From our Winter 2015 issue, “Frida Entertained” by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois is a triptych of whimsically surreal vignettes starring legendary artist Frida Kahlo.

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IN NEW YORK CITY, A SCULPTOR TAKES FRIDA KAHLO to see Cocteau’s The Blood of a Poet. In the first section of the film, an artist sketches a face and is horrified when its mouth begins to move. He erases the mouth, but it transfers itself to the palm of his hand.

Frida feels for her own lips with the tips of her fingers, but her mouth has disappeared. She rushes out into the lobby, pursued by the sculptor. He finds her holding a jumbo bag of popcorn, shoving the popped kernels into her mouth as fast as she can. She chokes, but continues to fill her mouth.

The sculptor pulls the bag away. It bursts, and popcorn fills the air. Frida is sweating. The sculptor pulls out his handkerchief and wipes her forehead above the unibrow that so many men find so appealing. He wipes her upper lip, with its faint black moustache.

Frida is nearly panting. I need the taste of salt on my tongue, she says by way of explanation.

Continue reading “Frida Entertained” – Fiction by Mitchell Krockmalnik Grabois →