Archive for March, 2012
Mission Freak!
We’re at the Mission Creek Festival in Iowa City today. Come see us at the Mission Freak book fair at the Mill. Or come to the reading we’re hosting tonight with Draft and Uncanny Valley, 5-6pm at the White Rabbit.
Ask The Author: Jeffrey Kingman
Jeffrey Kingman’s Two Poems were published in the January Issue. Jeffrey answers violent questions about drumming, comfort, and body shots. 1. What’s with poetry’s fascination with crows and winter? Crows are big and handsome and outspoken. Yet not obnoxious like … Continue reading
Friday Five
1. Night at Target, poetry by Ryan Bender-Murphy at elimae 2. Stealing Bic, fiction by Laurence Pritchard at Used Funiture Review 3. As The Hours Grow Smaller the Smaller Grows Flour, poetry by Ben Mirov at Everyday Genius 4. Exits … Continue reading
My Dead Pets Are Interesting by Lenore Zion (A Review By Thomas Michael Duncan)
TNB Books, 2011. 228 pgs/$14.99 In the title essay of her collection, My Dead Pets Are Interesting, Lenore Zion recounts how she told a man on their first date about her dog being hit by a car. He didn’t want … Continue reading
Ask The Author: Mika Seifert
This wonderful piece, “Blackbox” by Mika Seifert, was published in the January issue. 1. Whose body would you hide in the ocean? The body of Julio Cortazar who was an axolotl. 2. What would be in your black box? Mostly … Continue reading
A Forsley Feuilleton: Gary Shteyngart Can Afford As Many Bottles of Vodka And “Double-Cured-Spicy-Soppressata-And-Avacado†Sandwiches As He Craves
As far as the schools of literary criticism go – and damn do they go far, so far that you need a dozen diabeticless Labrador Retrievers with MFAs to fetch them – I’ve always favored those theories, like Historical-Biographical criticism, … Continue reading
Invasions :: Portland :: Seattle
We went to Portland, Oregon. We went to Seattle, Washington. It was good. Next up, Iowa City on Saturday! Go to there. [PANK] Invasions :: Portland :: Seattle from M. Bartley Seigel on Vimeo.
L’Vis Lives! by Kevin Coval (A Review by Brian Fanelli)
Haymarket Books 103 pages, $16 Renowned poet Patricia Smith writes in the introduction to Kevin Coval’s newest collection of poems, L’Vis Lives, that his latest offering is a “relentless book, brave and uncomfortable.†Indeed, Coval’s collection is brave and forceful … Continue reading
Ask The Author: Matthew Battles
You must read “For Provisional Description of Superficial Features” by Matthew Battles. And, also, you must read this interview. 1. How would you murder someone using Wikipedia? Well, I suppose I’ve specified one way of doing so, but it’s beyond … Continue reading
[PANK]Invasions::Portland::Seattle
SEATTLE, TONIGHT! Join us. RSVP on Facebook.
