Best First Sentences
11:47 AM PST, November 9, 2006
As Simple As Snow was cited in The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2006, edited by Dave Eggers, as containing one of the "Best American First Sentences of Novels of 2005." Other sentences can be found from Paul Auster, John Barth, Rober Coover, Neil Gaiman (who I was also fortunate to be associated with as a fellow Alex Award recipient), Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Cormac McCarthy, Haruki Murakami, George Saunders, and William T. Vollman. I obviously have no business being mentioned on the same pages as those writers, but I am proud of those 27 words that open the novel -- some of the last ones I wrote for it -- and honored that they are closely followed by "Best American Band Names," and "Best American Things to Know about Hoboes," which includes a very helpful list of 700 names for a child who may or may not grow up to be a hobo.
reckless
8:09 AM PDT, August 2, 2006
there is something compelling about reckless behavior, whether it's william burroughs playing "william tell" with his wife, any number of episodes from Byron's life (he kept a bear as a pet while attending college), or a famous actor attempting to flee arrest then scream obscenities and further embarrass himself.
the actions themselves are less interesting than the motivations (or lack thereof) and consequences (or lack thereof) of the actions. recklessness can often lead to heroism as easily as it can to infamy. the latest issue of Rush Hour, edited by Michael Cart, concentrates on "reckless" as its theme. my particular contribution explores the reckless behavior of a father who seemingly should know better (but isn't knowing better and still acting, part of the inherent quality of recklessness?), and who recruits his teenage son in a night of bad decisions and consequences. recklessness often has unintended ramifications: burroughs frequently cited the shooting of his wife (for which he spent 13 days in jail for "criminal imprudence") as the impetus for his writing ("[it] maneuvered me into a life long struggle, in which I have had no choice except to write my way out."), and byron remains an icon of romanticismand has left a long trail of imitators and wannabes. best of all, perhaps, is that reckless behavior is more enjoyable to read about than to participate in -- you might not be immortalized like byron, but you won't be embarrassed on national tv night after night either. volume thirty-six number one
3:36 PM PDT, May 17, 2006
the new issue of The Iowa Review has arrived, with a beautiful cover image by John Dilg ("(Of the) Forest Green") a nice remembrance of Frank Conroy by editor David Hamilton, which contains the Conroy quote "In fiction, you work up the ground you move over, as you cross it. You never know where you're going." i never had a class with mr. Conroy while i attend iowa (i was in the poetry crowd), but i learned that lesson early on, by osmosis, or hours spent eavesdropping on mr. Conroy's conversations with the fiction writers, or the fact that i never knew where i was going in writing a poem either. it was all investigation and discovery.
i was lucky enough to have a class taught by Arthur Vogelsang -- who has 3 poems in the latest issue -- and learned a number of valuable lessons from him, some of which i trust are apparent in my poem in the issue. i thought i'd sneak that in at the end. i knew where i was going all along. ice in heaven
1:39 PM PDT, May 9, 2006
A hole in the ground spits dirt at the sun
The water-tank is dirty and dry Dust from the creek covers the sky Grant McLennan 1958 - 2006 "haunted by the ghosts of long-lost lovers, musty attic rooms, and Cash and Dylan on Nashville Skyline." The Herald Sun Sydney Morning Herald cARTalog
7:30 AM PDT, April 10, 2006
i was fortunate to participate in the University of Iowa's cARTalog project, which had a recent exhibition and on-going online gallery. The project was to take the old catalog cards from the now-digitized library and turn them into art pieces.
i wanted to participate since 1) i thought it was a great idea 2) i worked in the government publications section of the library when i attended iowa 3) i thought it would be a quick diversion from my usual writing 4) i thought i would do something literary (a poem, treatise, manifesto, something with words). i ended up creating 24 collages over a couple of months. i had not attempted (and for good reason) an art project since high school. i had first thought about trying to create a mobile out of the 50 cards i had requested, and talked with artist Richard Griggs about how a no-talent novice such as myself might undertake such a thing. richard was extremely helpful and made it seem easy enough, but the challenge still seemed daunting. then, the more i thought about it, the more i started to think about collages. i've always loved the art of collage and have frequently tried to utilize some collage techniques in writing cut-ups -- taking more-or-less random words and phrases and pasting them together to create something new. i consulted some of the art books i had -- The Art of Romare Beardon, John Evans: Collages, Ray Johnson: How Sad I am Today, and the massive compendium, Collage by Herta Wescher -- became inspired, and began collecting magazine and newspaper images, purchased some paint, glue and paper, and was underway. i won't turn my attention toward being an artist any time soon, but i was happy with some of the results. you can see a sampling from the pieces at the cARTalog gallery, and take a look at the other great stuff there as well. i'm a rebel, dottie
10:02 AM PDT, April 3, 2006
doesn't a commercial showing everyone singing "i'm not like everybody else" (the kinks - 1965) negate the very message it's trying to convey? another great song misused in the name of commerce. such a shame (also the kinks - 1965).
