Author Archive
Six Questions with Kristina Marie Darling of Noctuary Press
Noctuary Press publishes three titles a year, with a particular emphasis on female writers working with prose forms. We seek to create a record of, and bring visibility to, formally innovative work by women that is underrepresented in mainstream literary … Continue reading
11 More Inflexible Rules for Upstart Writers By Matthew Burnside
In correlation with this previous piece. RULE: Slow the fuck down. In this game, taking the scenic route is better. Taking shortcuts will only get you stranded in the big city of opportunity without so much as a poncho to … Continue reading
A PANK Submission Reader (Court Merrigan) Speaks
As a reader, I don’t have editorial control at PANK; I can only suggest. Roxane has accepted a couple pieces now that I wouldn’t have, thus delineating the Land of Editors from the Land of Readers. However, Roxane has not … Continue reading
An Interview With Lavinia Ludlow by Barry Graham
BG : For me, ALT.PUNK is a tale of brutally honest, fatalistic, twenty-first century American Naturalism. I can’t help but feel that Hazel’s entire existence is preordained, that her germophobic, socially inept personality and her narrow, semi-elitist world view were … Continue reading
This Modern Writer: The post-black writer gets his haircut By Clark Collier Cooke
Coconut hair spray dissolved into a fine mist. Clumps of wooly hair fell to the floor. Buzz, Buzz. Hands slapped, snapped, popped. What’s good? Chillin. Laughter boomed, caromed off the walls, struck me in the chest. I flipped through the … Continue reading
This Modern Writer: Ten Things About Writing and a Preface by Erin Fitzgerald
I could talk about advice not taken, mistakes made, people slighted, opportunities missed, pity parties so elaborate they are weekly street festivals. Someday, I’ll write about those things. But I’ve been so surrounded by distraction lately that I’m thinking about … Continue reading
This Modern Writer: A Day as An Extra An On Set Dispatch From Vallie Lynn Watson
Ed: Vallie Lynn Watson recently edited the fine, fine, Writing, Place and Film issue of Rick Magazine and she was kind enough to write a dispatch about her day as an extra on the set of MY FAVORITE TEENAGE SOAP … Continue reading
Connected: The Web (2.0) of Literature & Strangers by Mensah Demary
It’s easy to forget the breadth and scale of the world’s literary landscape. Millions of books from all cultures, all perspectives and should one step out of his comfort zone, out of the few genres and authors that move and … Continue reading
The Machine’s Arrival by Mensah Demary
I was twenty-five. My father and I were in his living room: the floors were overcast like marble and, along the walls, various prints featured animated Jazz musicians in suspended animation, frozen in creative glee. We spoke of my future, … Continue reading
Three Reasons to Read Federman : A Review of Shhh: The Story of a Childhood by J. A. Tyler
Raymond Federman died in 2009. This is not the reason to read Federman. Rest in peace as they say, but Federman would not want it like that, to gain readers simply by his own mortality. Raymond Federman didn’t die in … Continue reading
Electric Parade by Mensah Demary
Drinking my Saturday morning coffee, browsing on my iPad, I make the usual online rounds: email, Facebook, Twitter and Google Reader. As I swipe and tap the glass, cigarette smoke wafting through the living room, I’m energized by guilt and … Continue reading
We Take Me Apart: A Review by Nicelle Davis
The remarkable thing about love is how it operates as an entity—something born miraculously with a fast unraveling life span. Love lives, dies then haunts. The human body seems merely a house within which love can sully the sheets and … Continue reading
This Modern Writer: Stupid Video Games by Erin Fitzgerald
I started playing EverQuest in 2001. Most video game addiction stories start with a friend who coaxes you into playing, and mine is no different. Over the course of two weeks I went from “I dunno…” to a full time … Continue reading
This Modern Writer: Stephen S. Mills
Sometimes Sex Is Just Sex My conservative aunt once asked my mother, after reading one of my poems, “Why does he always have to write about sex?” My mother, trying to smooth things over, responded, “Sometimes the sex isn’t about … Continue reading
Terese Svoboda is Weapons Grade
An Interview by Neil de la Flor Neil de la Flor: How’s it going? In other words, what’s changed since our last interview ? Terese Svoboda: I’m on a roll. I gave up trying to get big presses and voila! … Continue reading
Terese Svoboda’s Wild Tongue: A Review of Trailer Girl and Weapons Grade
Trailer Girl works. Against all odds, it works. I hesitated reading the book, afraid I would only find a laundry list of trailer park cliches. Instead I found myself in a world of poetry and mystery. Imagine T.S. Eliot writing … Continue reading
This Modern Writer: Todd Keisling, DIY
“Oh, you’re a writer, huh?  Where are you published?” I was asked this question last week.  I’d ventured into the employee lounge to get another cup of coffee when a coworker walked in. The conversation which followed was typical and … Continue reading
This Modern Writer: Ethel Rohan, Potatoes
If you don’t know Sean Lovelace is in love with nachos, where are you? His obsession is bordering on perverse. Someone stage an intervention. What you can’t know is that I share a similar, but more restrained, passion. A fixation … Continue reading
This Modern Writer: Kelly Davio
In all that free time I have between the writing life, work life and home life (there really isn’t all that much social life), I get to squeeze in my editing life: I’m the Poetry and Book Reviews Editor at … Continue reading
Because writers need musical inspiration
I just started following the twitterer “Indie Music Universe.” I wanted to share with you all  http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/jukebox2009.asp the Indie Music winners of 2009– the best of Indie Music of 2009 thus far because sometimes a little music would do … Continue reading
Wisdom of the day
Daily, a chapter of the Tao arrives in my email inbox. Most days I don’t really read it–I just kinda skim to get the main idea. But today I read through–I guess I needed some wisdom. Perhaps you need some … Continue reading
A new literary magazine
I just stumbled upon Chaparal–a new magazine out of Southern California. See what you think of it by checking it out at www.Chaparralpoetry.net
funnies for a movie that “flopped”
http://www.slate.com/id/2212953/ Slate.com thought about what would happen if Woody Allen had directed “The Watchmen” which premiers in theaters today, through comic-like drawings. This is worth looking at because as so many critics have already noted, The Watchmen really sucked, kind … Continue reading
Should we join Linkedin?
