Monday, April 26, 2010

SOME WORDS ON DANIEL BAILEY'S THE DRUNK SONNETS


http://magichelicopterpress.com/drunk.htm

The Drunk Sonnets are obsessed with breathing and love and loneliness and Daniel’s inability to think and feel and function properly in the absence of a friend or a beer or a good woman. The poems are claustrophobic, an oxygen tank set to its highest setting while the man on the other end has embraced his demise, drunk, alone, but for memories of lost love; and for Bailey there is only one; she is everything and nothing and beautiful and careless:

I’M GLAD THAT YOU’RE SILL ALIVE AND DOING WELL
I’D HATE TO LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE YOU DON’T EXIST
I CAN SAY THAT HONESTLY, AND I’M GLAD I DON’T HAVE TO LIE
IF YOU KNOW ME, AND I THINK YOU DO, YOU KNOW I’M NOT A LIAR

EXCEPT FOR WHEN EVERYTHING GOES WRONG IN MY LIFE
AND I HAVE TO BACK AWAY FOR A LITTLE WHILE
INTO ANOTHER CORNER OF LIFE WHERE I’LL SAY ANYTHING
TO MAKE YOU BELIEVE ME RIGHT NOW

I can’t remember reading an alcoholism this tender this vulnerable and heartbroken and incapable:

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT PEOPLE WANT LIFE TO MEAN SOMETHING
I WISH I WERE THE MOSS ON THE TREE STUMP IN ANOTHER STATE
AND WE NEVER ENDED UP SEEING EACH OTHER

I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT WHAT I DRINK EVERY NIGHT CAN MAKE ME FEEL
ANY DIFFERENT, AND I THINK WE’LL BE GONE FOREVER RIGHT NOW
I AM GONE AND YOU ARE GONE AND THAT IS IT


Ultimately, I’m not convinced that Daniel will make it. Reminiscent of the best parts of Plath’s Bell Jar, these sonnets are mad and hopeless. They offer no solutions, no redemption, just a human being stripped to blood and tiny fragments of muscle tissue who is just as uncertain of his escape as I am:

I CAN’T TALK RIGHT NOW WITH MY MOUTH FULL OF SAND
IF YOU WANT TO TALK LEAVE A MESSAGE AND I WILL RESPOND
AT A BETTER TIME I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND
BUT I UNDERSTAND IF YOU NEVER DO

AND IF I NEVER DO
AND IF WHAT WAS GOOD WAS NOT REALLY GOOD
BUT WE WERE TRYING TOO HARD TO BE GOOD

God bless you Daniel Bailey.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

ANIMAL MAGNETISM. ALEXANDRA ISACSON. KILL AUTHOR


ALEXANDRA ISACSON
KILL AUTHOR 6
ANIMAL MAGNETISM
http://killauthor.com/issuesix/alexandra-isacson/


Read a little piece here:

"The anesthetized man rose from the surgery table and grabbed the young nurse around the waist. The last time a man surprised her like that she was dancing at a biker bar in a copper ghost town."

REVIEWS OF ACHILLES CHAPBOOKS

Thanks to SALVATORE PANE and the folks at PANK for their fine review of NICOLLE ELIZABETH's THREADBARE VON BARREN. Here's a little piece of Salvatore's wise words:

"These pieces are story distilled to the very core and are almost too personal for narrative, too close to the surface to shape with illusions of form and structure. What we’re left with is a powerful rawness and urgency that only grow with each subsequent reading. Only then is the reader finally able to grasp the emotional gravitas at play."

Read the rest here:
http://www.pankmagazine.com/pankblog/?p=3856


Thanks to MARC SCHUSTER at the SMALL PRESS REVIEWS for his excellent review of PETER SCHWARTZ's, OLD MEN, GIRLS, AND MONSTERS. Here's a brain teaser:

"The monsters named in the title of this slim volume are humans — or, at the very least, what humans become when we let our demons get the better of us. Throughout the proceedings, Schwartz presents a host of lonely, psychologically damaged characters, all of whom seek comfort in the company of others yet, tragically, lack the capacity to connect in a meaningful way."

