M O N K E Y B I C Y C L E B L O G

Meg Pokrass reads her story "The Serious Writer and Her Pussy"

2010-01-21T14:16:00.004-05:00

Meg Pokrass reads her story "The Serious Writer and Her...." for Monkeybicycle from megpokrass on Vimeo.

The Serious Writer and Her Pussy

The serious writer has embraced the word “pussy”. Other words for this part of the female anatomy are repugnant, carnivorous.

A pussy has a life of its own. A secret life. One can smuggle drugs inside a pussy.

As a serious writer, in mid-life, she must master speaking the word “pussy” with confidence and authority. She practices doing so out loud for her next book store reading. The serious writer is starting a book tour to promote her new novel which is bursting with ‘pussy'.

She practices reading in front of the mirror, engaging her slightly furrowed brow... medium voice...

"'I love your pussy,' Ian says softly to Trina, his hooded eyes at half mast," the serious writer reads to her refection in the mirror.

“'I love cock," Trina offers, imagining his range of movement.”

Her dialogue is raw. Edgy. The serious writer is known for this.

"'You're huge, Ian... my my my...' and she is touching it through his cords. She is feeling its neck, perhaps its beak... but doesn't want to frighten Ian by admitting to her deepening fear...her hunger,” the serious writer reads.

"'My god. You're damp,' Ian says, stroking her muff, her moistened ball of hair, the underwear covering Trina's pussy," the serious writer says, her voice tiring.

(The serious writer is sick of the adjective wet. She is experimenting with other adjectives. She wonders if a man would really say ‘damp'... Not just any man... but Ian, the vegetarian with an occasional weakness for farm raised fowl.)

She looks at her face in the mirror. It is a successful face, one that has accepted three Gertrude Smallwood awards. A face that should not have any trouble with the word 'pussy' for fuck's sake.

“Pussy,” she says it again. She says it, right to her face.

Lend a Hand

2010-01-15T08:53:00.005-05:00

The turnout to help the people of Haiti has been nothing short of incredible; people and organizations from all over the world are doing their part. Whether it's traveling there with an organization to help out, donating money, or just spreading information about it, the outpouring of assistance is like nothing I've ever seen before.

One of our literary journal brethren--and Monkeybicycle contributor--Roxane Gay has very personal tie to the events in Haiti, and my heart and thoughts are going out to her--and to everyone involved--in a big way today. Yours should too.

Because of Roxane's involvement with this event, PANK Magazine has made the generous offer to donate ALL of their proceeds over the next month to Haitian aid in the form of contributions to The International Committee of the Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. There are lots of things to choose from in the PANK Store--chapbooks, journals, subscriptions, t-shirts--so please, please consider making a purchase today and not only will you get some incredible reading material (or a cool shirt with a typewriter on it!), but you'll also be contributing to saving lives in a place that can use every cent they can get right now.

A few other organizations doing some great work raising money for Haiti (not just now, but all year round) are FINCA (which has a really incredible mission statement) and Artists for Peace and Justice, who were just in Haiti not two weeks ago to assist with the schools there. Lots of great people doing great things. Join them.

EDIT: Speaking of Artists for Peace and Justice, photographer/filmmaker Tao Ruspoli went there on their behalf shortly before the earthquake and captured some amazing photographs. Take a look at this link and see the faces and homes of the people who are now desperate for your help.

Miscellany for the New Year

2010-01-06T09:51:00.000-05:00

Happy new year, everyone. While you're debating whether to say "twenty-ten" or "two-thousand-ten," here are a few things for you to chew on. We don't do a lot of digest-type stuff on this blog yet, but since it's a new year we thought maybe we'd try. here are some current things that we find really interesting and exciting:

Monkeybicycle contributor Stace Budzko has a piece among the many wonderful works in the January issue of Hobart.

Jerry Waxler interviews Monkeybicycle6 contributor Curtis Smith at the Memory Writers Network.

Have you read former Monkeybicycle.net editor Eric Spitznagel's Q & A column over at the Vanity Fair Web site? You really, really should. Go here to do so.

Guernica magazine features a really fascinating look at the darker side of Dubai.

There is a great interview with Dave Eggers at The Onion's A.V. Club page. He talks about the San Francisco Panorama, which is a design marvel.

CLMP's Lit Mag Adoption Program is ongoing. Very interesting idea. Learn about it here.

If you're looking for a movie to rent, don't waste your time with nonsense like Paranormal Activity or The Hangover. Next week will see the release of two of 2009's most unsung heroes: Big Fan and The Hurt Locker. Make these your priority.

