Literary Feud-Inspired Comic Found At Last!
Friday dawns. It’s hot here in the Northwest. And everywhere the stores have sold out of fans. Oh, the horror. We drip as we write, dear reader. But take heart, we’re listening to old school R&B. There’s something good and sweaty about Roberta Flack, the way she makes the heat a part of her music. As any old school musician knows, atmosphere is important. Let’s use that as today’s motivation. We move through the cool cool beats, the deep-heart chill, to our literary brethren. Jacket Copy looks at infamous literary feuds. The original works (read unedited) of Carver have been posthumously released. The Times debates which is the real deal. After his beer with Obama, Skip Gates travels to Martha’s Vineyard, where he will participate in a literature festival. An Indian author will not go gently into the night, the Science Times has the skinny on men who live too long at home, and the ongoing mystery of what Thomas Pynchon looks like is answered by a forensic artist. Also, Vollman’s latest tome is reviewed, the curiosities of writing in a book’s margins are explored, and Slate explains how “Hit by a Bus” became a catastrophic cliche. Here’s to your survival. — Kevin Murphy
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Tagged as:
Friday's Literary Grab Bag,
In Case You Missed It,
Literature in the Media
A Poem by Ryan Bird
Today’s hearing of the
Senate Armed Services Committee
ended with a near-unanimous decision
which ordered the unconditional withdrawal
of every redheaded soldier in Iraq.
“America doesn’t support troops like that,”
said a senior Delaware Senator,
“I mean, parents may tell their children
that freckles are just ‘kisses
from angels,’
but we are all adults here,
& we all know better.
They are just
gross.”
____________________________________________
Ryan Bird’s poems make regular appearances in some of Canada’s most suppositious literary magazines, including: Free Verse Good, Free Prose Bad; The Backslap Quarterly and Rage Against the Colophon. His poems have also made more substantial appearances in a very real chapbook called Under One Roof, available through Trainwreck Press. Also, read his blog Robot Kissing Booth.
Tagged as:
New Literature Online,
Poetry,
Selected Online Writing
Your Editors Started At An Early Age
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before – we’re sobering up here at the mag. Another long night has passed. It’s true, many authors have jumped on the wagon, or is it off? But did that actually change their work? Let’s investigate. Sherman Drexler got off the writing wagon at Berkeley. Maybe he, like Arthur Phillips, struggled to discover how to write about music. That might drive one to drink. Or feel small in the world. With a lot to say. No one will miss dying, but if you go in Paris, there is a good chance your grave will be a happening spot. Garcon, water, please. – Andrew Geer
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Tagged as:
In Case You Missed It,
Literature in the Media,
Thursday's Flurry of Words
Talking WriteMax!® by Christopher Wachlin
A Short Story by Christopher Wachlin
Welcome. And thank you for joining us. My name is Steve Pyradine. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people say, “I wish I were creative”. As an actor, people often tell me they’d like to be in the movies. Sometimes they wish they could paint. But more than anything else, I hear people say they wish they could write. Great writing amazes people. It inspires them. But people are often scared. They’re intimidated by the difficulties up ahead, like lions in the jungle, ready to pounce. Sadly, they’re right. Writing is difficult, and not a suitable occupation for everyone. But we have a powerful, proven program to start you on your way to a career in the writing industry, and we can do it today. It’s called WriteMax!®, and it was designed by a visionary man named Wilson Damien. Mr. Damien built this program with beginners and experts in mind, and he’s here today to explain how it works. Please let me introduce you to the man who has helped so many people just like you unleash their creative juices. Wilson Damien.
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Tagged as:
New Literature Online,
Short Story
