Check it out. This All Things Considered report is about Michael Kimball Writes Your Life Story (On A Postcard).
It could just as well be about one of his other excellent projects -- like his novel Dear Everybody or his new one, Friday, Saturday, Sunday or his movie I Will Smash You or his new one 60 Writers/60 Places or his other new book (coming out with PGP next year) Words or -- wait, that's it. Except for the two other books he published and oh yeah, the 510 Reading Series he co-curates.
Hey Michael, what's the secret to your success? Is it doing a million things?
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
I ho I'm still alive yeah yeah I ho I'm still alive I'm still alive
What's the title of this post quoting?
Speaking of asking questions to an indeterminate Internet readership, the contest to win a copy of MLKNG SCKLS by writing an acrostic was won by a hot guy named Frank Sung. Justin wrote about it. The contest was hosted by Brian Allen Carr. I don't know what he looks like but I think he's awesome. He wrote about it too.
I've been away for so long that I don't think I'll be able to devote the proper amount of attention to the items Matt Bell has been sharing in my Google Reader. Crap, I feel like I'm missing a lot.
But I watched Blake Butler eat his book Scorch Atlas, which is amazing. The book I mean. Not sure how I feel about him eating it. It's obviously a publicity stunt, and that pisses me off.
I read about Sean Lovelace going to Hot Springs, Arkansas though and want to go there. I also want to write things such as "I calmed down like a TV show" like he does. In fact, I don't want to write at all unless I write things like that.
Back in May I walked down an alley in Ann Arbor and listened to Blake get really angry and cuss-y and say that Sean doesn't know anything about nachos. I mean, it was just insane how upset he got about the whole thing, about how Sean talks about nachos all the time but doesn't know jack cheese about them.
What else did I read about? That Michael Duckett thing at HG is awesome. Apparently Justin Taylor wrote some mean stuff about some botard or whatever and now Gene's name is really Russell.
I think it's funny that Russell changed his name to Gene, as if one was less awkward than the other. To me, both of those names fall into the awkward category of names. If Mike is a normal name and Joe and Dave are normal names, Gene and Russell are equally abnormal. What made him go from Russell to Gene? What's the point? This really pisses me off.
I have a friend; his name is Russell Elliott. That is an awesome name. It's two weird names in a row. He's in China now and he likes baseball and his favorite band is The Raspberries probably. He has a preference between Greg Kott and Jim Deregotis.
And now there's Russell Morgan -- also two weird names in a row. Morgan, though, is kind of hot. Like, when I think about someone named Morgan I think about Baywatch for some reason, and I don't think I'm the only one who this smatters for.
(Sold the film rights to Light Boxes, btw.)
I bought Stephanie Johnson's book from Keyhole. It better be good. I watched SJ read from it on the Internet because that's what the Internet is for.
This morning I woke up on the floor. Never even tried to make it to bed. I remember when Joe left I was thinking, oh I'll just rest here for a second and I laid down. Next thing I know I'm waking up with my cell phone in my hand thinking "I should tweet this."
OMG I read about the hardcover copy of MLKNG SCKLS that Justin "Muscles" Sirois is making. CRAVE:
My brother used to call me tuna breath.
Speaking of asking questions to an indeterminate Internet readership, the contest to win a copy of MLKNG SCKLS by writing an acrostic was won by a hot guy named Frank Sung. Justin wrote about it. The contest was hosted by Brian Allen Carr. I don't know what he looks like but I think he's awesome. He wrote about it too.
I've been away for so long that I don't think I'll be able to devote the proper amount of attention to the items Matt Bell has been sharing in my Google Reader. Crap, I feel like I'm missing a lot.
But I watched Blake Butler eat his book Scorch Atlas, which is amazing. The book I mean. Not sure how I feel about him eating it. It's obviously a publicity stunt, and that pisses me off.
I read about Sean Lovelace going to Hot Springs, Arkansas though and want to go there. I also want to write things such as "I calmed down like a TV show" like he does. In fact, I don't want to write at all unless I write things like that.
