Archive for August, 2011
Ask The Author: Ezra Fox
Ezra Fox’s “Get Well Rose” appears in the July issue. He talks with us about female authors, ice cream and taste buds. 1. How do you talk to yourself? Through my characters. I think people who don’t write fiction don’t … Continue reading
New Facebook Fan Page
We’ve surpassed firecode on our Facebook profile page, 5,000 strong, and the requests keep on a comin’. So we’ve started a fan page that everyone can “like” instead. Same great way to stay connected with PANKsters the world over, waaaaaaaaaay … Continue reading
Ask The Author: Gary Percesepe
Gary Percesepe’s “Something” is included in the July issue. He speaks to you about stopping, cities, stalking and other somethings. 1. How did you know “Something” was complete when writing it? The music stopped. 2. What city has your favorite … Continue reading
Re:Telling, An Anthology Edited by William Walsh (A Review by Sara Lippmann)
An Anthology of Borrowed Premises, Stolen Settings, Purloined Plots and Appropriated Characters Edited by William Walsh Ampersand Books, $17.95 This is a book that’s good fun. The tagline says it all: collected fictions that steal a page from, or lend … Continue reading
Ask The Author: Brian Laidlaw
Brian Laidlaw has two poems in the July issue. He answers questions regarding steampunk, style, and spills. 1. Where are your elegies for steampunk? Steampunk isn’t dead, but it used to be. I should have elegized it when I had … Continue reading
Bowdlerized Books Presents: Excerpts From The Lorax, Abridged Version
We at Bowdlerized Books love literature. That much is certain and cannot be disputed. We live for the moment we read a great book and our minds start swirling as if suddenly activating parts of our brains that have atrophied. … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Hobie Anthony
Hobie Anthony offers three short fictions to the July issue and takes a moment to discuss roadtrip mixes, the influence of Portland and the fictional car he’d love to drive. 1. Why did you break “Three On The Road” up … Continue reading
The Indefinite State of Imaginary Morals by Rae Bryant (A Review by Thomas Michael Duncan)
Patasola Press $14 Remember the last time you woke up after a one-night stand and chewed your own arm off so you could sneak out without waking the semi-stranger sleeping next to you? No? What do you mean, that’s never … Continue reading
Little Known Author-created Causes of Hangovers
This is a guest post by Caleb J Ross as part of his Stranger Will Tour for Strange blog tour. He will be guest-posting beginning with the release of his novel Stranger Will in March 2011 to the release of … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Patricia Lockwood
Patricia Lockwood’s incredible poetry is featured in the July issue. She talks with us about canaries, mines, false alphabets and more. 1. What happens when a canary dies in the fact mine? A Tweety shirt shrinks in the wash. A … Continue reading
Gallimaufry: Department Store Announcements You Don’t Hear Very Often
Attention shoppers: Life is hard, I know. There are many trials and tribulations, and some of your problems simply can’t be fixed. You want to hit an ‘undo’ button on some of the decisions you’ve made, but you can’t because … Continue reading
Small But Mighty Things
Seth Fischer has a story in the current issue of Gertrude. He is joined by Megan Williams and the issue is available for sale. Volume II of Stoked Journal features poems and prose by Daniela Olszewska, Adam Moorad, Nate Pritts, … Continue reading
death scene: denzel as malcolm x approaching the audubon
cue: Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come†play up to a loud, ear-splitting crescendo: the opening violins which slices every black American down his/her back. *** i was told–once–as a little boy, “denzel was despondent when he shot that … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Nikki Magennis
Nikki Magennis’s fiction appears in the London Calling issue. She talks with us the eye, the sparrow, words children need to be taught, and more. 1. Why should I keep my eye on the sparrow? You can try to forget … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Sarah Dalton
Sarah Dalton’s fiction takes up the critically important topic of Pierce Brosnan in the London Calling issue. Today, we get into Daniel Craig’s tears, faith in British celebrities, taking the piss out of someone and so on and so forth. … Continue reading
This Modern Writer: Commas and Coliseums by David Wanczyk
One of my students told me the other day that she writes in commas. I am serially guilty of over-punctuating, too, extending my thoughts beyond their logical conclusion. My sentences can wear out their welcome. But writing, it could be … Continue reading
The Mutation of Fortune by Erica Adams (A Review by David Atkinson)
The Green Lantern Press $20 The Mutation of Fortune is not an easy book to get a fix on. The stories are too fluid to be easily grasped for quick summary. The ground beneath the reader’s feet shifts too rapidly … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Helen Sedgwick
Helen Sedgwick’s fiction is included in the London Calling issue. We talk about her hunting name, what’s in the bag, the relationship between editing and writing and more. 1. How would you blacken Ireland’s eye? In my mind it’s fairly … Continue reading