Read the rest here:
http://smallpressreviews.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/old-men-girls-and-monsters/

Both Salvatore and Marc pretty much nailed these reviews. Good shit guys. Thanks for your friendship and support.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

CORIUM MAGAZINE

CORIUM MAGAZINE
http://www.coriummagazine.com/

SHORT FICTION
Stephen Elliott
Donna D. Vitucci
Sean Lovelace
Alec Niedenthal
Adam Moorad

VERY SHORT FICTION
Kim Chinquee
Scott Garson
Andrea Kneeland
Kathy Fish
Sheldon Compton
Julie Babcock
Ryan Ridge
Beth Thomas
Laura Ellen Scott
Christina Murphy
Eric Beeny

POETRY
Shaindel Beers
Corey Mesler
Sam Rasnake
Rusty Barnes
Cami Park

PRICK OF THE SPINDLE 4.1



Jac Jemc
The End of the World

Hannah Oberman-Breindel
The Runners

Hannah Pass
Tiny Houses

Mimi Vaquer
And then the Phoenix

xTx
Yet, I Kneel. I Tie.

and other good shit from other good people...

MORE STUFF TO READ



SAM PINK
FROWNS NEED FRIENDS TOO
X
BEST OF THE WEB 2010
DZANC BOOKS
X
WOLF PARTS
MATT BELL

Monday, March 8, 2010

KYLE MINOR

THE TRUTH AND ALL ITS UGLY

52 STORIES

http://www.fiftytwostories.com/?p=1149#more-1149

CURTIS SMITH. TRUTH OR SOMETHING LIKE IT


Is America ready for the Truth?

Glen Tate didn't ask to be thrust into the heart of political upheaval. He has enough problems of his own--a love life adrift, his crew of disturbed schoolchildren, the lingering ghost of his dead brother... Yet these immediate worries are overshadowed when he survives a horrific accident which claims the son of Arthur Lyndon, the billionaire firebrand determined to forge a new America defined by his vision of the truth. Millions hail Lyndon as a modern messiah, and only Glen and his handful of misfit friends know the real truth.

In Truth or Something Like It, Curtis Smith examines friendship and love, society's penchant for cultish hysteria, and the power of one man to make a difference. By turns humorous, tender, and violent, Smith renders a world both fantastic and as disturbingly real as today's headlines.

"In Truth or Something Like It, Curtis Smith taps the full range of experience--joy, grief, humor, despair--with a keen ear for the subtleties of language and a compassionate eye for the complexities of human nature. His prose is simultaneously robust and impressively precise. This is a surprising, generous writer, one who cares about his craft, and so will you." - Elise Juska, author of One for Sorrow, Two for Joy

"Truth or Something Like It is a thoroughly engrossing novel--rich with unforgettable characters, vibrant prose, and strength of voice. Curtis Smith is a major talent, and this novel is a work to savor and celebrate." - Laura van den Berg, author of What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us

For addition info including how to order, click here:
http://www.casperianbooks.com/catalog/1-934081-22-1.html

Saturday, March 6, 2010

ALEXANDRA ISACSON



SACRED WRECKED VESSEL
for marilyn monroe

THE MEDULLA REVIEW

http://www.themedullareview.com/Alexandra_Isacson.html

ANOMALIES. HOWIE GOOD


Howie Good, a journalism professor at the State University of New York at New Paltz, is the author of thirteen previous poetry chapbooks, including Death of the Frog Prince (2004) and Heartland (2007), both from FootHills Publishing. He has been nominated four times for a Pushcart Prize and five times for the Best of the Net anthology. His first full-length collection of poetry, Lovesick, was released in 2009 by The Poetry Press/Press Americana.