Back in May I walked down an alley in Ann Arbor and listened to Blake get really angry and cuss-y and say that Sean doesn't know anything about nachos. I mean, it was just insane how upset he got about the whole thing, about how Sean talks about nachos all the time but doesn't know jack cheese about them.
What else did I read about? That Michael Duckett thing at HG is awesome. Apparently Justin Taylor wrote some mean stuff about some botard or whatever and now Gene's name is really Russell.
I think it's funny that Russell changed his name to Gene, as if one was less awkward than the other. To me, both of those names fall into the awkward category of names. If Mike is a normal name and Joe and Dave are normal names, Gene and Russell are equally abnormal. What made him go from Russell to Gene? What's the point? This really pisses me off.
I have a friend; his name is Russell Elliott. That is an awesome name. It's two weird names in a row. He's in China now and he likes baseball and his favorite band is The Raspberries probably. He has a preference between Greg Kott and Jim Deregotis.
And now there's Russell Morgan -- also two weird names in a row. Morgan, though, is kind of hot. Like, when I think about someone named Morgan I think about Baywatch for some reason, and I don't think I'm the only one who this smatters for.
(Sold the film rights to Light Boxes, btw.)
I bought Stephanie Johnson's book from Keyhole. It better be good. I watched SJ read from it on the Internet because that's what the Internet is for.
This morning I woke up on the floor. Never even tried to make it to bed. I remember when Joe left I was thinking, oh I'll just rest here for a second and I laid down. Next thing I know I'm waking up with my cell phone in my hand thinking "I should tweet this."
OMG I read about the hardcover copy of MLKNG SCKLS that Justin "Muscles" Sirois is making. CRAVE:
My brother used to call me tuna breath.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
35 Hours In
Rewarded myself yesterday with a big pack of Spree, which I ate in about 2 minutes. I like the mellow flavors best.
Mailed a bunch of books today. I'm glad a lot of people took advantage of the special.
I like Donald Hall's poem, "Meatloaf," in the New Yorker this week and would like to speak intelligently about it (but can't). Like, I like the formal conceit and I'm pretty sure there is more to it than nine syllables in nine stanzas of nine lines -- oh! it's about baseball! -- I think there is also a deliberateness in when Hall changes subjects from Kurt Schwitters to meatloaf to the women -- but it's an extremely easy poem to read and clearly those mystery explorations don't make it more edifying. This stanza here is "all guts, no glory" in the sense that it's baldfaced, sincere, and done so well that it doesn't make me uncomfortable, but then, too, it doesn't really achieve anything in terms of making me get as emotional as he was as a suicide risk (which is nice):
There is a lot of presupposition in those lines, and I like how much he's taking for granted. I also like how regular guy he is and maybe this achieves a lot for poetry that people stop caring about it for a while and just watch TV then become suicide risks? I dunno.
Why am I spending so much time considering a mainstreamer? I'll go read a poem by someone nifty.
Hey, here's one by someone named Christopher Rizzo, which Greying Ghost just re-released apparently in a pamphlet that looks pretty neat.
Buy the whole book for $3.50.
There's a lot I don't know about that poem, but I like it a lot. Each word is like two words. What is a hillelagh? Am I misreading that stanza because I don't see two words in thornery. It's a crafty poem, and a tricky one, and you have to kind of parse it out like you do with a lot of poems like ee cummings poems, but not all of them, but most of the ones you have to approach like a puzzle I don't like, and yet this one I do.
15 minutes until 36 hours in, how you like me now? How you like me then?
This weekend I leave for a camping trip with my two parents, my two brothers, their two wives and two kids -- and then it's just me. I am only one thing. It doesn't seem fair, but I like it this way. I just hope the kids do not kill me. To be honest, I am not a big kid guy. If you're looking for someone who wants to talk to kids and play with them and stuff, just pass me by. I hope this isn't too square.
I pretty much just want to sit around and read Alaska by James Michener all week. I will read it in the morning by a smoldering fire pit, in the afternoon at a picnic table, in the evening while floating in a kayak, at night in my parents's RV. One day I will carry it up Mt. Ampersand and read it on that guy.
Maybe I'll read The Road too. I hear that's a good one.
Mailed a bunch of books today. I'm glad a lot of people took advantage of the special.