1,001 Awesome Words Contest
We are now accepting entries for our third annual writing competition, 1,001 Awesome Words. We think it suits the PANK ethos to leave it at that. This time, we have a guest judge, the one and only Michael Martone. Not enough, … Continue reading
Nightmares of a Screamy Baby
My son, he’s 10 months old. Funny kid. Has a cute broad smile that he often displays alongside hysterical laughter. Since he doesn’t have any language I can’t ask him what he is laughing about. Talking to him is a … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Harry Giles
Two Poems from Harry Giles appear in the London Calling issue. He talks with us about where he would fly, theatrics and writing, the slam scene abroad and more. 1. If you could fly, where would you go? I’d use … Continue reading
The Coffins of Little Hope by Timothy Schaffert (A Review by Dawn West)
Unbridled Books 272 pages, $24.95 Lies have a way of revealing truth. Motives. Fears. Obsessions. And aren’t writers the most fabulous liars? Great fiction is, in a sense, a series of fantastical lies spun into a gold-threaded web that somehow … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Gareth Durasow
Gareth Durasow’s instructional incendiary poem appears in London Calling. He talks with us about the mother of all bombs, what he’s waiting for, and grenade wedding crashing. 1. How would you make a bomb out of your mother? It’s a … Continue reading
Gallimaufry: High School Courses Revisited
Creative Writing This is an introductory course that focuses on imaginative writing style, revision, being alone, ordering in, crying, finding a good psychologist, and cleaning the house. Writing-wise, we will focus on short stories, poetry and creative non-fiction as well … Continue reading
New Issue, New News, New New
The August issue is live. I insist you start with Charles Dodd White’s Winter by Heart. This stunning story about a father and son and a man who has little good in him is fine writing by any measure. You’ll … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Holly Dawson
Holly Dawson is featured in our most recent special issue. She talks with us about fixing bodies, doll repair, feral gnomes and other matters. 1. What things do you often lose in tunnels? I should be careful how I answer … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Dawn West
Dawn West’s epistolary fiction appears in London Calling. She talks with us about the language of lost, the charms of Chloe Sevigny and much more. 1. How often do you journal? I haven’t kept a journal since high school. Actually, … Continue reading
This Modern Writer: The Idea of History in Provincetown by Irene Turner
The Idea of History in Provincetown A washed-ashore. That’s what your neighbors call you if you weren’t born in Provincetown. I’m neither: I flew in. Three tired passengers in a ten-seater prop plane. A hurricane’s due in six days. Maybe … Continue reading
Pittsburgh Noir (A Review by William D. Prystauk)
Akashic Books 237 Pages, $15.95 Editor: Kathleen George When it comes to anthologies of fiction, one usually finds one or two decent tales worthy of note while the rest is completely forgettable. Pittsburgh Noir is not one of those. Â The … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Ronnie Stephens
The poetry of Ronnie K. Stephens appears in the London Calling special issue. We talk about period dress, slam mastering in the Ozarks, taking the floor and more. 1. Why did you choose to deviate from the patterns of couplets … Continue reading
Critical Perspectives on Jay-Z and Kanye West’s ‘Otis’ From Seven Guys Named Otis
I’m really feeling this. These dudes is balling. “Luxury rap, the Hermes of verses.” That’s just how I’m living. They speaking my language. I mean, this is how I’m gonna be living. I guess this very moment I’m the-Hermes-of-sitting-on-my-ass-in-my-mother’s-basement. I’m … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Jarred McGinnis
You can read his work in the London Calling issue and today Jarred McGinnis discusses The Mighty Ducks, canal chases, and more. 1. Who would win in a hockey match: Trash Ducks or Mighty Ducks? Trash Ducks will be clogging … Continue reading
Compendium by Kristina Marie Darling (A Review by Brian Fanelli)
Cow Heavy Books 55 pages, $10 Like a jigsaw puzzle, Kristina Marie Darling’s Compendium asks to be pieced together. It is a collection of lyric poems, vignettes, erasures, glossaries, footnotes, and histories that present only bits and pieces of a … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Hazel Foster
Hazel Foster’s Summer Sunday at the Fair is a real treat in the June issue.  She talks with us about circuses, how she watches television and the believability of that vampire guy as a male lead. 1. Why rebut Water for … Continue reading
Gallimaufry: Standard & Poor’s Official Apology For Its $2 Trillion Dollar Mistake As Well As Some Of Its Other Minor Miscalculations
On August 6, after Standard & Poor’s downgraded the US credit rating to AA+, the US Treasury pointed out a $2 trillion error in Standard & Poor’s calculations. “A judgment flawed by a 2 trillion dollar error speaks for itself,” … Continue reading
“mensah demary”
for A. down the rabbit hole… the name “mensah†is Igbo (some believe it is Twi) for “third born son.†this makes “mensah†a far more accurate name than “Thomas.†i retained my last name (real) to honor my father. … Continue reading
