“The Heart Is Deceitful” Perfume
Smell like a male teenage prostitute!
I own this perfume. I bought it back when J.T. Leroy was in Vanity Fair Magazine, singing in a band, and havng the likes of Tom Waits gush praises all over his ass. Now, I bought the perfume because the fact that there was a perfume cracked me up to no end. Also, I have a lot of perfume. And face creams. And so forth. I did read the infamous story collection and I read the whole thing. And to be frank, I didn’t think it was so great. I thought it felt contrived, but I didn’t hate it. I remember reading this one short story in Zoetrope by Mr. J.T. and laughing and I wasn’t supposed to laugh. I was supposed to go “Oh, man, that is deep and painful.” I thought today I would check to see if this perfume still existed. It does. Now, we all know the J.T. LeRoy scandal has been beaten to death with a million sticks, but did you know there was a perfume made in honor of Yosh’s “friend”, J.T. Leroy? No, you did not. You learned something today! And it relates to the history of literature! Any other perfumes of products named after books? Le’ts hear it.
Lily Hoang’s CHANGING
In the third fantastic release from the already massive-powered Fairy Tale Review Press (whose first two releases, PILOT by Johannes Goransson and THE CHANGELING by Joy Williams are both brain eating monsters of true glee), the brand new and clean white book object CHANGING by Lily Hoang has now hit and awaits your head.
At once a fairy tale, a fortune, and a translation told through the I Ching, Vietnamese-American author Lily Hoang’s CHANGING is a ghostly and miniature novel. Both mysterious and lucid at once, the book follows Little Girl down a century-old path into her family’s story. Changing is Little Girl’s fate, and in CHANGING she finds an unsettling, beautiful home. Like a topsy-turvy horoscope writer, Hoang weaves a modern novella into the classical form of the I Ching. In glassine sentences, fragmented and new, Jack and Jill fall down the hill over and over again in intricate and ancient patterns. Here is a wonder story for 21st century America. Here is a calligraphic patchwork of sadness.
“This is an impossible thing, a dream object”–Joyelle McSweeney, author of FLET.
That the book is based on the I-Ching plays no small part in the making of the book’s power: consisting of a series of form-shaped prose sections that mimic the structure of the holy book, CHANGING begins to take on this weird, recursive power. Lily Hoang has a way of roping the big mythic energy of tableau and mysticism down out of the nowhere and branding it with her own peculiarities of everyday upbringing. The result is kind of a maze of hypnotic language and cultural mishmash, which truly operates in resonance unlike any other book I can remember.
Dybek, Nahai, and Hemon help out the kids
If you live in the Chicago area—or really, really want to go to Chicago in February and need an excuse—you should really go to the Sullivan Galleries of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago on February 12. The good people at Polyphony HS, a literary journal that publishes work by high school students throughout the nation, are holding a reading to raise funds.
Appearing at the reading will be—get this—Stuart Dybek, Gina Nahai, and Alexsandar Hemon. Dybek wrote “We Didn’t.” Hemon wrote “The Life and Work of Alphonse Kauders.” This means that the event includes the authors of two of my favorite short stories ever. (Nahai I don’t know beyond reputation. Sorry about that. I’m sure she’s very good, too.)
Go here for ticketing and event info.
If you are not in Chicago, consider helping Polyphony HS with a small donation. And tell them HTMLGiant sent you.
One of the co-founders of Polyphony HS is Billy Lombardo. Billy is a heck of a guy, and a damn fine writer. His book How to Hold a Woman is forthcoming from OV Books.
Author News & Excerpts / Comments Off on Dybek, Nahai, and Hemon help out the kids
February 3rd, 2009 / 2:20 pm
February 3rd, 2009 / 2:20 pm
Juggernaughtica
Godjira was a bad motherfucker. He was a massive green mutant dinosaur raining down death and destruction because it was Tuesday in Tokyo, and Godjira recognized it was a banal Tuesday and had nothing better to do than melt tiny Japanese flesh sacks with his radioactive fire breath.
The city would get fucked up. High rise buildings in ruin. Virgins slaughtered. Expensive military vehicles raped.
The big green guy wiped his ass with Tokyo. Gratuitous aggression at its pinnacle.
There was always a downfall to his reign.
In a few of the movies an attractive young girl with some moxie devises a way to spank his dick and send him pouting back to his ocean floor studio apartment.
The battle for Tokyo is here and now(once again). Godjira has resurfaced. I am afraid. I need to be held by a comely female or a frail man with soft skin until the battle is over.
Please pretty young girl defeat Godjira and save us all.
Eyeball it
My friend Ryan has been writing a column about film on The Rumpus for a little while now, and I thought I’d bring it to your attention. I’ve been enjoying it.
Here’s a nice post on the movie Old Joy, a movie I wrote about on the Hobart blog. (Link in the comment I made to the post, if you’re interested.)
Here’s an interesting take on Guy Maddin’s Dracula. (Dracula is currently my favorite Maddin film. I had, until watching it, never really connected with ballet.)
And here’s a post about Lord of the Rings and the War on Terror.
John Updike dies at 76
He was poked fun of by a new generation of agitated ‘post-everything’ writers and critics — but he was a great writer. His “The Early Stories, 1953-1975” exemplified, for me, how writing ought to sound in the ear when being read. I had a good time with him.
Rest in peace John.