And if you're looking to head to the theater, try to find a way to track down a showing of Crazy Heart. It's only in about 12 theaters right now, but it's sure to get wider release in the upcoming weeks, especially because of the well-deserved Golden Glob nomination for Jeff Bridges.

On the music front: Eighteen Individual Eyes is a Seattle quartet that sounds kind of like Sleater-Kinney-meets-Yo La Tengo-meets-Blonde Redhead, and they just released their first EP, Slightly Frightened, Mostly Happy. It is awesome. Take a listen to a few of the tracks here, and then buy the whole thing at iTunes here. And if you happen to be in the Seattle area, they'll be having a record release party at the Crocodile Cafe on Thursday night with The Globes, Elba and Explone. You should go.

January RUI cancelled

2009-12-29T14:04:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately our reading in January has been canceled, but look out for one later in the spring. Sorry folks.

Monkey Media

2009-12-09T17:57:00.005-05:00

A few new things are up on the Monkeybicycle site for your eyes and ears.

In our Podcast section, we've got "A Fair to Remember," Tyler Stoddard Smith's hilarious excerpt from Monkeybicycle6.

And in our Video section, watch Meg Pokrass read "What the Doctor Ordered," a little gem from the Monkeybicycle archives.

While you're at it, why not subscribe to our podcast and YouTube channel?

And if you're a past Monkeybicycle contributor and would like to record your work for our Multimedia endeavors, drop us a line.

It's Over! It's Over! A guest-post from Shya Scanlon

2009-12-09T09:29:00.002-05:00

Though most of my feelings about the Forecast 42 Project are positive, I think it’s healthy to permit myself some space to vent relief. Though I certainly don’t discourage anyone from trying it—it’s a great way to discover and help build the literary community—it’s not actually very easy, it turns out, to serialize work across 42 different sites.

Turns out, you won’t necessarily be at the top of everyone’s priority list. Or even on it at all! Which is to say that, whereas I entered into the project with something akin to bravado, I learned very quickly it was going to require a great degree more humility, patience, and perseverance.

And why shouldn’t it? It’s humbling to ask so many people for their time, their support—essentially for their approval. And then, once you’ve asked, to remind them four weeks, even four months down the line, “Hey, uh, remember when you said you’d…”

Not that I ever encountered even the slightest hint of regret over an earlier offer to participate. On the contrary, but let’s just say that I’ve never had to say “thank you” so frequently to so many different people. After a while, I couldn’t help suspect it was coming across as rote, or worse, flip.

But that was no doubt my own bullshit. And frankly, I should probably have been saying “thank you” more often to begin with.

Another unexpected element of the serialization (at least my own experience thereof) was the fact that, as soon as a month after launching the project, I began revising the book for print publication, and as such was working on improving and changing—in some cases dramatically—the very material I was sending out into the world.

It confused the natural order of things (write, revise, publish), and at first I found this disconcerting. But after a while I began to enjoy it. It kind of surrounded me in the text, as though I wasn’t working forward in time, rather expanding the book around me in all directions. Living inside it.

In the end, serializing the work let me let go of it, which turned out to be the most important part of my editing process. Knowing it was already out there—or headed that way—made it feel less precious, like something I didn’t “own.” As a consequence, I was able to be both ruthless and receptive while editing: chopping the text down to size, even altering some basic elements of the premise, but also
re-discovering the work, the story. Letting it speak to me and develop more organically.

I confess to having fantasies about serializing again. I don’t think it would take the same form, per se, and I think it would have to demand less of the reader—in an age of media saturation and limited
attention spans, 100,000 words and five months is a little much to ask—but it made me feel kind of like a gardener tending his garden, or perhaps, due to the perambulatory nature of this particular project, a shepherd tending his flock. That is, it made me feel useful to my fiction. Isn’t that really the most an author can hope for?

—Shya Scanlon

Orange Alert & Monkeybicycle

2009-12-08T00:05:00.007-05:00

Okay, Monkeybicycle and Orange Alert
Febuary 21, 6 PM, at The Whistler in Chicago.

Our line up is as follows:

Tim Jones-Yelvington
Anne Valente
Brandon Will
Amanda Marbais
Charlie Nadler
Michael Czyzniejewski

Are you so excited that, at this moment, you are doing a happy dance?

Well, you should be. We are.

And we are still looking for readers at RUI, so let us know if you are an interested contributor.

Upcoming Chicago Readings

2009-12-06T00:12:00.002-05:00

We have two upcoming readings in Chicago. No final lineup of readers just yet, but more updates will come as we know more.