An Unexpected, Cool Breeze
Brad Green’s Fixing Miss Fritz is live now at the Texas Observer. Read this. Staccato Fiction offers a story by Michelle Reale. At Fwriction Review, fiction from Myfanwy Collins. Mensah Demary’s Stark County appears at Used Furniture Review. In the … Continue reading
Alexis Orgera’s how like foreign objects: A Review by J. A. Tyler
Alexis Orgera broke up with me. She did it in a book. The book was how like foreign objects. One minute we were dating and so intertwined and then I became a pit in her stomach and near the end … Continue reading
Ask the Author: James Tadd Adcox
James Tadd Adcox makes another appearance in the June issue. He talks with us about breaking boners, bed talk, and the failures of monogamy. 1. Did you also know a girl that kept breaking boners? Apparently whales actually have a … Continue reading
This Modern Writer: 9 Thoughts on Being a Videogame Journalist by Peter Tieryas Liu
9 Thoughts On Being a Videogame Journalist by Peter Tieryas Liu Writing about videogames is kind of like being a food critic at a Las Vegas buffet. It’s hard to grasp what exactly it is you’re judging in-between the pounds … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Mandy Haggith
Mandy Haggith’s poetry is featured in the London Calling issue. She talks with us about how she butters her biscuits, the color yellow, and rapefield cultivation. 1. Has Coldplay ruined the colour of yellow? Not at all. 2. How do … Continue reading
Black Hole Blues By Patrick Wensink (A Review By P. Jonas Bekker)
Lazy Fascist Press $10.95 After reading Sex dungeon for sale, Patrick Wensink’s debut story collection that came out in Eraserhead Press’ New Bizarro Author Series I decided he could (and should) write a very good novel if he would just … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Alice Slater
Alice Slater’s witty fiction appears in our London Calling Special issue. She talks with us about her roller derby name (awesome), reliable narrators, and lots more. 1. How much do you trust the internet with food reviews? I rely on … Continue reading
A Special Announcement From President Barack Hussein Obama
My fellow Americans, my colleagues and I in the Democratic Party recently made a debt deal with our friends across the aisle in the Republican Party. This deal averted a crisis—the debt ceiling was raised and our country avoided default—but … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Virginia Lee Borges
Virginia Lee Borges makes her literary debut in the June issue with a story that remains one of my personal favorites. She talks with us about what she leaves around the house, what she wants to pile, and her creation … Continue reading
The Iguana Complex by Darby Larson (A Review By Joseph Michael Owens)
Mud Luscious Press Despite what you may have heard, Darby Larson is a lyricist. He might be the Eminem of prose fiction, but probably not. Perhaps he’s more like Sage Francis or one of the guys from Definitive Jux, but … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Cara McGuigan
Cara McGuigan is featured in our London Calling issue. She talks with us about the box beneath her floorboard, the dissolution of her heart, and altering EPCOT. 1. What would I find in your watch box beneath the floorboard? Running … Continue reading
Gallimaufry: My First Days On Earth
Like you, I was born. Then I became a man. I still am a man. Just ask my wife. Never mind. Don’t ask my wife. Pretend I never even brought my wife up. Just take it from me: I am … Continue reading
You’re Going to Want to Sit Down For This
Behold Specter Magazine. Issue Zero (wait, what?) features Dawn West, J. Bradley and Rion Scott. Laura Ellen Scott’s Death Wishing will be out in October. Meanwhile, check out her book’s new page. Brett Elizabeth Jenkins has five poems in Fwriction … Continue reading
Ask the Author: David Holub
David Holub brings his unique humor to the May issue and he talks with us about unfriending, punctuation, and his fake laugh. 1. What is the Truth? The Truth is that thing that you cannot look at directly or you … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Andrew Pullan
Andrew Pullan’s poetry is featured in our London Calling issue. He talks with us about fighting metal, adolescent itches and winks as a seductive technique. 1. What job opportunities are there up north? Very limited – the only oppportunity seems … Continue reading
What Doesn’t Kill You: An Anthology (A Review By Gale Martin)
Press 53 $17.95 Editors: Murray Dunlap & Kevin Morgan Watson When the premise of an anthology is compelling, reader expectations are high. Upon receiving a review copy of collected stories and narrative non-fiction called What Doesn’t Kill You published by … Continue reading
Ask the Author: Joshua Helms
We have three stories by Joshua Helms in the June issue. He talks with us about fire starting, fragility, and paternity. 1. What have you set on fire? When I was 13, I lit a tissue on fire with a … Continue reading
tell me something good
they say athena is the greek goddess of love. i used to say this, before i learned the gods’ names and their accompanying powers, abilities hitched to human elements. they say athena is the goddess of love because, in my … Continue reading