9/6/2008: Stapling Party!

Hello dear friends,
It's just past midnight on a Friday night and I'm here in the kitchen stapling books with the newest Future Tense boy wonder, Riley Michael Parker. His chapbook, Our Beloved 26th, sold out at the Portland Zine Symposium two weeks ago, but now we've got more (if you already ordered it, it's being mailed Monday). I'm telling you it's a doozy. In fact, I was kind of scared to release it because, uh, it's sort of volatile and uh, offensive. I had to keep telling myself "this is satire...this is satire." So if you can keep that in mind, it's actually quite wonderful. Heh heh.

Riley was kind enough to bring over a bottle of rum tonight and he actually did most of the stapling. I thought I'd let him take over the blogging now so I can sip some beverage. Ahhh.

Take it away, RMP:

I don't know exactly what I'm expected to say here, so I suppose I will just talk about my day, why I wrote the book, and then tell a pathetic, embarrassing, but true story about misguided lust.

I spent most of the day drawing and coloring movie stars, namely Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly, and Heather Graham. I am making a Boogie Nights movie poster for the theatre I work for, so I was actually paid to draw these people. After work I listened to a mix CD an ex-girlfriend had sent to me recently, read a few of her more recent letters as well as some mini-comics that she sent me. It was an interesting experience - fulfilling in a way, but afterward I felt as though I had been robbed of something. I miss her a lot and I don't know who to blame. Then I caught the train to Kevin's house and have been here ever since... It is interesting to visit a friend's home for the first time. He is tidy, and welcoming, but does not provide snacks. I am not all that hungry, but I could go for a nosh. He doesn't care.

Our Beloved 26th just showed up one day. I didn't ask it over; it didn't call ahead. I woke up one morning and began to write about a few vile, perverted men, and I just couldn't stop. Well I could, and I did, for little spurts, but it all came out rather quickly. Rape is never funny. Really, it isn't. I tried to make it funny. I'm sorry.

And this one time, when I was twenty, I considered sleeping with my third cousin. We hadn't seen each other in years, and she was totally into me. I had no interest in sleeping with her, and then a week later I was one-hundred percent interested but had no place in which to perform, and then a week or two later when I got my new apartment neither of us were into it anymore. I told my cousin Paul this story less than a month ago, and all he said was, "Yeah, she's a cute girl."

Thank you, Riley! That was refreshing. Sorry about not having snacks but I don't think food and books are a good combination. Suck it up, boy.
And now, it's just after midnight and we're done with stapling and it's time for bed. (RMP stumbles off to catch the bus back to his comfy NW apartment)

Until next time,
Kevin

Currently listening : Movement By The Gossip Release date: 2003-05-06

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6/22/08: Afternoon Delight

First off, I want to again thank everyone who came out to my Midwest readings (see last few blog entries). It was a super fun time and I feel like I have many more close friends now.

But now it's time to get local again!
Portland folks--please come to my reading at the Powell's on Hawthorne today (meaning Sunday) at 4pm. It's an afternoon delight.
Check out the nice write-up for Creamy Bullets in this week's Mercury and in Bookslut.

Coming up in July, I'll be bringing back the Booty Call! The first Booty Call reading in more than three years is coming up at Plan B on Sunday, July 13th at 8pm. The night will feature dirty stories by Steve Almond, Jami Attenberg, Zach Plague, and Melissa Lion, along with bootylicious music spun by The Incredible Kid.

The Booty Call will be preceded by two other Northwest readings with Zach Plague, Thursday night, July 10th at the Monroe Street Cafe (7pm), and on Saturday night at the Hugo House in Seattle. I believe there are very special guests at these events as well.

In other Future Tense news...

Elizabeth Ellen, as always, is a force of nature. Newer Proof: In Dogzplot and in Juked. Not to mention an in depth interview with Donald Ray Pollack, whose book Knockemstiff is probably my favorite so far this year.

Suzanne Burns' wonderful flipbook, Double Header, was recently featured in New Pages.

Frayn Masters of Haiku Inferno has two new fresh fictions out there--at Hobart (man, they have good taste) and Monkeybicycle. She has also started an exciting new storytelling series called Back Fence PDX. Their first show was this last week and it was sensational. Their next show will be in July.

