Interviews
I asked Ryan Manning why he was interviewing so many people and he said “I don’t know” which is classic Ryan Manning.
His new blog/site is called THUNK and it’s a nice big chunk of interviews with people like Tao Lin, Zach German, Kendra Malone, and lots lots more.
I especially enjoyed the response Ryan got from Marc Mez:
“man your questions really suck, nevermind it’s a big waste of my time, but thanks.”
It’s not a waste of time. Check it out here.
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October 19th, 2008 / 3:28 pm
October 19th, 2008 / 3:28 pm
The Sunnyoutside Expanding Empire
One small press I don’t hear much about but is very very good is Sunnyoutside, run by David McNamara in Buffalo, New York. David does an amazing job – producing beautiful little chapbooks from writers you may haven’t heard of.
Recently, David’s been doing paperbacks, which he plans to do more of in 2009. For next year, in paperback, we can expect books from: Tim Horvath, Nathan Graziano, William Taylor Jr., Chelsea Martin, Curtis Smith, Brian McGettrick, and Rebecca Schumejda. Also, a plan to get solid distribution to get more of these great books in people’s hands.
David keeps everyone up-to-date on Sunnyoutside happenings at the website.
Peter Markus
Always looking forward to what Peter Markus is doing with his words, I decided to ask the man himself what we can expect from him in the future. A few great things to get everyone pumped:
-A new book of brother stories to be published by Dzanc in 2011.
-A limited edition book from Cinematheque Press called “The Moon is a Fish” that he describes as “a sort of novelty project that will have illustrations, maybe even maps, other odds and ends and assortments—fish bones, fish teeth, fish scales, a broken off piece of the moon, etc” to be published sometime next year, but not definite yet.
-A manuscript of three long stories where “every word is monosyllabic.” One of these will appear in the next issue of Unsaid.
And if all that is too much of a wait, Peter will be on Detroit radio this morning at WDET 101.9FM on the show Detroit Today at 11:00.
Basinski Speaks of the Future
Michael Basinski is the old wise man of small press lit. At the University at Buffalo he runs the archives for chapbooks and anything indie lit related. The guy has been around and knows his stuff. As a student at UB I remember mentioning small presses to him in his office and his reply was something like, “sounds good…i’ll buy everything for the collection.” Basinski is the guy always fighting for indie lit, a guy you want on your side.
He’s also a great person to talk to about the current state of indie lit. With the rise of online, I thought it would be interesting to ask him what his thoughts were on the movement and where he thinks things are going.
The thing with online publishing is that no one is actively attempting to collect it. Therefore, it is up to poets and editors to be their own stewards and to get their stuff into repositories where it can be kept. Libraries and archives can’t do it. Take NY State – a three to ten percent cut across the board. Poetry, I assure you, will not be the saved sacred Apis Bull. So in this climate the art suffers. This is nothing new, of course. But again, it is the individual in this electronic world that has to archive and the editors of such also. I talk to archive folks about this but I get nowhere. That said, because so much is going electronic, there is an entire movement away from online publishing and a return to the individual hands on type of publishing. Type setting is being revived. Individually hand colored and hand made books are being made with frequency. The way we understand the small press has changed but it is still very much there. The question might be, who will know or be able to look at this wave of publishing in ten years? I mean… where will the documents and proof of existence be?
Basinski makes you think.
Checking In On Jason Bredle
Pain Fantasy by Jason Bredle is one of the most enjoyable books of poetry I’ve read this year. Strange, funny, dark, heartbreaking, mixing in sports and wordplay (yes, sports), there was a lot to like about this collection. Bredle has also been hitting the online journals – most recently three solid pieces in the latest issue of No Posit.
Some writers you just want to know what they are working on. At least I have a list in my head like this. I emailed Jason Bredle and asked him to talk a little about what he’s working on. What follows is the response I got:
Basically I decided to divide up all my poems from the past two years and make two chapbooks out of them, but I haven’t even made the chapbooks, and I don’t know how to get them published even if I do make them. I’m thinking maybe instead I’ll let them fall in love with each other and make a baby. I don’t think this is really newsworthy, though. I thought I was going to finish a manuscript in June and I put all this time into revising and reordering poems and then I went to LA and decided while I was there that I was going to scrap the whole thing, so I came home and rewrote a lot of things all over again. Did you ever see Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story? It’s very much like the part where John C. Reilly is doing all this acid and working on the same song for six months. I didn’t love that movie as much as I’d hoped I would, but it was worth seeing just for that scene. I’ve only written two poems in the past three months. One I wrote a week before I was hospitalized, and then I was sick for a little while, and then I wrote another, and then I started working a lot of extra hours and haven’t had time to sit down and write, or when I do I go back to this poem called Caspian Sea, which is essentially a blank page I spend hours looking at with Caspian Sea written at the top.
I also asked who he was reading, what writers he likes:
Mark Halliday has a new book out, which I’m reading. He’s my favorite poet. I was going to try to find this one particular poem of his on the internet and send it to a friend of mine so if I can find it I’ll also send it to you. Okay, I just looked around and I couldn’t find it, but it doesn’t help that I don’t really remember the title.
For those who haven’t read Jason Bredle, I suggest doing a google search and picking up his books.
AWP Reader’s List
AWP Chicago edition has posted on their website a list of featured readers for the event which will be held in early February.
It’s a solid list. I wish there were more young up-and-coming type writers but still I hope to engage in a wild party with Nick Flynn and Valzhyna Mort (pictured) while Marilynne Robinson makes disgusted faces.
AWP will be a big scene for online writers who will no doubt stare at each other awkwardly after meeting in person. Then realize we are all best friends. Get tickets soon. Last year in NYC it sold out.
Shane Jones Writes Amazing Story
Shane Jones wrote an amazing story this week, telling himself “this is so amazing” over and over again, breathing like a convicted sex offender, and climaxing several times before submitting the story to over ten small press journals who swiftly responded with “go fuck yourself.”
Jones had been working on the piece for several days in which his comments to himself went from “this sucks balls,” to “this will at least get accepted by Typo because I’m not black” to “i can probably send this piece of shit to Six Sentences because they take any piece of shit” to the eventual sexually gratifying “this is so amazing.”
From Albany, Jones says to htmlgiant: “It was a rough couple days, but I can finally say my story is amazing. Fuck you Paris Review!!!” Jones then floated into mid-air, masturbated once more to the image of Sweet Face Kevin Sampsell, and proceeded to shoot rainbows from his fingertips.
Rose Metal Chapbook Contest Back For Third Year
The Rose Metal Chapbook contest has announced it’s third annual chapbook contest, beginning October 15th.
Having dipped into the realm of hybrid-fiction, and gained lots of notice from online writers (including Claudia Smith whose The Sky Is A Well and Other Shorts won the first year and helped launch Rose Metal into a little monster of a press) this year’s contest aims to publish another writer of flash fiction or short-shorts or whatever you want to call your pieces under 1,000 words (non-fiction included).
Manuscripts should be 25-40 pages. Check the website as the opening date approaches for more details.