The Gun is a Blowfish: A Review of The Great American Suction by David Nutt

Connor Goodwin

04.09.19

“Though the novel is more farcical than satirical, Nutt channels some of literature’s greatest satirists, from the rhetorical elusiveness of Nikolai Gogol’s Dead Souls to Thomas Pynchon’s zany subplots to George Saunders’ big-hearted generosity.” Connor Goodwin reviews.

Book Album Book: The Creaking of the Word

Jeff T. Johnson

04.04.19

The latest edition of Book Album Book considers the difference between lyrics and poetry, including a look at Jessica Pratt’s Quiet Signs and Liz Harris’ surprise double album as Nivhek.

Mystic Theater

Mike Corrao

04.03.19

“The sky turns lavender again outside of Antwerp and Roberto Bolano is resurrected.” New fiction by Mike Corrao.

Invocation of My Demon Sister: Toxic Female Friendships in the Horror Film

Philippa Snow

04.01.19

Philippa Snow unpacks the appeal of the trope of toxic, mutually-intoxicated female friendships as found in four recent horror flicks: Perry’s Queen of Earth, Decker’s Butter on the Latch, Takal’s Always Shine, and Finley’s Thoroughbreds.

Fanfiction & Queer Violence

Blake Planty

03.28.19

Blake Planty explores his personal relationship with fanfiction from an early age, how it exposed him to queer culture, and how queer writers navigate the violent and dangerous reality of occupying a queer/trans body through open-access prose.

I is an island

Becca Klaver

03.27.19

“What would have become of them had they not remembered.” New work by Becca Klaver.

Unusual, Dirty Mementos: An Interview with David Nutt

Gene Kwak

03.25.19

David Nutt speaks with Gene Kwak about Nutt’s head-turning debut novel, The Great American Suction, and its inspiration, revision, influence, and much more.

The Peace of Fatalism: Erika T. Wurth’s You Who Enter Here

Katharine Coldiron

03.20.19

Erika T. Wurth’s latest novel is a heartbreaking blend of romance and violence, composed in urgent, tender prose. Katharine Coldiron reviews.

Nocturnal Animals

Lily Daly

03.18.19

“All the men go to Russia to work and here I am, another girl with the wives, scattered in the kitchen like a balding dandelion, learning Russian.” Poetry by Lily Daly.

Maybe I just want someone to have sex with who will lightly choke me while I’m on top

Hana Pera Aoake

03.14.19

“Sometimes I choke myself or slap my face or grab my waist or punch myself or prick myself just because I’m so bored and I’m ready to wake up and enter the Matrix.” Hana Pera Aoake comes thru w/ a trigger-laden, genre-bending persona shriek.