I like Donald Hall's poem, "Meatloaf," in the New Yorker this week and would like to speak intelligently about it (but can't). Like, I like the formal conceit and I'm pretty sure there is more to it than nine syllables in nine stanzas of nine lines -- oh! it's about baseball! -- I think there is also a deliberateness in when Hall changes subjects from Kurt Schwitters to meatloaf to the women -- but it's an extremely easy poem to read and clearly those mystery explorations don't make it more edifying. This stanza here is "all guts, no glory" in the sense that it's baldfaced, sincere, and done so well that it doesn't make me uncomfortable, but then, too, it doesn't really achieve anything in terms of making me get as emotional as he was as a suicide risk (which is nice):
5.
When I was named Poet Laureate,
the kids of Danbury School painted
baseballs on a kitchen chair for me,
with two lines from “Casey at the Bat.”
In fall I lost sixty pounds, and lost
poetry. I studied only “Law
and Order.” My son took from my house
the eight-sided Mossberg .22
my father gave me when I was twelve.
There is a lot of presupposition in those lines, and I like how much he's taking for granted. I also like how regular guy he is and maybe this achieves a lot for poetry that people stop caring about it for a while and just watch TV then become suicide risks? I dunno.
Why am I spending so much time considering a mainstreamer? I'll go read a poem by someone nifty.
Hey, here's one by someone named Christopher Rizzo, which Greying Ghost just re-released apparently in a pamphlet that looks pretty neat.
Untitled
by Christopher Rizzo fr. Naturalistless
Drizzleaf
Hazealous
livellum
herespite
blushillelagh
thornery
majorambling
oakay
Buy the whole book for $3.50.
There's a lot I don't know about that poem, but I like it a lot. Each word is like two words. What is a hillelagh? Am I misreading that stanza because I don't see two words in thornery. It's a crafty poem, and a tricky one, and you have to kind of parse it out like you do with a lot of poems like ee cummings poems, but not all of them, but most of the ones you have to approach like a puzzle I don't like, and yet this one I do.
15 minutes until 36 hours in, how you like me now? How you like me then?
This weekend I leave for a camping trip with my two parents, my two brothers, their two wives and two kids -- and then it's just me. I am only one thing. It doesn't seem fair, but I like it this way. I just hope the kids do not kill me. To be honest, I am not a big kid guy. If you're looking for someone who wants to talk to kids and play with them and stuff, just pass me by. I hope this isn't too square.
I pretty much just want to sit around and read Alaska by James Michener all week. I will read it in the morning by a smoldering fire pit, in the afternoon at a picnic table, in the evening while floating in a kayak, at night in my parents's RV. One day I will carry it up Mt. Ampersand and read it on that guy.
Maybe I'll read The Road too. I hear that's a good one.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
I [heart] that Spinanes song "I [Heart] That Party With the Monkey Kitty"
Dennis Cooper gave a nice profile of Light Boxes.
Yesterday was strange. All I ate was 4 (peanut) M&Ms. I went to the bank (started a PGP biz acct finally) and post office during my lunch hour, and when I got back it was too late to eat. Then I went to the radio station after work and didn't have time to eat. From the radio station I went to band practice and got home, exhausted, at 11. I just collapsed into bed. I woke up at 4am and put a finger of peanut butter (chunky) into my mouth. Couldn't fall asleep. Watched True Blood.
I just ate some dry cereal.
I feel uncomfortable about this blog post so far.
Reading on the radio for The Signal was fun and I tried to read slow but I felt a lot of nervousness even though Aaron Henkin was a great host and made it very comfortable. I marvel at how much work goes into producing an hour long show. I think I read about 15 poems, which he may use for filler in different episodes, if he can match the content of the poems to the content of the show. That means if The Signal does a show about
Grandmas
adopted brothers
dying children
Liberian strife
Curtis Ebbesmeyer
trash vortex
transgression and poetry
doubt
remorse
my friend Bill
or Mike Schmidt
then maybe I will get on the radio.