Monkeybicycle and RUI
January 6, 7 PM, at Sheffield's Beer Garden

Monkeybicycle and Orange Alert
Febuary 20, 6 PM, at The Whistler

If you are a MB contributor who lives in Chicago or is willing to travel here to read at an event, then email me at jessa@monkeybicycle.net for Pete's sake.

Holiday Giving

2009-12-02T19:51:00.001-05:00

If you know Monkeybicycle, then you surely know Dzanc Books, too. They are the wonderful people who publish some of the best small press titles out there right now, and they're also our parent publisher.

That last part means we have a vested interest in Dzanc; if they keep going, so do we. But that's not even the half of it. In addition to putting out great books, Dzanc does a ton of things for writers and for the community. They've assembled an incredible stable of writers/mentors (people like John Domini, Kevin Wilson, Dawn Raffel, and Jeff Parker, to name a few) in their Dzanc Creative Writing Sessions to offer low-cost feedback to writers out there who need a hand with a short story or a novel or a poem.

Additionally, Dzanc funds the Dzanc Prize, which provides monetary help for an author to set up some sort of literary community service. In past years they've sponsored mentoring sessions for inmates in Boston-area prisons as well as cancer patients, their families, and caregivers in Michigan.

They've also implemented the Dzanc Writer In Residence Program at schools in Michigan and New York. The way this program works is like this: Dzanc sponsors an author who goes into the school on a weekly basis and tutors a group of students in creative writing. At the end of the term, works from the students are collected and put into an anthology and each contributor gets a copy. It's a program that always manages to make an amazing difference in the lives of these kids and it's something that Dzanc hopes to not only continue in the upcoming years, but also expand into more schools around the country. To do this--and to continue offering up all of their incredible community-based programs--they're asking for your help.

Chase Bank has set up a Chase Community Giving program in which they are giving away grant funds to 501(c)3 nonprofits and they are deciding which organizations to donate this money to based on a public vote. Dzanc is one of the eligible nonprofits, but they need your help to put them over the top. This requires minimal action on your part, and will only take a few seconds. Surely most of you reading this blog have Facebook accounts (because who doesn't these days?), and that's where the voting is happening. All you need to do is click here and cast your vote. You'll need to become a fan of the Chase Community page, but that's super easy and can even be canceled out after you vote. And if you're really feeling charitable, you can post your action to Twitter and send it to friends after it's all over, right through the page linked to above. It's really easy.

With your help, Dzanc can win one of these Chase grants and continue to build community programs that affect more and more individuals around the country. They're truly making a difference and you can help.

And the Nominees are . . .

2009-12-01T13:37:00.001-05:00

I don't know that I've ever noticed as many journals and presses posting their Pushcart Prize nominees online as I have this year, but maybe that's because I don't look for them. In keeping with what seems to be the trend though, here is the list of our nominees:

"What the Doctor Ordered" by Meg Pokrass - from the Web site.
"If Everything is Inevitable" by Angi Becker Stevens - from the Web site.
"Numb" by Dallas Woodburn - from the Web site.
"Photography" by Laura van den Berg - from Monkeybicycle6.
"Caravan" by Curtis Smith - from Monkeybicycle6.
"After Spaulding" by Drew Jackson - from Monkeybicycle6.

And there you have it.

Some Miscellany for the Week

2009-12-01T10:48:00.004-05:00

If you've got some spare time, there are lots of great new things to read online. Here are a few of them:

decembeR decomP, featuring: Laurel Bastian, Patrick Allen Carberry, P. Edward Cunningham, Michele daSilva, Timothy Gager, Matthew J. Goering, Alexandra Isacson, Tim Jones-Yelvington, Christina Large, Kristin Lueke, Mark Neely, Dylan Nice, Jal Nicholl, Ryan Ridge, Paul Sacksteder, Peter Schwartz, Doug Tanoury, Mahdi Tavajohi, and Andrew S. Taylor. Additionally, there is a review of Molly Gaudry's We Take Me Apart.

December elimae, with Eric Burke, Michelle Reale, Mel Bosworth, Kevin O'Cuinn, Nicolle Elizabeth, and dozens more.

December Hobart, including works from Xhenet Aliu, Trent Englad, A.J. Patrick Liszkiewicz, Kuzhali Manickavel, Glen Pourciau, and an interview with Katie Bowler and Matthew Specktor.

Also, for your eyes and ears, Beck's Record Club is truly something to behold. Folks like Devendra Banhart, MGMT, Feist, and Wilco are on there, covering albums from the likes of Leonard Cohen, The Velvet Underground and others.