Myriam Gurba, award-winning author of Dahlia Season, was recently interviewed on this podcast.

That's all for now, friends. See you soon.

Oh hey--there's some new pics up too. Fun!

xoxo
Kevin

Currently listening : Soul Jazz Records Presents Tropicália: A Brazilian Revolution in Sound By Various Artists Release date: 2006-02-20

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5/24/08: Licking Kitties

Woke up this morning with a big orange cat licking my face.

Went down to where all the Pilcrow stuff was happening and went to various panels throughout the afternoon, including one about blogging and another about hosting good readings. Both of these panels included my pal, Jami Attenberg, who I hung out with most of the day. I felt like a VIP today. Between panels, I sat down with Jim Purcell, a roving blogger at the fest. He blogged me while I had my morning coffee. After speaking on "The State of the Small Press" panel, I was interviewed on camera for a new Chicago webzine (uh, I forgot what they're called. I'm sure their card is buried in my tote bag somewhere). There were 8 publishers on the panel and 3 of them mentioned Future Tense as an inspiration for their work. I was very flattered. Later on, my pal Joseph (see previous post) asked if I was the grandaddy of that panel and I realized, yes, I probably was. Then I was called "The Lou Reed of the small press world."

At 7pm we were at Quimby's for my reading with James Stegall and Jackie Corley. Both of their readings were great. Jackie read a super-charged and heartbreaking piece about two brothers. I think it was the title story from her upcoming book, The Suburban Swindle. James read a piece from his upcoming book too (a funny piece about the Lands End catalog that was previously in Nerve). I read two short pieces from Creamy Bullets. "What Great Tragedies" and "Jailbreaker." After the reading, I saw friends like Kevin Fanning and Portlander Laural Winter. Plus, I sold the last four copies of my book. Joseph, his girlfriend Anna, Laural, and Jami all went out for pizza. Chicago deep dish style. Spinach, pepperoni, and garlic at Giordano's. Good stuff.

Now, I'm back at Joseph's place and getting ready for bed, after a few sips of Maker's Mark & Coke. I'm meeting Aaron and Elizabeth at the Fixx Cafe (Pilcrow's central location) at 1:00 and we're driving back to Ann Arbor. It's been a super fun trip and I'll send a wrap-up later this week after getting back to Portland. Thanks to everyone whom I saw on this trip (and to Amy Guth, who organized the whole Pilcrow Fest).

Currently reading : RYAN SEACREST IS FAMOUS: Stories by Dave Housely By Dave Housley

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5/24/2008: Chicken Rings

I had my first White Castle experience today. As Elizabeth and Aaron and I drove through Indiana headed to Chicago (yeah, I didn't know you had to drive through Indiana either), we stopped for an afternoon snack at White Castle. My only real knowledge of WC is through the Beastie Boys. But guess what--they're wrong. White Castle fries come in more than one size! I didn't order any though. First, I had two cheeseburgers, not knowing they were so small. I gulped them down and was still hungry. I needed something more. I ordered something called Chicken Rings. Imagine Onion Rings with chicken instead of onions. Pretty good actually. The burgers? Not so good. They reminded me too much of soybean burgers or something. Like a school lunch burger.

Once we got to Chicago, A & E settled in to their hotel and then we went to the Hideout for the Dollar Store reading. I was amazed to find it packed. Jonathan Messinger started the show with a great new story of his own, followed by the very funny Diana Slickman, who is a favorite of the Dollar Store crowd. I closed the show with Songs For Water Buffalos, which got a standing ovation. Just kidding (I've had a few drinks). But I did sell some books afterward and saw some old friends like Julie Shapiro, Rob Christopher, and the one and only Jackie Corley!

I also met up with Joseph Lappie, a fomer Powellsian who now lives in Chicago. I'm staying with him the nect two nights. Tonight he showed me some of his mind-blowing new art. This guy was good when he lived in Portland, but now he's crazy good. Check out his site (which actually doesn't include his newest work but he promises to update it soon).

We just got back from the after-party action and the lights are out in the apartment so I gotta go. More tomorrow night. Sweet dreams.