It was awesome when the Dollar Store Show came to Baltimore. I met up with the tourists at Baltimore's formidable (and free) museum of art and we looked at the show for the Sondheim Prize, which I still don't know who won. Amelia Gray goofed around with an Ellsworth Kelly sculpture and it was a gas. Then we went to Joes2 but I didn't eat (it's not something I do) but they ate some pizza with corn and apples on it. Then we went to try and see a marching band that was supposed to be marching banding down the street. Then we went to the reading.
At the reading it was cool to see something that very much reminded me of Chicago. It was hosted in a Chicago way and Zach Dodson's piece reminded me a lot of the sort of thing I'd see at the No Exit café during what was it, I guess it might have been called the Bang Bang Improv Night or something? Anybody? This was in that later 90s. Anyway what I mean is the Dollar Store Show, the way it's hosted, kind of direct but with a sense of (not altogether messed up) performance and a sense of audience. In Baltimore most hosts that I've seen are straightforward and give the relevant info and that's it, and in Milwaukee the hosts of shows are lucky if they can get three words out of their mouths without laughing, but in the shows I've seen in Chicago, the hosts blend it all up good. That's how Zach and Mary Hamilton did it. And also they had someone at a merch table and someone stood by the door and took a $1 cover. That kind of stuff doesn't happen in Baltimore anymore. At least not at the shows I go to. Normally there's a can somewhere and a pile of books somewhere.
The readings were good. I think the funniest thing I've ever seen Blake Butler do. His new book, Scorch Atlas, holy cow, HOLY WOW, LOOKS AMAZAREEHING. I started reading it and it reads amazareehing too. I want it. It's something I have and it's something I want, this book. Aaron Burch got a li'l risque, a little dirty, and also managed some depth when he talked about some things from an ex that he kept boxed up in the closet so he could forget about them (and also not). Amelia Gray's was the best story. I wish I could hear it again. It was about finding a pregnancy test (positive) in a potted plant outside a Dunkin Donuts. It recounts a long list of reasons having the baby is a bad idea, and it was read with a masterful use of the word "and."
Oh geez.
I'm working on synthesizing the results of several interviews with authors and publishers for a paper about small presses. The paper mostly focuses on business practices.
My band (SWEATPANTS) has put together a tour for the end of August. If you can help us with a show in Philly on Wed Aug 26, or in Charlottesville on Fri Aug 28 man that'd be awesome.
I know someone who has a Tshirt that says "Maybe you will die soon" on it. And I know someone who had two Tshirts that said "I'm thinking about death" and she would lend her second one to anyone who wanted to think about death with her.
It's nice to see a guy get disabused by abuse in David Erlewine's awful story, "Mr. Fixer." The reason the story is so good is because of this bit of 'log, "You're s-s-still married I see." "Danny, I'm sorry, for all of it." "It's Daniel." "Of course. Look, I can't stay long." The woeful circumstances of the rest of the story rotate around that exchange. Without that exchange the story would be a lot more one dimensional.
Next week I'm going camping with my family. For years, ever since I was born, we've been going to the same place in the Adirondacks. I'm not going to tell you where though because it's getting harder and harder to get a site there. Well, okay, when my family goes we get three sites.
I got my copy of Dewclaw last week. David Erlewine writes about stuttering and the domain for Dewclaw is LispService.com. Huh. Anyway, Dewclaw is pretty fantastic and I'm already looking forward to seeing what Evelyn and Adam put together for the next issue. I think my favorite work in the issue is the poetry of Rachel B. Glaser, but I also really like how the Matt Salesses story therein accompanies his recent PDF Chapbook, "We Will Take What We Can Get."
Yep, Dennis Cooper spotlighted Light Boxes. If anyone wants to write something about MLKNG SCKLS send me an email (adam at publishinggenius dot com) and I'll send you a book.
Yesterday was strange. All I ate was 4 (peanut) M&Ms. I went to the bank (started a PGP biz acct finally) and post office during my lunch hour, and when I got back it was too late to eat. Then I went to the radio station after work and didn't have time to eat. From the radio station I went to band practice and got home, exhausted, at 11. I just collapsed into bed. I woke up at 4am and put a finger of peanut butter (chunky) into my mouth. Couldn't fall asleep. Watched True Blood.
I just ate some dry cereal.
