The Man.
Here are excerpts of the six pieces we have slated for publication at Metazen this week…
Monday August 16
Baggage by Dan Powell
He placed each bag on a shelf in his bedroom closet, a room-sized space he could have easily converted to an en-suite if he had felt the need for one. Having…
More from Slushpile Hell, Frowny Pants
I’ve written so many queries to date, I’m almost drained. Tell me that you’d like to consider representing such a work, and I’ll be happy to forward whatever you like.
I’d like you to forward some positivity and Justin Bieber-ish sunshiney goodness, Mr. Frowny Pants.
So cool! Blacking out parts of a newspaper to make a poem.
PAYING FOR COLLEGE : a newspaper blackout poem by Austin Kleon
The Vonnegut Train
“When I taught at Harvard for a year, for example, that was because students had asked for what they called ‘a creative track.’
Chuffa, chuffa, chuffa.
Choo choo. Woo woo.”
– Kurt Vonnegut
BLVR: How is [a story] rhythmically different [from a poem]? And by “elliptical,” do you mean “economical” or “deliberately obscure”?
Lydia Davis: If I consider only poems with line breaks, then there’s an obvious rhythmical difference—the suspension at the end of each line, as opposed to the pause at the end of the sentence. But beyond that, I see each word or phrase in a true poem as being explosive, in a sense—it should open out or blossom in the reader’s mind. Whereas each word or phrase in a piece of prose does not contain compressed or condensed material in the same way. By elliptical, I don’t mean merely economical or deliberately obscure. Certainly a good poem should be economical (though not any more economical than a good piece of prose—Proust said his prose was economical, and I agree), but it may also actually leave out material that the reader may supply either explicitly or subliminally. (I say “may” because each poem operates by such different rules.) I don’t believe a good poet is very often deliberately obscure. A poet writes in a way necessary to him or her; the reader may then find the poem difficult.
Please consider my memoir….I know that my family and friends will, without reservation, pay at least $19.95 to make sure they have not been unfairly exposed or defamed.
Eureka! A brilliant new marketing angle! Publishers, take note: henceforth please be certain to include these taglines on all memoir covers, “Are you sure you haven’t been slandered in this memoir? Isn’t the cost of this book a small price to pay for your peace of mind?”
Here is the writer xTx reading my short story “The Son of a Man.”
She sent this to me as a gift before it was published and I asked her if it would be acceptable for me to share it with others.
She graciously agreed. Thanks to you, xTx.
— Sheldon Lee Compton