Shenanigans! by Joseph Michael Owens (A Review by David Atkinson)
Grey Sparrow Press 100 pgs/$9.99 I’ve heard that by the time Bukowski was really into the swing of things as a writer, he had stopped reading much of anything. He did not feel that most of what he came across … Continue reading
Ask The Author: Ashley Farmer
These Four Stories by Ashley Farmer were published in the January Issue. 1. What position of power do you want to hold in Farm Town? Well, in the “real†Farm Town world, Tom is in charge. He’s animated and benevolent … Continue reading
A Letter from the Fictional Character, Geneva, to her Author, Myfanwy Collins
Engine Books, March, 2012, $14.95 Dear Myfanwy Collins, I want to thank you for telling my story, and the story of the others too, especially the women. I’m glad you didn’t just write down all the terrible. That you … Continue reading
Ask The Author: Evelyn Somers
“Viral” by Evelyn Somers was published in the January issue. 1. How is a baby like a virus? To be literal, one person gives it to another; it can live inside you for quite a long time, too. My son … Continue reading
Hot Pink by Adam Levin (A Review by Joseph Michael Owens)
McSweeney’s 256 pgs/$18 Sometimes, other people really sum up your thoughts more perfectly than you can—at least in a single statement:  Dude just got his foot off everybody’s throat and now he’s back ALREADY. That’s what Adam Novy (The Avian … Continue reading
Ask The Author: Sheila Macavoy
It would do your week justice to start out by reading or re-reading “At The Off Ramp” by Sheila Macavoy, published in January. Then follow that up by reading this interview. 1. Why did you start it? Seemed like a … Continue reading
A Forsley Feuilleton: An Open Letter To The Anti-Ginger Grocery Store Night Managers Across This Once Tolerant Nation
I know you are going to do with this letter what you did with all the others: throw it, while laughing, into the wastebasket labeled, “Letters From Fiery Tempered Firecrotch Ex-Employees.â€Â But I quit another Night Stocking job at another … Continue reading
This Modern Writer: John D’Agata Is Not the Timothy Leary of Essay Writers, But I Do Like How that Characterization Sounds
The current debate swirling around essayist John D’Agata’s ideas about the role of facts in so-called creative nonfiction has me thinking about memory. I got gas at ARCO recently, and standing there beside the pump, I had a flashback of … Continue reading
And Then It Was Monday
1. [PANK] Invades Portland (March 23) and Seattle (March 24th) this week! Be there. 2. The March Issue is live. 3. [PANK] will also be at the Mission Creek Festival in Iowa City, March 30th and 31st. We want to … Continue reading
Ask The Author: Marcus Speh
“The Sodomized Dictator” by Marcus Speh appeared in the January Issue. 1. Where is the sodomy in this story or do you prefer to create titles to your work that misdirect your reader’s expectations? The sodomy is not in the … Continue reading
Friday Five
These poems are good. They are poems that we read this week. They are poems that you should read while you wind down your week. Enjoy. Sasha Fletcher at Notnostrums. Nicholas Reading at Burnside Review. Juan Felipe Herrera was the … Continue reading
Ask The Author: Gary McDowell
These Two Poems by Gary McDowell were in the January Issue. Read the wonderful poems and read this wonderful interview. 1. Why are poets so fascinated with autumn? Fall. The Fall. Falling. In love. Out of love. Darkness. Leaves. Leaving. … Continue reading
Books We Can’t Quit: The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Chosen by: Dawn West First Published in Hardcover: April 1, 1993. Farrar, Straus and Giroux 256 pgs/$10.99 “What are you doing here, honey? You’re not even old enough to know how bad life gets.† “Obviously, Doctor, you’ve never been a thirteen-year-old girl.†… Continue reading
The Beauty Bar (or outside)
No need to describe the weather–”Chicago night winds in March” will suffice. We stood outside the Beauty Bar, the five of us–three bent at the seams by alcohol, one (of the aforementioned three) neared systemic shutdown. He led our court. … Continue reading
Logophily
Lots of words sound alike (1). Often, this sort of thing is coincidence: a language uses only so many sounds, and there’s bound to be some overlap between and among them (2). Lots of similar-sounding words aren’t related. A chaise … Continue reading
Ask The Author: Gwen Mullins
Gwen Mullins’s great work of fiction, “Domestic Violence”, was published in the January Issue. 1. What do you need to sleep? Two full glasses of wine (but no more than that), a list of things I have to do so … Continue reading
Out & About
Ian Doherty, a creative writing student at Susquehanna University, recently conducted this Q&A with me for one of his classes. We briefly discuss the origins of [PANK], the state of the magazine, and a few things in between. Doherty: How did … Continue reading