I feel uncomfortable about this blog post so far.
Reading on the radio for The Signal was fun and I tried to read slow but I felt a lot of nervousness even though Aaron Henkin was a great host and made it very comfortable. I marvel at how much work goes into producing an hour long show. I think I read about 15 poems, which he may use for filler in different episodes, if he can match the content of the poems to the content of the show. That means if The Signal does a show about
Grandmas
adopted brothers
dying children
Liberian strife
Curtis Ebbesmeyer
trash vortex
transgression and poetry
doubt
remorse
my friend Bill
or Mike Schmidt
then maybe I will get on the radio.
It was awesome when the Dollar Store Show came to Baltimore. I met up with the tourists at Baltimore's formidable (and free) museum of art and we looked at the show for the Sondheim Prize, which I still don't know who won. Amelia Gray goofed around with an Ellsworth Kelly sculpture and it was a gas. Then we went to Joes2 but I didn't eat (it's not something I do) but they ate some pizza with corn and apples on it. Then we went to try and see a marching band that was supposed to be marching banding down the street. Then we went to the reading.
At the reading it was cool to see something that very much reminded me of Chicago. It was hosted in a Chicago way and Zach Dodson's piece reminded me a lot of the sort of thing I'd see at the No Exit café during what was it, I guess it might have been called the Bang Bang Improv Night or something? Anybody? This was in that later 90s. Anyway what I mean is the Dollar Store Show, the way it's hosted, kind of direct but with a sense of (not altogether messed up) performance and a sense of audience. In Baltimore most hosts that I've seen are straightforward and give the relevant info and that's it, and in Milwaukee the hosts of shows are lucky if they can get three words out of their mouths without laughing, but in the shows I've seen in Chicago, the hosts blend it all up good. That's how Zach and Mary Hamilton did it. And also they had someone at a merch table and someone stood by the door and took a $1 cover. That kind of stuff doesn't happen in Baltimore anymore. At least not at the shows I go to. Normally there's a can somewhere and a pile of books somewhere.
The readings were good. I think the funniest thing I've ever seen Blake Butler do. His new book, Scorch Atlas, holy cow, HOLY WOW, LOOKS AMAZAREEHING. I started reading it and it reads amazareehing too. I want it. It's something I have and it's something I want, this book. Aaron Burch got a li'l risque, a little dirty, and also managed some depth when he talked about some things from an ex that he kept boxed up in the closet so he could forget about them (and also not). Amelia Gray's was the best story. I wish I could hear it again. It was about finding a pregnancy test (positive) in a potted plant outside a Dunkin Donuts. It recounts a long list of reasons having the baby is a bad idea, and it was read with a masterful use of the word "and."
Oh geez.
I'm working on synthesizing the results of several interviews with authors and publishers for a paper about small presses. The paper mostly focuses on business practices.
My band (SWEATPANTS) has put together a tour for the end of August. If you can help us with a show in Philly on Wed Aug 26, or in Charlottesville on Fri Aug 28 man that'd be awesome.
I know someone who has a Tshirt that says "Maybe you will die soon" on it. And I know someone who had two Tshirts that said "I'm thinking about death" and she would lend her second one to anyone who wanted to think about death with her.
It's nice to see a guy get disabused by abuse in David Erlewine's awful story, "Mr. Fixer." The reason the story is so good is because of this bit of 'log, "You're s-s-still married I see." "Danny, I'm sorry, for all of it." "It's Daniel." "Of course. Look, I can't stay long." The woeful circumstances of the rest of the story rotate around that exchange. Without that exchange the story would be a lot more one dimensional.
Next week I'm going camping with my family. For years, ever since I was born, we've been going to the same place in the Adirondacks. I'm not going to tell you where though because it's getting harder and harder to get a site there. Well, okay, when my family goes we get three sites.
I got my copy of Dewclaw last week. David Erlewine writes about stuttering and the domain for Dewclaw is LispService.com. Huh. Anyway, Dewclaw is pretty fantastic and I'm already looking forward to seeing what Evelyn and Adam put together for the next issue. I think my favorite work in the issue is the poetry of Rachel B. Glaser, but I also really like how the Matt Salesses story therein accompanies his recent PDF Chapbook, "We Will Take What We Can Get."