A few thoughts on readings

2009-11-25T21:15:00.010-05:00

At the Knee-Jerk and Monkeybicycle reading last week, I got a chance to talk with the lovely Angi Becker Stevens. At one point she mentioned that she had never read at an event before, besides a few academic events. I’m still amazed that she made the trek from eastern Michigan to Chicago and read for us, although I am very grateful. Later I talked to a fellow Columbia student who had just moved to Chicago. He was shocked when he came to the event by how packed it was and how good the readers were. His experience of readings had until then been limited to open mics nights in North Carolina. It sometimes slips my mind that there are places where a big, bustling lit scene does not exist.

I am pretty lucky. As long as I've wanted to participate in readings and other literary events, I've lived in Chicago. If I wanted to go to an event every night, I pretty much could. We've got Quickies!, RUI, Orange Alert, Windy City Story Slam, The Sunday Night Sex Show, The Dollar Store Show, and a ton more regular events I can't think of, even more one-off events, and yearly events like Pilcrow Lit Fest and The Printers' Ball. It's not a quiet place when it comes to literary events, and it's still growing. I've noticed a big difference even in the two years I've lived here.

But I see the same faces at almost every reading I attend. Last Sunday, the day after our reading, I went to the ACM salon. At least half of those people were at our reading the night before. (Small aside here- Aaron Burch read here as well, at one point taking off his shirt and wearing just suspenders. It was the best thing since sliced bread.) A good portion of them were editors and hosts of other events.

I'm not saying that I don't like seeing these faces over and over again. The lit readings scene is full of astoundingly friendly, interesting, and talented people. What bothers me is that I go to the largest writing program in America- according to our department- and I rarely, if ever, see more than about a handful of my classmates at readings. Studying fiction isn't exactly a sound decision, so I expect my classmates to share the same kind of crazy devotion that I have, especially when we are in a program that cost $18,490 per year. While I understand not getting to all of them, it astounds me that there are so many aspiring writers with an amazing lit scene at their fingertips who just don't go.

I guess this is more of a rant than anything else. It's something I've wondered a lot. I'll go to readings pretty frequently, and I'm constantly hoping more of my friends and classmates will come out, but they never seem to. I wonder what you guys think, all you writers and editors and fans out there. Do you go to readings? Do you wish you could? Are you able to, but just don't for whatever reason?

Some Holiday Suggestions from Monkeybicycle

2009-11-23T15:25:00.008-05:00

At Monkeybicycle we love our contributors. Without them, obviously, we wouldn't exist. And that's why we're always happy to hear when someone who's had a story on our site or in one of our print issues has a new book published. Lately, this seems to be happening a lot, so it seems like a good time to acknowledge these folks and their work, and maybe give you some holiday gift ideas for the book lover on your list.

Feeding Strays by Stefanie Freele
Lost Horse Press, $16.95
This short story collection is jam-packed with tiny tales (there are 50 in there!) about people--both ugly and beautiful--and their relationships, told in wonderfully dark and funny ways. One of the stories in the collection, "Tinfoilers," which was originally published on the Monkeybicycle Web site, was selected for the Wigleaf top 50 [very] short fictions 2009.

What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us by Laura van den Berg
Dzanc Books, $16.95
As the Art Director at Dzanc Books, I've had the opportunity to read early versions of a lot of amazing books over the past few years. And one that really gripped me from the very beginning--and I subsequently barreled through in like two days--was the debut title from Laura van den Berg: What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us. This short story collection has quickly become a favorite of reviewers all over the place since its release last month, and deservedly so. The stories are filled with emotional and mythological monsters, and the vividly-captured people who wrestle with them. You're guaranteed to love this book.

Laura's story, "Photography," was included in Monkeybicycle6, and is available as a podcast here.

Sex Dungeon for Sale! by Patrick Wensink
Eraserhead Press, $9.95
This hilarious collection of short stories covers everything from a little boy who believes he's French, to James Brown's capes, to "Chicken Soup for the Kidnapper's Soul" and will definitely leave you satisfied. It's a quick read, and a fantastic effort for a first book. The title story can be found in the Monkeybicycle archives here.

Lost and Found by Meg Pokrass
elimae books, $5
This one is a late addition because I just discovered it. And even though I don't have my own copy yet, I can assure you that Lost and Found will not disappoint. Meg Pokrass is just one of those people who you know is going to do amazing work every time. Evidence of that can be found on the MB site, in the form of her story, "What the Doctor Ordered." Lost and Found is a collection of her works from the fantastic literary site, elimae. So, you can probably read all of the stories there, but it's much better to have them in book form. And it's only $5, so it'd be the perfect stocking stuffer.