KS

Currently listening : Paid in Full By Eric B. & Rakim Release date: 2005-04-26

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5/23/2008: Rockin’ the Shaman!

Tonight I had to compete against a couple of things--Kanye West, the Detroit Pistons game, and...James Frey reading across the street from me! Whaaaaat? Oh well, at least I wasn't here on Tuesday night when Chuck Palahniuk read with Donald Ray Pollack (I'm so glad CP is pimping Donald Ray because that old Ohio dude is a master).
Anyway, it all turned out great as we (myself, Barry Graham, and Matt Bell) entertained a small room full of folks at Shaman Drum Books. Matt read a funny story about a video game where you have to get laid in a two-hour span before the clock strikes midnight and Barry wowed the crowd with a seedy tale about a reluctant bikini judge. Hobart editor Aaron Burch introduced each of us while buzzing nicely from the pre-reading mojitos. He said something about a new game called "Six Degrees of Kevin Sampsell" and then I read my story. I decided to read "Krystal." This is a story I read in Seattle as well and it's fun to read because I get to do a big radio DJ voice and I also get to describe the effects of crystal meth.
After the reading, I signed books and chatted with my old Portland friend, Jeff Meyers, who I hadn't talked to in about ten years. His chapbook, Half Empty, was one of the first ones I published when I moved to Portland. He's currently the film critic at the Detroit Metro Times.
I also talked with Stefan Kiesbye and his wife, Sanaz. I was totally entranced by his German accent and straw hat. Then there was Dan Wickett, he of the Emerging Writers Network and Dzanc Books. He told me that Dzanc's distribution deal with Consortium will be starting soon. That's a big step for them and they deserve it.
After some beers at a bar down the street, we all caravaned back to the Hobart House and told top secret slices of gossip to each other.
On the way there, Jeff Meyers drove me by his house and said it cost them half a million. Apparently, Ann Arbor is more expensive than Portland. Yikes.
Alright folks, I'm going to go to bed at a decent hour tonight. Gotta drive to Chicago tomorrow. I'll blog when I get a chance. Good night.

Currently listening : Kites Are Fun: The Best of the Free Design By Free Design Release date: 1998-07-28

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5/22/2008: Into the Michigan

The clock here in the kitchen says 3:00am which means that it's more like midnight to me.
That's because I'm in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In the home of Elizabeth Ellen and Aaron Burch to be exact. I wonder if people call it the "Hobart House."
And what a house it is! Talk about fancy. There's a pool table behind me here in the living room, as well as a ping-pong table and poker table in the basement. And I have my own room upstairs for the next two nights. I'm going to bed now after a long day of airport action. My 9am flight got delayed til 2pm so I got some good reading in. Had to switch planes in Minneapolis and I decided to try the Viking-style coffee at a place called Caribou Coffee. I was intrigued by the cool logo and the "Mint Condition" (basically a mint mocha) wasn't bad either.
(I hope they give me some free coffee on this mini book tour after that plug.)
The caffeine may have something to do with my long evening hours and the fact that I have been a spastic chatterbox with EE and Aaron the past two hours.
One thing we talked about was the special genre of "airport fiction," meaning stories that happen in airports or on planes. There are actually two stories in Creamy Bullets (the book that brings me to the midwest) that are air-travel-related. And then I remembered that is another story of mine set in an airport that appeared in the first or second issue of Hobart! And it hasn't appeared elsewhere (which surely makes it worth big bucks). It featured an old lady with a prosthetic leg and a little kid.
I got some inspiration for a new airplane story on my flight from Minneapolis to Detroit. Basically, it's going to be about the guy who sat next to me on the flight who stumbled in at the last moment and then laid his head down on the little tray that comes out of the seat in front of you the whole trip, as if he was sleeping in a classroom. I just thought it was kind of weird is all. I mean, when I sleep on a plane I usually go the other direction--leaning back. Anyway, we didn't have a conversation or anything but you can bet I was having one in my head. Plus he was wearing a yellow polo shirt and hemmed denim shorts.
I'm reading at Shaman Drum tomorrow (or I should say tonight--Thursday). I'll try to check in before or after that and let you know how it went.

