Roxane Gay

http://www.roxanegay.com

Roxane Gay’s writing has appeared in Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, NOON, The New York Times Book Review, The Rumpus, Salon, The Wall Street Journal’s Speakeasy culture blog, and many others. She is the co-editor of PANK and essays editor for The Rumpus. She teaches writing at Eastern Illinois University. Her novel, An Untamed State, will be published by Grove Atlantic and her essay collection, Bad Feminist, will be published by Harper Perennial, both in 2014.

Reviews

The Tragic Pornographic: On Say You’re One of Them

angryafricans

Roughly defined, the ancient Greek concept of métis, or cunning intelligence, is how we use subversive strategies to succeed in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Métis is about using our perceived weaknesses to our advantage and turning our opponent’s strength(s) against them.

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57 Comments
October 20th, 2009 / 9:00 am

Friday Frustration

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A while back, Blake Butler posted a brief snippet that said something like, “It’s not okay to like everything,” and I’ve been thinking that statement through since. A series of random events over the past few weeks has me thinking the corollary is also true. It is not okay to hate everything, either. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t like everything. I’m not an optimist or a perky individual. I have a bitch streak a mile long. It just seems some people are never happy or satisfied with anything—and those people are completely unwilling or unable to appreciate things that do not fit into the constraints of what they like or think is good [writing, art, design, living, whatever] or have become accustomed to. I’m really burnt out on relentless cynicism and negativity and snarky judgment. When someone either loves or hates everything, I find it hard to take them seriously or give their opinions much credence. Isn’t criticism more effective when used judiciously?

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Random / 64 Comments
October 16th, 2009 / 1:57 pm
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Conceptual artist Richard Whitehurst is creating a “rape tunnel” which will go live on October 30th. I struggle to take this kind of thing seriously. And yet, I have no doubt someone will enter this sad little tunnel just to “see what happens.” Under such circumstances, were they asking for it?

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My copies of Put Your Head in My Lap by Claudia Smith published by Future Tense Books arrived yesterday so I’m going to give a copy away. If you’re interested in receiving a copy of this neat little book, leave a comment with a strange book blurb and I’ll pick a winner at random tomorrow at 5.

If you’ve read the book, what did you think?

42

I’d Like to Use a Lifeline

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There are all kinds of how-to books out there about writing focusing on the craft both broadly and narrowly. What I don’t see are a lot of books or other resources out there for how to start and sustain a literary magazine.

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Uncategorized / 91 Comments
October 9th, 2009 / 9:00 am

The Electric (Literature) Slide: Boogie Woogie Woogie

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixel_addict/ / CC BY 2.0

Whenever a new literary magazine debuts I am intrigued because it means there’s one more group of people in the world who support words, writing and writers. I have found Electric Literature particularly interesting because they actually pay (and quite well) their writers. They have a slick, aggressive advertising campaign with ads like this and this and others suggesting that their magazine offers “reading that is bad for you.” I’m not sure what that means. The writing in the first issue didn’t feel dangerous.

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Random / 100 Comments
October 6th, 2009 / 9:00 am

We Are All Friends Here

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I’ve been thinking about nepotism and croneyism and friends publishing friends because I often hear people talking, complaining, and bitching about the insular nature of (independent) publishing.

Intrapublishing (new word!) happens but not as much as you’d think. Some magazines are largely vanity presses but most are not.

We all know each other, right? We read each other and we publish each other and support each other and love each other and hate each other. It’s a small small community. The longer you stick around, the more inevitable it becomes that you will encounter people you know and/or like (or dislike as the case may be) in your submission queue. Does that influence editorial decisions? Sometimes. If I know you, for example, and you send me a 7,500 word story I will read it but that isn’t a guarantee of publication. Most editors are great people with integrity who can look beyond friendship and/or mutual respect. I get rejected from acquaintances and friends all the time.

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Random / 180 Comments
October 2nd, 2009 / 2:08 pm

What I Hear You Saying Is That My Writing Sucks

Photo by Philippe LeRoyer

In the June 2009 issue of College Composition and Communication, Rosalie Morales Kearns wrote an article about the creative writing workshop in which she critiques the traditional workshop (as normative, exclusionary, and focused on fault-finding) and asserts we must rethink the format of the workshop for it to serve as a productive, inclusive experience. Changes she suggests include lifting the “gag rule” so authors can talk about their writing as it is being critiqued, the use of writing exercises, and studying published works because “students are much more accustomed to approaching published texts as literature students rather than as creative writers.”

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Craft Notes / 99 Comments
September 30th, 2009 / 9:00 am

Rotten Apple: There’s No App For That

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In December 2008, Peter Cole, editor of Keyhole, thought it would be nice to develop an iPhone app for the magazine to broaden its reach. He hired a developer and they submitted the application to Apple. A few days later, the app was rejected by Apple for violating their standards. The story with which they had objections was Heather Fowler’s Catholic Girl Smile, a rather mild story under any circumstances and particularly when contrasted with many of Keyhole’s offerings. Peter shelved the idea. READ MORE >

Presses / 42 Comments
September 28th, 2009 / 9:00 am

The Insertion of Money Where the Mouth Is

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TriQuarterly is moving online and/or ceasing publication depending on who you ask. It is a real shame to see such a fine publication being forced into this transition. I’ve noticed a lot of garment rending, lament and outcry, but how many of us subscribe? Every time a small press or magazine announces it’s going to close or is on the verge of closing, the Internet immediately begins frothing about the loss to arts and letters but as someone who works behind the scenes and knows how few of us actually subscribe to literary magazines, I have to wonder about the hypocrisy of it all. People say they can’t subscribe to every journal or that they can’t afford to subscribe or they don’t believe in acquiring things or a wide range of other excuses but still,  people really appreciate the work  We appreciate your appreciation but we like and need your money more. What magazines are you subscribing to these days? Do we have a right to express our outrage about the “state of publishing” if we’re part of the problem?

Behind the Scenes / 243 Comments
September 25th, 2009 / 10:42 am