Massive People (13): Johannes Göransson
If I had to make a list of modern forces for the grossvoice, for the kind of language and propagation of a series of imagery and discussion that is continually underfunded or otherwise ignored, Johannes Göransson would being among those crowning the list. An editor and founder of the vital Action Books, as well as its web component Action Yes (both one of my favorite presses and online journals, publishing big voices such as Lara Glenum, Aase Berg, and a high # of books in translation), Johannes is also the author, so far, of three books of new mind and language: Pilot (Fairy Tale Review Press), A New Quarantine Will Take My Place (Apostrophe Books), and Dear Ra (Starcherone Press). This year Black Ocean released his translation of major Swedish poet Aase Berg, With Deer, one of many works in translation Göransson has put together.
Recently I sent a couple of questions Johannes’s way, and he responded in force, as might be expected, about the history of Action, the grotesque, Genet, and !!!!
Matthew Simmons—
Open question. You have probably on your own come up with your 15 living towering literary artists, right? Now make a list of your 15 favorite living literary artists. These list are maybe close. Maybe, though, they are very different. Why? What does this say about what you like and what you recognize as “important?”
44
Ken Baumann—
11 of the 20 titles on last week’s NYT Mass-Market Fiction Best Sellers list have death in the title. (via Dan Kennedy)
Music/Writing?
I understand some folks must write in silence, but for others – myself included – musical accompaniment helps lubricate the fingertips.
Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what kinds of stuff? Do you avoid music with lyrics?
How do you use music? Do you use the emotion of the music to help guide (or instigate) the emotion of your work? Do you ride beats?
Although I am constantly (obsessively) hunting for, acquiring, and listening to new/different albums, there are a few go-to favorites I throw on when it’s time to get down with the wordage. Here are just a few of my personal recommendations — I would love to hear from other people about their practices and/or their recommendations:
Glenn Gould – A State of Wonder: The Complete Goldberg Variations (1955 & 1981)
.jpg)
Who Deserves What?
New York Times best-selling Anteater?
When you think about it, the title of this post really asks two questions. The answers, as near as I can tell, are, respectively, nobody and nothing. But Felicia Sullivan (author of The Sky Isn’t Visible From Here and former everything-in-chief of the venerable & lamented Small Spiral Notebook) isn’t so sure. Over at her blog, she takes on what she calls “the culture of entitlement” within the literary world today. Then, in the comments section, Rachel Fershleiser (of Housing Works, Smith magazine & co-editor of the Six Word Memoir books) raises some questions about the assumptions underlying the arguments of the post. Things get pretty heated pretty quick, between the two of them and a third commenter named Les, who seems more interested in critiquing Rachel’s grammar than listening to what she says. (Felicia, on the other hand, dives in head-first). It’s an interesting back and forth between two smart people (and Les), who actually seem to be talking TO each other at least as often as they’re talking PAST each other, which in internet-thread terms is basically a miracle of loaves and fishes. I am still sorting out my exact thoughts about this debate/discussion, but forget about what I think for a second. WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Adam Robinson—
I finally got another bookshelf and have a place for all my books now. But what do I do with the dozens of MLP chapbooks that I have? I want to take them out of their drawer, but then where will I put them? Does anyone already have a solution? Something like what they got for my One Story collection?
THE AGRICULTURE READER’S LABOR DAY SPECIAL—DISCOUNTED COPIES OF ISSUE 3 UNTIL THE END OF SEPTEMBER!
Fellow Workers,
We here at limited-edition arts annual The Agriculture Reader know that times are tough. The paper of record says ’09 was the worst back to school season in years! We’re feeling it, too. No, not because we’re under-employed and lack health insurance (though yes, that too) but because we’re trying to unload the last of our stock of AGR 3 in order to fund the production of AGR 4. To that end, from Labor Day till the end of September, we will be selling AGR 3 for a measly TEN DOLLARS. Your sawbuck gets you the current issue of our annual, which features writers such as Dennis Cooper, Heather Christle, Ariana Reines, Diane Williams, Matthew Zapruder, Christian Hawkey, Eileen Myles, Matvei Yankelevich, and many more. Some of the best work is by people you’ve maybe never even heard of, like Jen Hyde. All this plus a special section celebrating the work of the poet Tony Towle—and that’s just the words. The whole issue is custom-illustrated by the artist Joey Parlett, and all the layout and design work is done by Amy Mees and Mark Wagner—a dynamic duo, if there was one—and there was (is). Every cover is cut, stamped, stickered and colored on by hand, so each copy is unique. There are only 600 total in the world, and more than half of them are already gone. (The first two issues both sold out; we expect that this one will too.)
Uncategorized / 4 Comments
September 7th, 2009 / 10:36 am
September 7th, 2009 / 10:36 am
Monday morning (early, early morning) craft notes.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9aaS2ipAQ4
The inspirational part of this video for me starts about 2 minutes in.
[Announcer] We spoke to Gerard earlier about his strategy. I’d like you to understand exactly what he thinks.
[Gerard] Hello, I’m Gerard Gordeau. I’m a fighter of Holland. And my discipline is savate, the French boxing. The same like kickboxing, only without knees. I hope that I win the tournament, and I don’t make mistakes.
SPOILER: READ MORE >