in his designs for the woman and the beasts was likely to be aggravated rather than mitigated should her words be conveyed to him. "The new beast is male?" he inquired. When she nodded, he next asked, "Can you train him to fight for the pleasure of crowd and king?" Theopompos chose this moment to join her behind the bars and lean tenderly against her hip.

written while listening to:  Charles Mingus - Mingus (Candid, 9021, 1961, United States, lp, discogs.com)

June 24, 2025
Melite supposed that if she were to be credited with a particular method of training, it was strictly one of love and kindness. She lifted her gaze to meet the dark eyes of the Egyptian. The impulse to declare the true basis of her instruction dissipated unsaid for she read in his expression a scholar's keen attention, poised to process her words and render judgment. Despite her fervent belief that she had done no wrong, she did not want to be instantly regarded as an idiot by the first intelligent man whom she had met since leaving Athens.

written while listening to:  Thelonious Monk - Thelonious Monk Plays The Music Of Duke Ellington (Riverside Records, RLP 12-201, 1956, United States, lp, discogs.com)

June 25, 2025
"She has ruined the beast," said the Egyptian to himself, as he dined alone on a terrace in Lato, "for any purpose that Minos might approve." Perhaps the young behemoth could be tormented to violence by separation from its mother, but he chose not to advocate for this course of action. Probing within himself for a cause behind his sympathetic attitude, he found a tender image of the face of Melite. She was not to know that her presence had dissuaded the king's man from torturing the beast or of her effect on the composure of so winsome a gentleman.

written while listening to:  Loren Mazzacane Connors, Jean-Marc Montera, Thurston Moore & Lee Ranaldo - mmmr (Numero Zero Audio/Xeric, nza 02/x 99.0, 1998, France/United States, cd, discogs.com)

June 26, 2025
That evening, Djedi-Khnet sat beside the fireplace in the government house in which he lodged. A warbler sang a staccato song in the crepuscular light fading at the window. To his complete astonishment, he found himself thinking not of a purpose for the beast but of a scheme to free the woman in the arena. He regarded his own thoughts as preposterous and chastised himself for putting the welfare of a stranger whom he had only just met before his own machinations to ingratiate himself with one of the most powerful men in the world.

written while listening to:  KK Null - Ultimate Material II, sides A & B (Fourth Dimension Records/Dirter Promotions, FDDLP49/DPROMDLP29, 1995, United Kingdom, lpx2, discogs.com)

June 27, 2025
Djedi-Khnet embraced intellectual challenges. He chose to interpret the useful assignment of the behemoth and the rescue of the woman from her beastly incarceration as two issues inextricably entwined. Outside, the clatter of villagers moving through the street died down as the hour grew late and all retreated to their homes. A silver moon rose as he contemplated solutions that might accomplish both goals in a single stroke. It was a riddle and the nature of the Egyptian did not permit riddles to get the better of him.

written while listening to:  Pauline Oliveros & Randy Raine-Reusch - Driftworks, disc 3: In the Shadow of the Phoenix (Big Cat, ABB 1000CD, 1997, United Kingdom, cdx4, discogs.com)

June 28, 2025
On the following morning, Djedi-Khnet again accompanied the handler to the arena. He supposed that he found in Melite's welcome more warmth than one might attribute strictly to the need of an inmate for company of any kind. They conversed as he sat on the bench of the wagon while the young behemoth milled about her. She sighed with grateful relief when he informed her that, in his judgment, the creature was not well suited to a gladiatorial calling. His next question surprised her. "Do you intend to spend the rest of your life on Crete?"

written while listening to:  Barre Phillips - Traces: Journal Violone (Kadima Collective, Triptych #5, 2012 (rec. 1968), Israel, book, cd & dvd, discogs.com)

June 29, 2025
"Well," Melite replied, after a moment's thought, "I haven't any travel plans at present, if that's what you're asking." Djedi-Khnet smiled, for he supposed that she was being coy. He explained to her that he was amenable to finding a solution to the ultimate placement of the behemoth beyond the shores of Crete. However, he wanted her input on the matter, especially regarding her willingness to relocate. He could adjust his plans if she had her heart set on spending her years within the confines of the arena until she was a gray-haired crone.

written while listening to:  The Max Roach Trio - Featuring the Legendary Hasaan (Atlantic, SD 1435, 1965, United States, lp, discogs.com)

June 30, 2025
In this conversation, which Melite quite enjoyed, she came face to face with the prospect that her destiny was now bound to the behemoths. In retrospect, it seemed curious that the thought had not already occurred to her. That a stranger should journey from Egypt to declare this fate to her was but one more link in a chain of improbable developments, which had come to constitute the unpredictable odyssey of her life. She wondered where in the wide world she would next go and if Djedi-Khnet would choose to accompany her.

written while listening to:  Cocteau Twins - Victorialand (4AD, CAD 602, 1986, United Kingdom, lp, discogs.com)