Written in 1982, "The Hog" was systematically rejected by the editors of adult periodicals such as High Times , Oui , Hustler , and the German editions of Penthouse and Playboy , where his fiction was otherwise staunchly championed. The fact that the main character of the story, a wealthy man who fears impotence, forces a young prostitute to eat the penis of a dying hog at gunpoint while screaming at her “you’ll either swallow a bullet or you’ll swallow that cock” (10) so he can ultimately climax, seemed particularly revolting to those editors. As the Hustler fiction editor wrote in the rejection note, “[Y]ou and your work are liked and highly respected here . . . but the subject matter is just too strong for us to handle . . . it’s the bestiality and also its violent result that we don’t feel we can accept” (Huntington, May 18, 1982). Not surprisingly, the short story has not been published to date.
