I'm leavin' on a jetplane . . .

but I'll be back on Tuesday. In the meantime, might I suggest you take a gander at Birkensnake's latest issue? Yes, lots of good stuff there and you'll be impressed. And, I should have some reviews running at Boldtype in the near future so keep your eyes peeled for interesting work by Brian Evenson or maybe a little Blake Butler or even, say, um, Cris Mazza? Just putting that out there. I'll keep you posted! In the meantime, i have cooler weather waiting for me, along with Zuni Cafe and other good places to visit! Happy Labor Day weekend y'all.

The Collagist Takes Off

Okay party-people . . . it's time to pay close attention because all those gifted and talented writers we love so much are appearing in the premiere online issue of The Collagist. What's The Collagist, you ask? Well, Dzanc Books  has done it again. First OV Books, where the fantastic Gina Frangello and Stacy Bierlein reside over great debut authors and other notables, like Tod Goldberg, then Black Lawrence Press, and the print journal, Monkeybicycle and now this fantastic online publication has become part of the world where indy authors and books get a voice. Ander Monson, Kim Chinquee and others grace the online pages of this journal in the first issue out for August 2009. The best part is not only do we get to read great works of fiction and non-fiction, but also there's some great book reviews, too. Wander over to The Collagist, where Matt Bell has taken on the roll as Editor and manager of indy greatness. Do check it out, people because that would make you cool and everyone likes to be cool.

Jack Kerouac and the Beats at Naropa

I know, I know . . . long time since I visited my own blog, but guess what? Here I am. I've emerged from underneath the mass of papers, books and medical drama to bring these ever-so-tittalating posts back to you, even if it's turned into a quarterly blog. And now twitter . . . so who's blogging anymore? I've made some executive decisions in my time off. First and foremost, I've been writing my own stuff and not so much about everyone else's. Sorry guys, it won't be forever, but a girl's gotta do what she's gotta do. Next, I've decided to go back and get my MFA in Creative Writing. Some of you may be asking, "why bother?" but I am dying without the regular scholarly stimuli in my life that one only gets from being in a college setting (or in my case --my living room at my computer) but, it's clear to me that I'm needing to read more, write more, publish more. And because of this epiphany and because I'm inspired by other great writers (danielle, laird, selah saterstrom, blake butler, derek white, brian evenson) I feel the need to apply to that crazy-amazing university in Colorado they call Naropa. And whatsmore, there's a great book out right now from Coffee House Press called, "Beats at Naropa" that gives some amazing accounts of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics and those who spent time there over the years. It's an amazing look at a place where mainstream thinking and caudled writers don't exist.

And even better, my new found freedom has given me my writing time back and all the neuroses that come with being isolated from the rest of the world while you write (and read). Oh, by the by-- Ms. Frangello, one of my Chi-town girls over at OV Books ,--has a new book entitled: Slut Lullabies coming out next year and I for one, couldn't be more thrilled. No one writes about a effing a trach like she does! Stay on the look out for this great new work! and follow her over at Twitter (ginafrangello). Stay tuned, people.

Recession to bring about creativity amongst . . . well, those creative types.

So, I heard today that the recession or whatever it is we're calling our nation's economic status is said (by someone on NPR and elsewhere) that perhaps our country will experience a surge in books being written/published because people who create will be more apt to become introverted in a sense, focusing on art and what we are naturally talented at doing, as opposed to what we do when our country isn't failing, financially, which would be to . . . create art but not as ferverently??? I got the general idea of the comment today which was that people may be less likely to spend money, go out and therefore have more time on their hands to do what we do when we don't go shopping, to movies and the like. I think that was the general idea behind the comment. Well, I say it's good to create whether financially sound or not! Check out the latest by Joe Meno or Rachel Resnick, perhaps even a little Jean Phillipe Touissant might be in order just to lighten the mood. And hey, if the state of our economy really does inspire people to stay in and create more "art", I say good. That's what really matters. That and pumpkin pie.

Why it takes me Three Months to Post

Well, as some people have pointed out, I don't really blog that much. Okay, pretty much never, but I decided that i'd do more than just point out that I procrastinate and avoid putting any real content on here. Mostly, lack of time is the culprit. But let me just say this, you'll see some of my work over at Bookslut and at Tarpaulin Sky soon. I have reviews upon reviews coming out soon. Let me just say, a new work that is wonderfully unique and deserves more press than those who subscribe to this blog, is Leni Zumas's latest work. Open City has had the pleasure of publishing her stories and you all can have the luxury of reading quality fiction for a small, yet appropriate fee. And there will be a review of said work in June's Bookslut. I promise to write more about Easter bunnies, trips to Target, why car repairs happen all at once and things that make me itchy. Stay tunes y'all. I know you can hardly wait. Really. Stay tuned.

2008 is off to a good start!

Well, not that there's a huge following here yet for my posts, but I'm going to try and at least post here fairly frequently--if not for anything more than my own sanity. So, the latest is that Jason Jones has written a great new book that has been published by Open City Books that I'm hearing great things about and will review for March Bookslut. Just reviewed a wonderful, quirky writer named Veronika Gonzalez, who's debut work is: Twin Time (Or how death Befell me) and next month an interview with Derek White of Calamari Press and Sleepingfish magazine and a review of Michael Boyko's latest and Selah Saterstrom's The Meat and Spirit Plan. So all of these things are going to be up in the next few weeks and I say, check them out! Also, you should really think about reading the latest Tarpaulin Sky, print edition. It's also something great to look forward to. In the meantime, check back in for updates on other things too --

Back up and running--sort of!

Well, not that I have a huge following here on this thing, but I did want to let everyone know that this blog will be back up and running in October. September is devoted to my recovery of the surgery I just had for Crohn's Disease and it's taken it all out of me for sure! I just wanted to post about the great authors, books and so on of 2007 but since it's more than 1/2 over it might take a lot to post about all the goings on I've failed to post about thus far. So, what I can promise is that there will be a somewhat regular post beginning October on here. In the meantime, go forth and read some good books and I'll be checking back in then.