Anomalies is a 28 page hand-stitched chapbook - $8.00

TO ORDER ON-LINE
http://www.foothillspublishing.com/2010/id47.htm

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2010

In the true spirit of INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2010, I scoured the globe in search of the sexiest women outside of the United States. So here's what I found:


RUSSIA

SEX
IRAN

SEX
PORTUGAL
SEX


JAPAN



JAPAN



MEXICO



TURKEY


SEX
ITALY


SWEDEN



FRANCE


Tuesday, March 2, 2010

MORE STUFF TO READ

HOBART: THE GREAT OUTDOORS
http://www.hobartpulp.com/print/index.html

Mike Alber
Lydia Conklin
Lucy Corin
Curtis Dawkins
Matthew Derby
Gabe Durham
B.C. Edwards
Scott Garson
Becky Hagenston
Steve Himmer
Christopher Kennedy
Meghan Kenny
Peter Markus
Adam Peterson
Steven Rinella
Shya Scanlon
Patrick Somerville
Eliza Tudor
Gabriel Urza
Elise Winn



STORYGLOSSIA 38
http://www.storyglossia.com/

Liz Chamberlin
Sisters Are From Mars, Sisters Are From Vegas

Nikki Dolson
Take the Hit

Randal Gentry
Cottonmouths

Shanna Germain
How to Learn a Language

Jesse Goolsby
Thirteen Steps

Barry Graham
Whatsoever A Man Soweth (Bloody Mary)

Natasha Grinberg
When in Rome

James Iredell
Sappy

Jeff Lacy
Good Intentions

Antonios Maltezos
A Gulp of Air

James Miranda
All In

Robert Paul
Moreira Scores

Anne Leigh Parrish
Pinny And The Fat Girl

Tammy Remington
What You'd Expect

Myra Sherman
The Carnivore Restaurant

Yvette Ward-Horner
Dirty Girl

Bonnie ZoBell
Uncle Rempt




ELIMAE: MARCH
http://elimae.com/new.html

ELIZABETH ELLEN
MICHELLE REALE
KATE WYER
MEL BOSWORTH
STEFANIE FREELE
HOWIE GOOD
KEVIN O' CUINN
GREG GERKE
ROBERT LAUGHLIN
MATTHEW SAVOCO



DECOMP
www.decompmagazine.com

FLASH PROSE
Sheldon Lee Compton, Jerome Edwards, S. H. Gall, Brad Green, Kevin Kaiser, Robert Kaye, xTx


SHORT PROSE
Kathryn Sanders

POETRY
Jude Dillon, Britt Gambino, KJ Hays, Karen Neuberg, Amy Oakley, Lynne Procope, Peter Richter, Jacob Russell, Daniel Wheatley

BOOK REVIEW
Prose. Poems. a Novel. by Jamie Iredell

Friday, February 26, 2010

GOTTA GET YOU SOME


The Taste of Penny: Stories Jeff Parker. Dzanc (Consortium, dist.), $16.95 paper (144p) ISBN 978-0-9825204-4-4

Ten dark, suspenseful, and tightly wound stories teeter on the edge of catastrophe and the surreal piecing-back-together of life afterwards. Parker (Ovenman) tosses his characters into some form of peril, whether physical—like the narrator of “Our Cause,” who loses the tip of his tongue—or emotional, like the jingoistic American in “The Boy and the Colgante,” who erects a giant illuminated American flag in front of his house in the heart of “French redneck” Quebec. Parker's characters are disfigured or pitiable—one weathers guilt and emotional torture while paralyzed in a wheelchair, one gnaws at his fingers and attempts to excrete a swallowed penny, one stands in line outside the house where his ex-girlfriend is interviewing potential new boyfriends. Parker's prose is concise and quirky, packed with unexpected turns (“It's like yak butter or meat jelly,” says one character. “You don't know exactly what it is but you know it's there”), and aside from the few moments when Parker gets too clever for his own good (as with the unnecessarily obscure “The Briefcase of the Pregnant Spylady”), these stories are haunting and constantly surprising. (Apr.)

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

FIRESALE. ORANGE ALERT PRESS



February marks the official two year anniversary of Orange Alert Press. It was two years ago this month that Ben Tanzer approached my with his second novel Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine. To celebrate that spark of genius and to clear my closet of the 60+ copies I have left I am announcing a FIRE SALE! For the month of February I will be selling copies of Ben's book for just $6 (plus $3 shipping). They will be available on-line, but also at a few select events this month including The Torn Pages Event on Feb. 13th and the Orange Alert Reading on Feb 21st at The Whistler. Also, the first person to name six writers in the above video will receive a free book (put your guesses in the comments section).

"Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine is an honest, funny book whose depiction of dating angst in the nineties will ring true for those of us who were there, and likely win plenty of new converts for this talented Chicago author." - Matt Staggs (Enter The Octopus)


http://www.orangealert.net/node/559

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Monday, January 11, 2010

COMING SOON TO A THEATER NEAR YOU...


MORE STUFF TO READ

LEN KUNTZ
WORD RIOT
SKIN

http://www.wordriot.org/template_3.php?ID=2038

ALEXANDRA ISACSON
EMPRISE REVIEW
THE ORCHARD’S MEMORY
http://emprisereview.com/?page_id=3015

JEN MICHALSKI
EMPRISE REVIEW

BIG BOY
http://emprisereview.com/?page_id=2719

BEN LOORY

EMPRISE REVIEW
THE KNIFE ACT
http://emprisereview.com/?page_id=2714

ROBERT SWARTWOOD vs. NARRATIVE MAGAZINE
http://www.robertswartwood.com/?p=597

Monday, January 4, 2010

J.A. TYLER. WHEN WE MAKE OUR DINOSAUR

From ARTISTICALLY DECLINED PRESS:

"Our second .pdf ebook is here and ready to be consumed. We’ll let the awesomeness speak for itself, so here’s J.A. Tyler’s When We Make Our Dinosaur"

http://www.artisticallydeclined.net/2010/01/ja-tylers-when-we-make-our-dinosaur/

Friday, January 1, 2010

R.I.P. 2009

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS FOR 2010

Christy Call
Stretch more. Learn sign language. Go to the dentist.

Marc Schuster
I will spend less time talking about writing and more time writing.

Myfanwy Collins
I resolve to stop googling Jon and Kate Gosselin.

Kyle Minor
I resolve, in the year 2010, to finish my novel.

Cynthia Reeser
Procrastinate less, write more, and don't get screwed (in the negative sense of the word).

Dan Wickett
I have a long-standing resolution to not make any NY Resolutions.

Ashley Fallon
My resolution is to have my bikini body come summer!

Claudia Smith
I think I will resolve to stop doing stupid things, but the more I try to do that, the more stupider I seem to get.

Timmy Waldron
I resolve to drink more often, but less at a time.

Tracy Shields
My New Year's Resolution is to do everything in my power to get my Distribution money back

Sean Lovelace
I resolve to never skip out on motel bills/damage again (while on Ambien or on Tuesdays) and leave you in that uncomfortable/awkward situation, Sara.

Larina Warnock
Every year for many years, my resolution has been to finish writing the first draft of my novel. This year, my resolution is to finish revising the first draft of my novel and start querying agents by March.

Regan McGrory
I resolve to spend more time with Barry and less time with the governor.

Molly Gaudry
I resolve to work harder, write harder, love harder.

Drew Kalbach
I'm going to resolve to send out more work more frequently. Because I think I'm really lazy about that.

Howie Good
I will use whiskey only for gargling. I will argue that dogs are U.S. citizens, too. I will compare work to a strip search. I will stare at you as if you were someone else. I will call it war rather than armed conflict, and in my head, I will see myself spiraling down in orange flames. I will admire the dainty feet of a hugely fat woman. I will place birds like commas around the yard.

Peter Schwartz
My New Year's resolutions for the year 2010 are to: Work out like I'm in prison because who knows, someday I might be. Finally listen to my OBGYN's advice and really live "in the moment.” Enjoy and appreciate my time in Philly. Force people to publish me. Defeat Evil.

Kim Chinquee
I'm going to smile more and take up boxing.

Michael J. Bible
My resolution is to ignore the thoughts I have during the first 30 minutes after I wake up.

Simon A. Smith
My new years res is to lose some of my petty anger and find more happiness in small things, even in places where it has no damn business being.

Nicolle Elizabeth
Eat Carrots, Write Poems, Listen to Slayer. Stay Fly. Read until my eyes fall out. Write until I have no hands then keep writing. Quote Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure: "Be excellent to each other, and party on, dudes!"

