“Medusa,” from Severance by Robert Olen Butler. That is, Medusa’s death-monologue as imagined by Robert Olen Butler.* *The conceit of Severance, a short story collection by Robert Olen Butler, lies in the fusion of two seemingly unrelated quotes [nearly a century apart]: [01] “After careful study and due deliberation it is my opinion the head remains conscious for one minute and a half after decapitation.” – Dr. Dassy D’Estaing, 1883; and [02] “In a heightened state of emotion, we speak at the rate of 160 words per minute.” – Dr. Emily Reasoner, A Sourcebook for Speech, 1975. [x]
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“Medusa,” from Severance by Robert Olen Butler. That is, Medusa’s death-monologue as imagined by Robert Olen Butler.*

*The conceit of Severance, a short story collection by Robert Olen Butler, lies in the fusion of two seemingly unrelated quotes [nearly a century apart]: [01] “After careful study and due deliberation it is my opinion the head remains conscious for one minute and a half after decapitation.” – Dr. Dassy D’Estaing, 1883; and [02] “In a heightened state of emotion, we speak at the rate of 160 words per minute.” – Dr. Emily Reasoner, A Sourcebook for Speech, 1975. [x]