Presses
MLP Chapbooks Arrive
J. A. Tyler’s Mudlicious Press publishes these tiny chapbooks.(Click here to order.) Mine arrived today. They are cute things, these chapbooks. I like getting them. Today I got P’.H. Madore’s “Da Vinci Died Before Cigarettes”, Matthew Savoca’s “Altruism”, “In Praise of Virgins” by Johannes Goransson (sorry that I have no umlaut) and a sticker with a picture of a dead looking whale that has the words “bleached whale” on it.
Now, generally speaking, I am not ML Press’s ideal reader. I have, over the past decade, grown away from an interest in experimentalism and am prone to reading straightforward, narrative fictions. That said, my involvement here at Htmlgiant has been wonderful in that it pushes me to read stuff I would normally not read. This is good. It keeps me from feeling I am growing old, boring and stubborn even if I am very much doing so. Here are my reactions to the chapbooks:
I first read Goransson’s “In Praise of Virgins”. I’ve read his blog occasionally(click here) largely because he lives in South Bend, Indiana and I have a soft spot for South Bend. He discusses poetic “movements” and issues and so forth with fierce, obvious intelligence and deep commitment. I read his blog and think, “Wow, I’m really glad I was a good bartender.” “In Praise of Virgins” I will call a poem. It is handwritten, which I like. I like people’s handwriting. Very personal. There are funny pictures between the pages with words. Here is a line– “I liked hearing my voice with a plastic bag over my head. It sounded like I was underwater or pregnant.” This poem made absolutely no sense to me. And yet, I enjoyed it, just enjoyed the images and the way they were put together. It also had a sort of anger to it that was neat.
Next I read Madore’s piece. I read his blog occasionally, too. He is the editor of the lovely online journal (click!), Dispatch Litereview, which has a great story by Elizabeth Ellen. I will be frank: he irritated me on a few occasions because he left some hostile comments here at the Giant (as everyone knows, I can’t stand those), but he hasn’t done that lately and now that I’ve read his blog, well, I want to make him a sandwich. Young men occasionally bring that out in me.
I will call “Da Vinci Died Before Cigarettes” a poetic story as well as a mood driven piece. I love smoking and there are nice bits about smoking in this piece. He begins with — “Holding the cigarette between two fingers, cherry down, letting nicotine air weave wavy up into my downward palm”. There is a discernable narrator in this story and he is in a house or apartment and someone is knocking on his door, but he doesn’t want to answer the door. He also takes a shower. I would say that he is thinking on the pages of this story, and here are some of his thoughts: “Think of painters who never learned not to write on walls not thier own. I think of the billions who’ve lived without ever totally accepting the boundaries laid upon them by kings and bankers.” I like that last line. There’s real heart in that line and in the piece in general.
Lastly, I read “Altruism” by Matthew Savoca, whose blog you can reach here, and whose blog I have also read on a few occasions. I will call Matthew a poet. He has interesting facial hair and very deep set eyes according to the pictures on his blog. While I am unclear on the title’s significance, I do believe this poem is narrated by a young man who is having some relationship problems with his significcant other. I would even call this a “love poem”. I like how Savoca refers to football fields repeatedly as a unit of measurement. I like football, period. I also really liked this part, because it was funny (sorry the line breaks are off, I blame WordPress):
what we’re not saying is that we are bored of each other
which really kind of means we are bored of who we are
when we are with each other
it’s the result of never spending time with anyone else
we talk about this
and then go spend some time with other people
until we remember that we don’t like other people
I could really relate to those lines. And that’s it! That is my time spent with ML Press’s chapbooks! It was a nice thing to do today, as otherwise I would be doing dishes, cleaning up cat urine and being hungover. Thanks, ML Press, for making my Monday less stupid.
Tags: JA Tyler, mudlicious press
I’m jealous as the mailman has already swung by today and I did not see any such package.
I’m jealous as the mailman has already swung by today and I did not see any such package.
i like those lines too. love little books of nice lines. :)
i like those lines too. love little books of nice lines. :)
i think last month my MLPs came a couple days after you got yours… we’ll see if that holds true again. that postal service works in mysterious ways sometimes.
i think last month my MLPs came a couple days after you got yours… we’ll see if that holds true again. that postal service works in mysterious ways sometimes.
I think I get them quickly because I live in NYC? And that’s where they are mailed out from? Not sure. Just a guess.
I love getting stuff in the mail. I love catalogues for that reason. It’s so satisfying to get a package. Like Christmans, but really it’s just a Monday, in May.
speaking of getting stuff in the mail, i was just meaning to email you…
speaking of getting stuff in the mail, i was just meaning to email you…
I’m in the same boat (sinking?) as you, pr. But the chapbook that’s going to cause me to re-up my subscription to mlpress was in the last batch. It was Michael Stewart’s “Bluebeard” — a remarkable piece! There was such stunning language and imagery in that piece that I fired off an emotional email to ja tyler and the author, who probably thinks I’m stalking him now. It was just admiration though. Really.