Jamie Jones
I resolve to not make convulsive and guttural noises when remembering embarrassing moments from my past.

Ben Tanzer
I resolve to fight for world peace, well that and finally achieve a 7-hour tantric orgasm like my hero and mentor Sting.

Sarah Sweeney
My resolution is to finish my book of essays in 2010, and only staying a little insane in the process. I'd also like to round out my list of abilities by perfecting a cherry pie recipe, if I can learn to bake first.

Heather Fowler
I resolve to take more pleasure where I find it--and look harder for its murmurs where I don't, and to attempt to find the good points about every person I meet and/or have to be near--because we all have bad traits, this much is true--but why waste my time on recognizing those?

Brandi Wells
This year I'd like to learn to pole dance. The way strippers grab the pole and swing around upside down and almost land on their heads. That's what I want to do, but with clothes on and maybe an extra sweater. I'm going to need someone to buy me that sweater though, since I don't own one.

Paula Bomer
A long time ago, I gave up on making resolutions, because I don't do well under pressure and because the disappointment in myself at never coming close to actually living out any of my resolutions was crushing. And yet, on New Year's Eve and Day, I live even more keenly with those things I try to live with every day- a supreme sense of awe and gratitude for the mystery which is our existence on this earth, and with a humble hope that I can show some kindness to my fellow souls, love my family with the love they deserve and fight off the despair which accompanies the knoweldge of our mortality that haunts us all.

Shellie Zacharia
I'm going to read more. Spend less time goofing around on the computer. And I'm going to crack open some cookbooks and learn some new recipes. Yeah! 2010!

Ryan W. Bradley
In years past I have resolved to have no resolutions, but I decided against douchebaggery, and hereby resolve to DO BETTER. If I do it, whatever it is, I want to do it better in 2010. From brushing my teeth, to writing stories, to massaging my wife's back. It's all going to be done better.

Donna D. Vitucci
Lessen the grieving, amp up the dreaming, and not let it all matter so much.

Daniel Wallace
To stop allowing college to interfere with the day's writing.

Matt Charles
To actually start, if not finish, writing a novel in 2010.

Jason Behrends
Be in control of my mind, body & spirit at all times. Better balance of all aspects of my life. Become a more active reader and listener. Sell more books!!!

Andrea Kneeland
My New Year's resolution is to get a passport and get the hell out of the country.

Laura Ellen Scott
My resolution is very boring--gonna finish writing a collection of spooky vsf, and see if anyone wants to read it!

Jereme Dean
INSERT CLEVER, WITTY OR SOMEWHAT PROFOUND STATEMENT FOR AN ARBITRARY DAY IN AN ARBITRARY YEAR IN AN ARBITRARY EXISTENCE HERE.

Amanda Nazario
Treat people with more respect. Wake up earlier in the morning. Stop complaining about money. Compliment the people I admire. Defend myself

Tracy Lee
My resolution: to judge myself less.

Suzanne Burns
My resolutions are to floss every day, apply lotion every night before bed, finish my novel by spring, let's see, try not to be a bitch.

Robert Swartwood
I will try to write every day. I will try to support more indie publishers and magazines. I will try at least once a month to read a book by an author I've never read before.

Monday, December 28, 2009

MORE STUFF TO READ

TRYST
http://www.tryst3.com/issue18/contents.html
PETER SCHWARTZ
CAROL LYNN GRELLAS
RAY SUCCRE
FOSTER TRECOST

PRICK OF THE SPINDLE 3.4
http://www.prickofthespindle.com/

LEN KUNTZ
MEG POKRASS
KYLE HEMMINGS
CL BLEDSOE

STACCATO
http://staccatofiction.com/?page_id=67

JAMES R. TOMLINSON
LAURA ELLEN SCOTT
DAVE ERLEWINE
BETH THOMAS
DAWN CORRIGAN
MEG POKRASS
ETHAL ROHAN
KATHY FISH
ROXANE GAY
ADAM MOORAD

Sunday, December 20, 2009