Ask The Author: Sherri H. Hoffman
Sherri H. Hoffman’s work of fiction, “Blue”, was published in the January Issue. Sherri answers these intriguing questions. 1. What animal would you like to be crossed with? A Hawksbill sea turtle. Cool facial tattoos and full sleeves. Plus they’ve … Continue reading
A Forsley Feuilleton: In The Good Old Days You Could Use Books To Beat Your Perverted Boyfriends Into Submission Without A Problem
Everyone’s talking about the future of the book. Most aren’t actually ‘talking’ about it. They are Tweeting, Skyping, and Facebooking about it, trading one-liners back and forth over the internet – that collective consciousness of search engine optimizing keyword articles, … Continue reading
Flood Letters by Karin Gottshall (A Review by Aiden Arata)
Argos Books $10 In an age when apocalyptic threats have become a plague unto themselves—whether one kneels at the alter of spirituality, science, or general confusion—a collection of letters from a protagonist beyond salvation may seem like overkill. Karin Gottshall’s … Continue reading
Out & About
Paper Darts, one of my personal favorites, had a couple nice pictures of our AWP book fair table and some nice things to say about us on their blog. “It’s no surprise that PANKÂ has one of the sexiest displays at … Continue reading
So There! By Nicole Louise Reid (A Review by Janet Freeman)
Stephen F. Austin University Press 176 pgs/$12 Reading Nicole Louise Reid’s short story collection So There! is like reuniting with someone you thought had left the planet years ago—or in this case, a host of someones: sassy, fearless girls … Continue reading
In the History of the World There Is This
The February issue includes our 2011 1001 Awesome Words contest finalists and several other fine writers. MG Martin has poetry in Issue 6 of Requited where he is joined by CL Bledsoe, Gary F. Sheppard, Tim Jones-Yelvington, Alexis Pope, and … Continue reading
The Mimic’s Own Voice by Tom Williams (A Review by David Atkinson)
Main Street Rag 97 pgs/$9 There are few things in life, at least for me, as captivating as a puzzle. As much as my mind craves answers; answers that leave other lingering questions are the sort that I find … Continue reading
The Real Folk Blues
At the end of “Cowboy Bebop,” protagonist and general badass Spike engages in one final shootout with his rival. Bullets fly, the rain falls–all that you’d expect in a finale. Leading up to the last episode, “Cowboy Bebop” felt rushed … Continue reading
Overheard
Things we heard people say while at AWP 2012: Your rejection letter made me so happy. We skew in the direction of poetry and prose. But mostly we publish experimental literature. Are they…children’s books..?? Is this appropriate for teenagers? So … Continue reading
Ask The Author: Danez Smith
“First Time/Four Times” by Danez Smith was published in our December Issue. All the sexual questions we could think of for Danez are answered here. 1. How did you come up with hula hooping in a woman’s valley? I was … Continue reading
A Forsley Feuilleton: I Gave Up The Roadwork Of The Fight-Game For The Drinking Of The Lit-Game – Act Three
You don’t think writing is like fighting, that to get intellectual you have to get physical? You think I’m crazy for comparing writers to fighters, the lit-game to the fight-game?  Then what do you call Haruki Murakami, the acclaimed Japanese … Continue reading
AWP 2012 Made My Shoes Hurt
Keywords and oft repeated crucial phrasings of the week: hermit walk, cig break, arm wrestle, money wad, whiskey, tubercular cough, crazy dude (he’s still stalking me, Rachel Yoder), poesy fart, skinny tie, love, Geoffrey bag, lap dog, avant pose, death … Continue reading
Dan Holloway’s The Company of Fellows: A Review by Andrea Mullaney
Meet Tommy West. He’s the hero of Dan Holloway’s The Company of Fellows, a new Oxford-set crime novel, and he’s a man of many attributes. In fact, so many that I began taking note every time a different ability or … Continue reading
Ask The Author: Fiona Chamness
“Jerking Off” by Fiona Chamness was included in the December Issue. Fiona responds to our queries. 1. What are the dangers in getting it on with yourself in a moving Greyhound bus? The bathrooms are tiny and feature many objects … Continue reading
Morocco by Kendra Grant Malone & Matthew Savoca (A Review by Gina Myers)
Dark Sky Books 116 pages/$10 Inappropriate relationships and illicit affairs have long been the stuff of literature. Morocco, a new collection of poetry from Dark Sky Books, contributes to this tradition but strips away the romance, showing things for what … Continue reading
Ask The Author: AT Grant
In December, “Four Pieces from Wake” by AT Grant. Grant will now take our questions. 1. How would you stop your dead sister from leaking? Words live and die in the holes and through the words her blood leaks. Sometimes … Continue reading