They have an interesting lineup forthcoming. Some Lily Hoang, who I scared off in an email quite some time ago, and Molly Gaudry’s novella “We Take Me Apart” that I’m interested in reading. Her piece in Night Train firebox fiction was quite engaging. I hope she brings the same verve for language and attention to narrative to the novella. I’m also interested to see what Ryan Call’s mlpress piece is going to be about. I started reading his story in the latest Sonora Review today and my interest in his work was strengthened by what I’ve read so far. He’s harder to get a handle on since he doesn’t really appear on the Internet.
Good stuff.
JA Tyler is nice. He/she? gave me good advice regarding my recent failed stint at editor. Go subscribe, folks. There’s something there for pretty much everyone.
I’m in the same boat (sinking?) as you, pr. But the chapbook that’s going to cause me to re-up my subscription to mlpress was in the last batch. It was Michael Stewart’s “Bluebeard” — a remarkable piece! There was such stunning language and imagery in that piece that I fired off an emotional email to ja tyler and the author, who probably thinks I’m stalking him now. It was just admiration though. Really.
They have an interesting lineup forthcoming. Some Lily Hoang, who I scared off in an email quite some time ago, and Molly Gaudry’s novella “We Take Me Apart” that I’m interested in reading. Her piece in Night Train firebox fiction was quite engaging. I hope she brings the same verve for language and attention to narrative to the novella. I’m also interested to see what Ryan Call’s mlpress piece is going to be about. I started reading his story in the latest Sonora Review today and my interest in his work was strengthened by what I’ve read so far. He’s harder to get a handle on since he doesn’t really appear on the Internet.
Good stuff.
JA Tyler is nice. He/she? gave me good advice regarding my recent failed stint at editor. Go subscribe, folks. There’s something there for pretty much everyone.
JA sent me one by Ken Sterling a few weeks back. It came in a regular envelope which confused me, I wasn’t sure what I was getting (another CC bill?) but then when I opened it the folded pink construction paper cover with the Mudlicious stamp on it made me smile. In the age of online presses, it’s kind of a brilliant packaging strategy. A little handcrafted product you can hold in your hand, and jam-packed with goodness. Quality over quantity indeed.
JA sent me one by Ken Sterling a few weeks back. It came in a regular envelope which confused me, I wasn’t sure what I was getting (another CC bill?) but then when I opened it the folded pink construction paper cover with the Mudlicious stamp on it made me smile. In the age of online presses, it’s kind of a brilliant packaging strategy. A little handcrafted product you can hold in your hand, and jam-packed with goodness. Quality over quantity indeed.
sing us the song of the century
sing us the song of the century
thank you for the nice review
re “i would even call this a ‘love poem'”: ‘altruism’ in a small part of a much longer poem called ‘long love poem with descriptive title’
thank you for the nice review
re “i would even call this a ‘love poem'”: ‘altruism’ in a small part of a much longer poem called ‘long love poem with descriptive title’
hey brad– you didn’t scare me off. i’m just not nearly as efficient with email as i think i am.
& i’m glad people are giving michael stewart his due praise. i went to undergrad with him. had many a late night playing chess & go, drinking much too much coffee, having heady conversations that i probably didn’t fully understand. suffice to say, he’s absolutely brilliant. everyone should read more of him.
& yes, ja tyler is very nice. & generous. MLP’s projects are rocking. go spend money. it’s a worthwhile investment!!
hey brad– you didn’t scare me off. i’m just not nearly as efficient with email as i think i am.
& i’m glad people are giving michael stewart his due praise. i went to undergrad with him. had many a late night playing chess & go, drinking much too much coffee, having heady conversations that i probably didn’t fully understand. suffice to say, he’s absolutely brilliant. everyone should read more of him.
& yes, ja tyler is very nice. & generous. MLP’s projects are rocking. go spend money. it’s a worthwhile investment!!
i got johannes’s chapbook in the mail (& only his) yesterday. it’s fantastic. in less than 50 (i didn’t count but that seems about right?) words, he says it all.
& it’s beautiful! one of the loveliest (& most disturbing) of the chapbooks i’ve seen!
i got johannes’s chapbook in the mail (& only his) yesterday. it’s fantastic. in less than 50 (i didn’t count but that seems about right?) words, he says it all.
& it’s beautiful! one of the loveliest (& most disturbing) of the chapbooks i’ve seen!
thanks for all the mlp love htmlgiant folks. much much appreciated.
thanks for all the mlp love htmlgiant folks. much much appreciated.
Mr. Tyler is the titties on the barn cat. for realz.
he is a quiet guy though. More people should pay attention to him.
Mr. Tyler is the titties on the barn cat. for realz.
he is a quiet guy though. More people should pay attention to him.
Well, I got something right for once. Really, though it oozes love. I love love. Good stuff. Congrats.
Great way to describe Mr. Tyler. Agreed on all counts.
Great way to describe Mr. Tyler. Agreed on all counts.