(LinkedIn is a Myspace/Facebook spin-off for those looking for networking in the world of the industry of work.) Are you “LikedIn”? Should PANK have a presence on this social networking system? Why or why not?
best “first-liner” contest
Through May 1st 2009, enter the “Literary Database’s” contest for the best first liner… Enter here: http://literarydatabase.com/contest.html Although the winner doesn’t receive ca$h– the winner will receive a copy of “the literary database 2009″– I love the idea of working … Continue reading
Awareness
Although “Black History Month” is a more commonly known national-February-awareness raising calendar marker, this week in February, is also “National Eating Disorders Awareness Week” (Feb 22-29). I felt this important “week” needed to be shared here on the PANK blog … Continue reading
PANK-alerts
I’ll do the footwork, if you’ll continue regularly checking out our blog. As I was waiting for the steam to drift from my freshly poured coffee, I found the following online that you just might want to check out for … Continue reading
Treking through the snow
The weather outside is… beautiful yet frightful where we are. How’s it look where you are? The only thing to brighten the day; to break up the monotony of snow was stumbling upon a PANK 3 contributor’s blogsite and seeing … Continue reading
Oh, Chicago. . .
As we brace ourselves for the trek northward we must take a moment to massage the pangs in our low-backs after sitting for hours in silly little chairs devoid of lumbar support. Thank you to the writers who stopped by … Continue reading
“Shock Troop” author wins 25,000$ and gets some PR for literary non-fiction
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090209.WBBooksblog20090209134630/WBStory/WBBooksblog Above is the link to the article about the winners winnings and below is an expert from the book. The link on which this expert exists is at the bottom of the page. An excerpt from Shock Troops: Canadians … Continue reading
Never knew writers could win so much money…
The Charles Taylor Prize will be awarded on Monday February 9th– you’ve missed the deadline this year, but did you know that next year perhaps, you could win up to 25,000$ if you were Charles Taylor worthy? Consider your submission … Continue reading
Opinions are more prevalent than poetry submissions
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090204/GJLIFESTYLES/902039902 This link gives us advice about how to write a book. My advice is BEGIN. Devote 250 words minimum of writing a day, as well as at least 15-20 minutes a day REVISING. But what do I know anyway? … Continue reading
“Fogged Clarity” (new literary journal) seeks submissions
http://coffeeandcritique.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-literary-journal-seeks-submissions.html Click the link and you’ll be transported to a blogspot that will tell about this new journal that yearns for YOUR excellent writing. So submit something– even I am thinking of doing it
When everyday feels like “Groundhog Day” and you wonder how to spice up the mundane
Think about watching the show FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS– A show that has been helping me make it through the monotony of winter. “Flight of the Conchords” the show, which has recently begun it’s second season on HBO is just–odd, … Continue reading
Appreciating Augusten Burroughs
The progam CBS “Sunday Morning” is often a source of inspiration for this fellow watcher. This morning the show highligted non-fiction writer Augusten Burroughs, with several “experts” claiming that his work is fabricated. As a fellow product of a disfunctional … Continue reading
Other publishing opportunities
Although we really want you to continue sending us you work– here’s some other opportunities that you might find interesting, helpful, or appropriate for your writing endeavors. Deadlines and details for submissions are given. Hope this might be something useful … Continue reading
The 50 best African Artists
A culturally, mind-expanding “rating” of fifty contributors of the arts from Africa. http://news.independentminds.livejournal.com/568956.html