sounds from down under
12:00 PM PST, February 3, 2006
my friend brian kirk, of the bus stop label, recently sent me a slew of mix-cds. brian has introduced more people to more good music than anyone i know. many of the bands on the 3 mix-cds in my novel i first heard from one of brian's mixes from years ago. he always seems to be ahead of everyone else, even when he's listening to old songs.
the latest batch of mixes he sent my way concentrated on australian garage and pop bands from the 80s and 90s. despite the occasional production quality (or lack of), the songs sound amazingly fresh, even now. and mixed in the stuff i remember (the stems, the church, the hoodoo gurus), there's still plenty of things i missed the first time around, like -- well, here -- i'll list the complete tracklisting of the aussie pop 1981 - 1990 disc: 1. the crystal set -- benefit of the doubt 2. the church -- the unguarded moment 3. the stems -- at first sight 4. the lonely hearts -- ambition 5. the spliffs -- merry go round 6. the inner sleeves -- heartache 7. the summer suns -- honeypearl 8. beautiful losers -- ten lies 9. the hoodoo gurus -- good times 10. the triffids -- mgm 11. the spliffs -- i know a girl 12. the someloves -- don't talk about us 13. the hummingbirds -- get on down 14. the chevelles -- be my friend 15. the barbarellas -- forget about you 16. the shivers -- washaway 17. tall tales and true -- trust 18. the mad turks -- tempers fire 19. the hoodoo gurus -- what's my scene 20. the someloves -- she's a better lover 21. ups and downs -- the living kind 22. the neptunes -- summer's almost gone if you haven't listened to any of these songs in years, i highly recommend digging them out of your collection, or if you're at all interested, check out the little hits site and the indie mp3 blog, both of which frequently cover australian and new zealand bands, and other indie releases. you can also listen to brian kirk's radio show on wmse 91.7 in milwaukee (http://www.myspace.com/radiodrilltime). or better yet, make a mix-cd of your own and introduce somebody else to music you like. groundhog observations
3:09 PM PST, February 1, 2006
we have a groundhog that lives in our barn. she's been there since we bought the place 5 years ago. based upon past observations, she won't be out on groundhog day to predict the weather. she'll wait until it's really spring to show herself, sunning her already brown body on the stump in front of the barn, get a mate, have kids, and then kick them all out so she can have the barn, and our yard, to herself. we used to think that they were cute and harmless, until we witnessed two groundhogs fighting each other and saw what those teeth can really do. it made me have a greater appreciation for bill murray -- i'm not sure i'd want to take one for a drive in the country. the winner of the fight left its slain rival in the yard, which we had to dispose of, somehow recruited into the loser's corner. that's the image that returns every year about this time, wondering how long it will be until our sharp-toothed friend emerges from the barn, ready to repeat the rituals of another spring. observing the groundhog, with whom we share much of our outdoor space, but never intersect, brings to mind john berger's essay "why look at animals" (from about looking). he discusses the relationship between man and animals and how the relationship has changed over the years. zoos, (and realistic animal toys), he points out, came into existence during the industrial revolution, when animals disappeared from everyday life. berger focuses on the need for an exchange of "looking" between man and animal, an exchange that is missing for most people. i don't disagree, but I'm also not convinced. in his essay, berger argues that wildlife photography depicts man's separation from nature, creating a compensatory, artificial relation to animals. i wonder what berger would think of march of the penguins? grizzly man? maybe george bataille is closer to the mark: "The animal opens before me a depth that attracts me and is familiar to me. In a sense I know this depth: it is my own. It is farthest removed from me, that which deserves the name depth, which means precisely that which is unfathomable to me." or groundhog day, where bill murray keeps repeating everything, going over the same ground again and again, until he gets it right. we should invite him up to the barn sometime.
talk
7:54 PM PST, January 18, 2006
i'm not a fan of the phone. i'm not saying i would (or could) do without it, but compared to email or IM, the phone is more of a nuisance than a convenience (especially when it doesn't work). that said, i have participated in a number of conference calls with book groups recently, and while obviously not an ideal situation -- most groups seem to either be eating an enticing meal or drinking a cocktail or two (or both), while i'm by myself on the other end at a far remove from their food and drink -- the experience has been surprising. much better than i thought it could be. maybe the distance helps in some cases -- people in each group have asked questions that i'm not sure they would have asked in person. or maybe it's the drinks.
the phone obviously doesn't replace the face-to-face experience, but i was pleasantly surprised on how rewarding the long-distance group conversations could be. if you've participated in any conference book group discussions, i would be interested in what you think of them, and how to make them better. upcoming
7:42 AM PST, December 28, 2005
I'm working (and working) on my second novel, and have a short contribution included in "It's Not Me, It's You: The Ultimate Breakup Book" by Anna Jane Grossman and Flint Wainess, which is out in January.
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Bio
I had abandoned any idea of writing a novel long ago. I studied poetry in college and continued to write short fiction, but could not imagine tackling the novel. Then the phrase "as simple as snow" stuck in my head and I imagined a conversation between two people, which soon turned into 180 pages of the first draft. The unimaginable had become a work in progress, and a few months later, a reality.
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