Yep, Dennis Cooper spotlighted Light Boxes. If anyone wants to write something about MLKNG SCKLS send me an email (adam at publishinggenius dot com) and I'll send you a book.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Thursday, July 09, 2009
MLKNG SCKLS contest (#2)
First of all, Brian Allen Carr received a second copy of MLKNG SCKLS and he's holding a contest. The prize includes his extra copy and PLUS
Amelia Gray's AM/PM
Larry Fondation's Unintended Consequences
and a year's subscription to Boulevard Magazine.
Holy wow! Go here for details on how to win.
SECOND OF ALL, congratulations to Bret McCabe, who won the MLKNG SCKLS IS NOT A CALLOUS VIDEO GAME contest. He was selected by Justin Sirois in a blind reading. (There were two other entries.) Bret walks away with a copy of the book signed by Justin and his Iraqi editor, Haneen Alshujairy.
Everyday Genius
Today I moved Everyday Genius, the PGP online journal, to a Blogger format. I did this for two reasons: first, it was taking me about 25 minutes a day to update the website because of the way PGP's wonky, jury-rigged web infrastructure works. Second, and more importantly, now it can be easily integrated into Google Reader and other RSS aggregators. So take a moment to "reset your preset," and hook up your EDG feed so you don't miss a beat.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Monday, July 06, 2009
This PDF Chapbook: Matthew Salesses
I'm pleased to introduce We Will Take What We Can Get by Matthew Salesses. It is a funny and personal story about a man’s relationship with his fiancée and with his writing.
Salesses calls this “up-to-the-minute nonfiction.”
Told in 65 short sections, the story is about the writing of a story about a spate of bad luck, and how the writing plays a role and helps the writer adjust.
Salesses’s work is published in Glimmer Train, Hobart and many other journals. He is the fiction editor for Redivider.
Read it and print it at PublishingGenius.com.
Friday, July 03, 2009
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Everyday Genius
During the month of July, Stephanie Barber will be editing Everyday Genius. In one email she called it Everygay Genius, and I thought briefly about changing the name. Decided against it.
Barber has put together an amazing lineup. There is some really funny stuff and some really beautiful stuff. For the first time with PGP, there's even some vispo. Here are random lines from work that's coming out this month.
Tune into Everyday Genius this month to see what's what, who's who, where's where.
Tune in and find out why's why.
Today's poem is by Cindy Loehr, and it's funny and kind of sweetly beautiful, here's a third of it:
Barber has put together an amazing lineup. There is some really funny stuff and some really beautiful stuff. For the first time with PGP, there's even some vispo. Here are random lines from work that's coming out this month.
"Eat 'em, coprophilia."
"It is an antelope he is summoning!
But wait!
A sleeping bear is
summoned instead."
"I think I know where this is going -- this is so funny!"
"The effort to avoid omissions gives
emotional support to the
irresponsible
in the face of the sphinx."
Tune into Everyday Genius this month to see what's what, who's who, where's where.
Tune in and find out why's why.
Today's poem is by Cindy Loehr, and it's funny and kind of sweetly beautiful, here's a third of it:
Read the rest.The best way to collect these flowers is to fall into the shrub. You must fall into the shrub and collect the flowers from the street.
Reviews
Matt Debenedictis reviewed Before I Moved to Nevada (by Jamie Iredell) at The Chapbook Review.
Claudia Smith reviewed Light Boxes (by Jane Shones) at Gently Read Literature. LB is back on the bestseller list at the Small Press Exchange. I'm actually getting low on copies of this book. Get one quick.
If anyone would like a review copy of MLKNG SCKLS, let me know.
I'm feeling slightly better about moving forward. For a while I got sick and then I got mayonaised.
Claudia Smith reviewed Light Boxes (by Jane Shones) at Gently Read Literature. LB is back on the bestseller list at the Small Press Exchange. I'm actually getting low on copies of this book. Get one quick.
If anyone would like a review copy of MLKNG SCKLS, let me know.
I'm feeling slightly better about moving forward. For a while I got sick and then I got mayonaised.
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