David Berman calls Silver Jews quits; outs father as Satan
Let’s assume for right now that this isn’t another triple-reverse hoax dreamed up by Tao Lin. Pitchfork says they verified the story with Drag City today, and that DCB is indeed the author of these posts:
(1) “Silver Jews End-Lead Singer Bids his Well-Wishers Adieu”
Yes I cancelled the South American shows. I’ll have to see the ABC Countries another way.
I guess I am moving over to another category. Screenwriting or Muckraking.
I’ve got to move on. Can’t be like all the careerists doncha know.
I’m forty two and I know what to do.
I’m a writer, see?
Cassie is taking it the hardest. She’s a fan and a player but she sees how happy i am with the decision.
I always said we would stop before we got bad. If I continue to record I might accidentally write the answer song to Shiny Happy People.
And (2) “My Father, My Attack Dog”
Now that the Joos are over I can tell you my gravest secret. Worse than suicide, worse than crack addiction:
My father.
You might be surprised to know he is famous, for terrible reasons.
My father is a despicable man. My father is a sort of human molestor.
An exploiter. A scoundrel. A world historical motherfucking son of a bitch. (sorry grandma)
You can read about him here.
www.bermanexposed.org
My life is so wierd. It’s allegorical to the nth. My father went to college at Transylvania University.
You see what I’m saying.
…
As I studied Judaism over the years, the shame and the shanda, grew almost too much. my heart was constantly on fire for justice. I could find no relief.
This winter I decided that the SJs were too small of a force to ever come close to
undoing a millionth of all the harm he has caused. To you and everyone you know.
Literally, if you eat food or have a job, he is reaching you.
Everyone should really take a minute and read that second post in full, then follow that link to Bermanexposed.com, so you can really see what poor DCB has been living with all these years. Ole Richard’s about as evil as evil gets.
Anyway, whether this retirement turns out to be permanent or temporary, it certainly marks the end of an era of some kind. Let’s all take a moment of silence for the Silver Joos we knew and loved, and express some unqualified solidarity with DCB and whatever he decides to pursue next–however he might choose to pursue it.
Related links:
I interviewed Berman once, when Tanglewood Numbers came out: “A Limited Edition of One”
video: Silver Jews play “Smith and Jones Forever” at the Pitchfork Festival
video: “I’m Getting Back Into Getting Back Into You” scene from Silver Jew documentary
video: “How to Rent a Room” followed by weird joke that doesn’t go over too well.
Classic Word Spaces: Leo Tolstoy
That’s Tolstoy’s desk. I’m not sure where he put his laptop, though. Maybe on top of the blotter. He probably moved all the stuff and put his laptop on the blotter.
He probably also had wi-fi and didn’t have to plug it into his DSL line.
Also—is that a tongue depressor in the cup? Why did he keep a tongue depressor in a pen cup on his writing desk? Do you think he was always pulling out a mirror and checking his uvula for swelling?
Tao Lin reveals American Apparel sponsorship a hoax
Tao lin reveals today that American Apparel has not actually sponsored Reader of Depressing Books:
1/22/2009
just kidding re 1/19/2009 post
*a rare opportunity to display your career management skills* in terms of my career as an author of literary fiction should i have put american apparel ads on my blog without getting paid by american apparel and then made a blog post saying american apparel had sponsored me and then changed my facebook status to ‘american apparel sponsored me: [link to the 1/19/2009 post]’? answer yes or no then elaborate using 120 words or less in the comments section *a rare opportunity to display your career management skills*
For those of you who missed the original post, which only went up on 1/19, it’s here:
In any case, the ads are still up, down the whole right sie of his blog. These ads feature famous hot teen existentialism-espousing BDSM-positive borderline-mainstream-personality-now pornstar Sasha Grey, who seemed to be mostly adveristing her own tits, which, frankly, are much more appealing than whatever that high-waisted garment covering her lower half is. And I would just like to say, for the record, that I was totally taken in by this hoax, (1) because why would anyone pretend to be sponsored by something when they’re not? (answer: seek not to comprehend the ways of Tao, etc) and (2) because of this Jezebel post that went up on the 20th, which didn’t mention Tao at all but might as well have, and I guess might actually have if his story had actually been true. Anyway, I was going to put together a little portfolio of Sasha Grey pictures to celebrate this not-actual-collision-of-worlds, but then I decided that all the really interesting photos of her are too graphic–even for a NSFW-work-tagged post, which the Jezebel post is but this one actually isn’t. So if you want to know what the deal is, turn your Google Safe Search all the way off and don’t say I didn’t warn you slash don’t forget to thank me. Or Tao. You know, whatever.
Claire Donato’s SOMEONE ELSE’S BODY
New from Cannibal Books! Claire Donato!
Someone Else’s Body
by Claire Donato
32 pages, hand sewn
$6
flesheatingpoems.blogspot.comRead sample poems here:
http://www.coconutpoetry.org/donato1.html
http://www.caketrain.org/tellyou.html
http://www.harpandaltar.com/interior.php?t=p&i=5&p=46&e=141
Claire is a badass. She knows about rooms and hues. She knows how to say it. Here are a few lines from the Harp and Altar poem:
Tonight, a man on the phone poses an inquiry re: two boxes of books by Leon Trotsky.
I cover the mouthpiece, laugh with my co-worker.
Dear Sir or Madam: I am stunned by how easy it is to be a Very Bad Person.
This is one I am excited to be buying. The whole Cannibal subscription is a thing to behold, methinks.