He’s a Riot!: In Which a Boston Globe Columnist Makes Liverpool Fans See Red
Pete Hausler12.12.10
It’s one thing to opine on subjects one clearly knows nothing about. Since George W. popularized the "going with my gut" instinct, while failing to validate it as any kind of scientific/factual evidentiary process, it was still "good enough for me" to win the seal of approval for most Americans to run their mouths about anything their gut tells them. But it’s quite another thing to publicly opine on English football when clearly one knows very little, except enough to think he knows what he doesn’t like. Boston Globe columnist plays a dangerous and ignorant word game that has the Liverpool FC fan base up in arms, and Pete Hausler isn’t going to let him weasel out of it. Artwork by the great Danny Jock.
“Le Rire de la Meduse” – an excerpt from The Correspondence Artist
Barbara Browning11.15.10
The Correspondence Artist, Barbara Browning’s 21st century epistolary novel is jam-packed with cultural references and lubricated body parts and has been praised by Harry Matthews, DJ Spooky and Rebecca Miller. In a fiction that merges with cultural theory, Vivian and her lover Tzipi Honigman, a 68-year-old Nobel Prize-winning Israeli novelist, make out to a mix tape that includes such hits as Lacan’s seminar on Poe, Sartre and Simone Beauvoir’s threeway, Tippi Hedron the Swedish Jew and mistranslated sexual idioms. Is it a federal offense to steal a letter or is it in fact totally impossible? When you steal a letter, do you become the letter’s true intended audience? Either way this is mail worth rifling through. The book is due out in February from Two Dollar Radio.
That Which
Lonely Christopher10.13.10
Lonely Christopher brags "You might be the loneliest person in the world. You’ll never be as lonely as me," but what he lacks in friends he seems to be making up for with admirers. His short story collection The Mechanics of Homosexual Intercourse is due out in February from Akashic and has already been praised by Dennis Cooper, Kevin Killian and Dale Peck. His story "That Which" explores the mother-child bond with the apocalyptic intensity that only a true shut-in can know.
“Ice Melter” a short story from “Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls”
Alissa Nutting09.08.10
Alissa Nutting’s collection of short stories Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls was selected Ben Marcus as the winner of the Starcherone Prize for Innovative Fiction. Both funny and experimental, each story in the collection is told by a woman stuck in an unpleasant job, such as zoo keeper, knife thrower, corpse smoker and even the rather unlikely human ant farm. Her story "Ice Melter" is a cocktail of diabetes, heroin chic and social anxiety. The collection is due out on October first.
“It Hatched and It Died” an excerpt from Brand New Berto
Matthew Jent09.01.10
If you drive to a parking lot in Ohio over the Labor Day weekend, you might see this exact story taking place. Matt Jent nails the teenage experience of this spot on the calendar: making a name for yourself at a new school, the thrills of the the backseats of cars, the anxiety and excitement of, gulp, hanging out with older kids. If like me, your heart still dies a little every time you see a "Back to School Sale" sign, Matt Jent’s impeccable pacing and a great ear for dialogue ought to take the edge off. Accompanying illustration provided by Ben Costa, winner of a Xeric Award for his self-published comic book Shi Long Pang.
People In San Francisco
Wyatt Williams07.10.10
In San Francisco, as a protean breed/brood/batch of entrepreneurs keep floating through a misanthropic freelancer’s life, the writer realizes the only person he hates more than his subjects is himself.
Teen Porn
Andrew Leland04.30.10
You never know where this business starts. Erotica – You know? Maybe in the future everyone will be writing it. Everyone. Andrew Leland, ultrasuperstar in my book (and the book of many) gives us a peek at that future (Hey whatchoo lookin’ at Willis?) This is spores, this is pottery. I mean this is prose, this is poetry. I mean this is the stuff, so read. Art by Danny Jock.
Women Making Love With Monsters
Emily Schultz04.27.10
Maybe you are well versed in mythology, like you have a good grasp of the Greek monsters – the minotaurs, centaurs, harpies, and such? the Irish Dulhallan, or the Hebrew Leviathan and Behemoth always ready to duke it out? But have you ever seen any at a party? Have you ever run your gaze over an entire Dewey Decimal horde of unearthly beasts and got your pick of the litter, the most well hhhh… happy to see you? Well parties, as they did in Roman times, still tend to end rather ugly, with drunken garrolousness and folks fighting in the streets. Emily Schultz, author of Heaven Is Small and cooeditor of Joyland, guides us on a night like no other. Art by Danny Jock.
Everybody Loves Ramen
Jimmy Chen03.16.10
So you’re a fan of Ray Romano eh? Yes No Maybe? Well fuggetabouthim and reflect for a moment on that other show, you know the ‘controversial’ and hugely popular, metafictiony, Wong family sitcom known as Everybody Loves Ramen? Jimmy Chen tells the tale of a show still basking in the aether of our retro-consciousness (whether you know it or not). Watch for falling boom mics, and enjoy.
The Lever
Jim Ruland02.24.10
Jim Ruland is the author of the short story collection Big Lonesome, a recurring contributor to The Believer, and the host of the irreverent reading series Vermin on the Mount at the Mountain Bar in L.A.’s Chinatown. Ruland lives in San Diego and has family on both sides of the national dividing line. His story "The Lever" reflects life in a border town during the current narco-conflict and how even those who aren’t causing the violence may begin to feel culpable. Accompanying image by Eugene Delacroix.