Monkeybicycle and Knee-Jerk reading

2009-11-23T13:35:00.012-05:00

A few days ago we had a reading with Knee-Jerk Magazine at The Book Cellar. It was the first event that I had planned. Like ever. During the planning I was a big ball of nerves and fears that no one would come and the readers would drop out and someone would throw rotten eggs and tomatoes at me and I'd be chased out of the Book Cellar and maybe even Chicago in general. It was an awful time, but on Saturday, instead of the horrific fail of an event that I had nightmares about, we had what was, hands down, the most enjoyable reading I have ever attended. I mean, just look at this crowd:

The first reader was the ever lovely Amy Guth, reading a fantastic real life account of the time she saw Morrissey in a record store. It was a real strong start to the night and a very intriguing commentary on celebrity. I'm lucky enough to have seen Amy read several times and she never fails to amaze. If you are a Chicagoan or if you ever travel through, you should most definitely come to her reading series RUI. In fact, there will eventually be a Monkeybicycle/RUI reading, so go to that. Here's Amy, rocking her reading:

You can read Amy's work all over, including in Monkeybicyle.

Next up was Simon A. Smith. I had never read his work before, so I didn't know what to expect. Just in case you are a person who has never experienced Simon A. Smith, here is what you should expect- awesomeness. He's a fantastic writer and does a pretty stellar job at reading as well. He even read a story about my hometown of Muskegon, Michigan.

Next up was Jac Jemc reading a really lovely story that involved waitresses, a girl named Odette, and some stunning and playful use of language. You know what you should do? Read her Monkeybicycle story. It is fantastic, as is everything she does.

Next up was the always delightful Aaron Burch, who read his piece from MB5 (but only after he made Knee-Jerk editor C. James Bye read a bio that was almost solely about how good Aaron looks when he is clad in only a scarf). The story was hysterical. I have never heard a crowd be so simultaneously disgusted and amused. Laughter mixed with gagging noises as Aaron went into great detail about a pain in the asshole. It was fantastic.

After Aaron was a short break and a raffle. Money donated went towards Knee-Jerk's first print issue, hopefully due out next summer. Prizes included a few MB back issues from my own shelf and a ridiculous spoken word album made by C. James Bye and I. This was followed by a breathtakingly beautiful reading by Angi Becker Stevens, who read stories about a time traveling roommate and a man who was once a tree. How does she come up with her premises? Not only was she amazing, but she also drove all the way from the Detroit area.

Okay, I'm going to go ahead and just say it. Brandon Will's reading of his hilarious story about ghost cats was the funniest thing I have ever heard at a reading. The whole crowd was dying, especially when he shared a drawing of a ghost cat with us.

Our last reader, Billy Lombardo, had me star-struck for a good part of the night. The man is an amazing writer. After Brandon had the whole crowd laughing, Billy took the stage with a story that felt like a punch in the ribs. It's like the air went out of the entire room. It was a stunning end to a fantastic reading.

A billion thanks to the Book Cellar, Knee-Jerk, and all our readers. We couldn't have done it without you. I think I'm getting the reading bug. Watch for upcoming readings with RUI and Orange Alert.

Monkeybicycle and Knee-Jerk in Chicago

2009-11-20T17:59:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow night, Monkeybicycle will team up with the wonderful folks at Knee-Jerk magazine to bring Chicago two hours of incredible merriment. There will be readings, raffles, and other assorted fun. The readers consist of Angi Becker Stevens, Aaron Burch, Amy Guth, Jac Jemc, Billy Lombardo, Simon A. Smith, Brandon Will.

All of this will take place at Book Cellar (4736 N. Lincoln Ave. in Chicago) at 7:30PM. Please, if you're in the area, join in on the fun!

Lift Off!

2009-11-20T17:40:00.001-05:00

For a while now, we here at Monkeybicycle have been kicking around the idea of starting a blog as part of our site. But because there are so many of these things already out there, we shelved the idea. Until now. Nothing has changed--we still think there are a lot of blogs out there and there will probably be nothing new here--but we want to have fun and maybe talk about a few things.

At this point, we're not entirely sure what exactly will be posted here, but we do hope to keep it fresh and make it an extension of the site, offering more insight into the works we publish, and whatever else we can come up with.

Monkeybicycle is comprised of four editors--Steven Seighman, Laura Carney, Jessa Marsh, and Jacob Smith--as well as a wealth of incredible contributors that we're incredibly lucky to be associated with. Hopefully, as many of these people as possible will show up on this blog and you will be entertained.