FEATURES
Amy Gerstler
The Zoo
05.19.08
Amy Gerstler takes us to the zoo. A strange temple to some, where the gaze is exchanged inconspicuously between one species of animal captivated in reposing gawks and a variety of others held in captivity. No tiger attacks here on this day, but, careful there, don't lean too close... Art by Danny Jock.
Andrew Lewis Conn
The Pugilist at Rest: Norman Mailer (1923-2007)
11.13.07
Was Norman Mailer a "pampered superbrat" as Martin Amis put it, a chauvinist pig as Gore Vidal would have it, or America's finest writer as pugilist - an activist, novelist and journalist who didn't simply cover the story but was always, "indelibly, part of the story." "If American life" in our times, Andrew Lewis Conn writes, "was getting crazier all the time, filtering it through the prism of a crazy, and crazy-making, personality like Mailer’s made better sense than not." Mailer drawing by Danny Jock.
Andy Beta
Holy Man: Dennis Wilson Revived
07.30.08
It's been about 25 years since Beach Boys member Dennis Wilson drowned in the waters of the Pacific - the muse for his masterful one solo record Pacific Ocean Blue. But Wilson, had he lived, had much more on the way, such as the legendary unfinished Bambu, now offered along with POB as a Sony double cd. Also now available is the Criterion DVD version of Two-Lane Blacktop, a classic road race movie which stars Wilson, James Taylor (yes the James Taylor) and Warren Oates in one of his most bizarre characterizations on film (which, as Andy Beta writes, "is really saying something.") Under the shadow of elder bro Brian critically for years, the young lost Dennis is finally getting his due.
Ben Bush
Interview with William T. Vollmann
05.18.06
Stargazing? Actually that's somewhat misleading in the title. Copernicus, one of Vollmann's recent subjects, had to rely more on the careful study of the work of his compatriots and predecessors, than on actual stargazing. Vollmann takes Copernicus to heart, especially in terms of dutiful research. Why does America have George W. Bush for another terrible term? Not enough reading Vollmann says.
Benjamin Strong
The Final Days: Seeing Bush, Thinking Nixon
08.09.06
Richard Nixon resigned as president of the United States 32 years ago, but his legacy and his downfall still linger throughout the current administration. Benjamin Strong draws out some striking similarities between the life and times in 1974 and in 2006, and finds more than just military quagmires and sunken presidential approval ratings. Possibly our strongest (excuse the unintentional pun) piece to date.
Bradford Nordeen
Rupaul's Drag Race
02.05.10
The growth of positive depictions of gay chracters and themes on television likely has as much to do with advertising demographics as recent shifts in public opinion and, true to form, Rupaul's Drag Race is packed with as many product placements as the other reality TV shows it mirrors. Bradford Nordeen, author of Fever Pitch, highlights the pleasures and frustrations that the show has to offer as well as how it literalizes Warhol's maxim about fifteen minutes seconds of fame.
Brandon Stosuy
Interview with Peter Sotos
01.19.06
Brandon Stosuy catches up with controversial author Peter Sotos, a writer furthering the pursuits of De Sade, Bataille, and perhaps Genet, though when asked Sotos will tell you what he really digs is the work of self-proclaimed militant feminist Andrea Dworkin. Is he for real? Read and see.
Brian Howe
On the Lost Highway with Greil Marcus
10.04.07
We're beaming proud to have this in depth interview with Greil Marcus conducted by FANZINE first timer Brian Howe. Marcus along with a sprinkling of other intellectual wild ones the likes of Lester Bangs invented a certain style of criticism years ago that young journalists on the culture beat today can only hope to aspire to. If you were ever curious what kind of writing FANZINE wants to publish more of, study some Greil Marcus. If you haven't read Greil Marcus, start with this interview.
Carla Murphy
An Interview with Toure
01.04.08
Carla Murphy caught up with journalist, author, and now reality television host (“I’ll Try Anything Once”) Touré over the holidays. Of course she'd have preferred to have challenged him to some mildly absurd athletic contest to throw him off the question game (like Touré did over hoops when he interviewed Prince), but alas had to match wits via email. Murphy and Touré discuss surviving prep school, the future of hip hop, and Presidential contender (and as of this posting Iowa caucus winner) Senator Barack Obama.
Casey McKinney
Adios Buckaroo!
03.27.06
Back thar in journalism school I wrote a piece about an important musician in my life. No one wanted to publish it, like who cares about Buck Owens right? Well read and hopefully regret if you are of that ilk. I had the fortune of seeing the man two years ago live, probably one of the best shows I've ever seen, up there with the first time I saw Fugazi at 16 (I'm now 32). Here's what I wrote then, now updated after his passing.
Devon Magee
Sarkozy, the Victor, or What I Did When I Became President Elect
05.13.07
Nicolas Sarkozy emerged victorious after the second round of the French Presidential election. A thousand cars burned in the aftermath, which, according to who is reporting, may or may not be related to his win. Regardless, France is watching, waiting, and anticipating something come May 16, when Sarkozy officially takes office. Devon Magee reports on the scene from France. Part two of the French Elections series.
Dodie Bellamy
Hardcore Shamanism
01.19.07
What's your animal spirit? The graceful leopard? The noble deer? Why not a frog? Maybe you just don't know. Well don't fret. There are plenty of new age shamans out there ready and willing to assist you. Just don't forget your checkbook on the way to the wellness center. Dodie Bellamy takes Fanzine's readers on a personal Virgilian odyssey through the depths of these cults - in and, well, out. (pt. 1 of 3).
Dodie Bellamy's Writing Workshop
The Amazon Review Project
07.22.07
Fanzine stalwart Kevin Killian has invented a new literary form for the online shopping age. Here come the acolytes.
Jennifer Krasinski
'and so his noise was ours too for those times' - On Ronald Tavel (1936 - 2009)
04.24.09
So the story goes that Andy Warhol needed a narrator's voice when he made the move from silent pictures to "talkies." And Ronald Tavel had just the voice, i.e. the serpent in the garden he sought after. But Tavel turned out to be an artist far greater than Andy originally bargained for. He built his name with Warhol sure, as his narrator and screenwriter, but Tavel's own projects of poetry, fiction, and especially the theatrical arts are in a class all their own, as he took his audience from the tame waters of the "absurd" out into the utter "ridiculous." Jennifer Krasinski gives Tavel, who died earlier this month, a proper sendoff. Illustrations by Danny Jock.
Louis Chude-Sokei
The New Era of Blackface
12.17.09
Around Halloween the question was asked is "blackface Hitler" a culturally acceptable costume? Would it be viewed as an example of, as Louis Chude-Sokei says, "meta-anti-racism" or a bad joke in the worst kind of taste? Both? Chude-Sokei is the author of The Last Darky: Bert Williams, Black-on-Black Minstrelsy, and the African Diaspora, a finalist for the 2005 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. With a perspective rooted in African diaspora, here he paints a sharp contrast between recent incidents of blackface in American pop culture, such as this season's premiere of Madmen and Robert Downery Jr. in Tropic Thunder, and blackface traditions outside the U.S. in Mexico, Turkey and West Africa. As in his recent talk on murdered African reggae star Lucky Dube, Chude-Sokei offers a unique perspective on the communication between cultures.
Michael Louie
Five Hundred Eighty-Six Days, Fourteen Hours, Forty-Six Minutes, Eleven Seconds
09.05.08
Quitting an addiction, any addiction, is no easy matter. Whether it's crack, meth, heroin, or an MMO, the longer one pursues a dragon (or maybe an Orc in this case), the harder it is to give up the chase. But Michael Louie's on the wagon now, from a video game. And after his time given over to a Final Fantasy (FFXI to be precise), Louie looks back at his lost weekend that turned into, added up to, well...the game runs the numbers for you.
Scott Bradfield
And Where Might That Be Now, Tom?
07.12.08
Writer Thomas M. Disch died from his own hand last week in New York. Proudly obstreperous and uncouth towards his many (and unfortunately often he felt insipid) genre fans and critics of the SF and fantasy variety, Disch was misunderstood in his time. We'll see how the bulk of history remembers him, while here friend and fellow novelist Scott Bradfield remembers Disch with admiration, sadness, and love.
Thom Donovan
Silent Teacher Remembered: Hannah Weiner's Open House
12.20.07
It's been ten years since poet, artist, and self-professed "clairvoyant" journalist Hannah Weiner died. This past month, people gathered at St. Mark's Church in New York City's Lower East Side to remember this unique individual, to share slides and stories, and perhaps act as she often did, as mediums, to recall her spirit to our present. Thom Donovan was there, and here is his account of the happening (which included a reading of Hannah Weiner's Open House) and thoughts on the artist in general.
Wilbur Wilson
The Abortion Issue Gets Sticky
07.21.05
Introducing the scathing Mencken-like wit of Wilbur Wilson, Fanzine's own Washington mole. Not for the faint of heart, Wilson asks the tough questions in a way most journalists are afraid to. For his first article, he queries: What are those punk kids doing standing on the steps of the Supreme Court with their mouths all taped up?