(The book pictured--A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness is the new book featuring short work by EE along with Claudia Smith, Kathy Fish, and Amy L. Clark. I read it on the planes today and it's freakin' great stuff.)

KS

Currently reading : A Peculiar Feeling of Restlessness: Four Chapbooks of Short Short Fiction by Four Women By Amy L. Clark

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5/1/2008: Creamy...Haiku...Season
Current mood: chipper

Haiku fans! For those of you craving the return of Haiku Inferno, you can catch us at the Crown Room this Saturday night as part of the Comedy, Darling show, hosted by the awesome and funny Mary Van Note. Haiku subjects will include the pregnant man, cinco de Mayo, and polygamy!

In other news, my book, Creamy Bullets, is actually in stores now--or at least it should be. If you have a cool bookstore near you, tell them to order it!
I am doing a bunch of readings in the next two months. I hope to see you at one of them (the next one is Tuesday night at the Blue Monk in Portland. I'll be the featured reader at their weekly open mic).
Bonus: Guest blogging action!

Also, a big congratulation to our beloved author Myriam Gurba, who just won the Publishing Triangle's Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction for Dahlia Season(awarded Monday, April 28, 2008 in New York). This book just keeps cooking.
Other honors for the book include:
NY Public Library's 79th Annual Best Books for the Teen Age 2008
Q Syndicate Top 10 Fiction Book for 2007
Best Short Fiction on the Latinidad List 2007

Praise for Dahlia Season:
"Bursting with street language and dangerous detail, [Dahlia Season] gives equal play to the audacious, the introspective, and the comedic and [Gurba's] apparent lust for literary risk-taking fills the collection with twists and shocks, jolting the reader with unexpected instances of violence, sex, cruelty, or honesty...[This collection] may become a touchstone for aspiring queer writers looking for their culture within the pages of a book as well as the impetus to get their own freaky lives into print." -- San Francisco Bay Guardian

That's all for now. Back to work...
Kevin

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4/11/2008: Bad Magic

Hi Friends,

My new book, Creamy Bullets, is debuting this Wednesday night at the Someday Lounge at 9pm!
Please come by and let me read you a story. I'll be joined by the wonderful Suzanne Burns, author of the Future Tense release, Double Header, as well as one of my favorite strumming and singing stars, Michael Johnson (of Reclinerland and Parks & Recreation fame). This event is part of the Triple Dare Reading Series from Reading Frenzy and the IPRC. The theme of the show is Bad Magic. It's 21 and over and $6 cover (oh--there'll also be a short film called Bunnyheads)

I'll also be reading in Seattle on Friday the 18th at Neptune Coffee (again with Suzanne Burns, but also with Matthew Simmons and others). Festivities abound!!

If you can't make it and want to make sure you are among the first to get my new book, you can now pre-order it through Powell's! While you're at it, you can read my newest piece of bookstore angst.

Thanks, everyone. Hope to see you on Wednesday!

Kevin

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3/18/2008: Smallpressapalooza!

Hello dear friends,

This Thursday from 5pm to 10pm at Powell’s I’ll be hosting a huge small press celebration called Smallpressapalooza.I handpicked all the readers so you know it’s gonna be a solid night of entertainment. I tried to pick people who hadn’t read at the main store before including poets, zinesters, and fiction writers. Since it’s a pretty long event (see the schedule for readers on that link) I don’t really expect people to stay for the whole thing but I do hope you (Portland friends!) come down to see part of it at least.

In other news, I’ve been really proud of Myriam Gurba and her book, Dahlia Season, after being named a finalist for two big awards, The Edmund White Award and a LAMBDA Literary Award. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for some sweet trophies!

Stuff to read!!

One of the other Future Tense/Manic D alumni, Eric Spitznagel, has this hilarious piece up at the Big Jewel and this crazy shit at Fray.

I got a new fancy pants story in the newest issue of Yeti. It even has super cool illustrations by Alan Griswold (it’s partially about how Internet porn can destroy a precarious relationship). Find this beautiful magazine at a fine bookstore near you. That story and this new flash fiction will be in my new book, Creamy Bullets, which is still slated for April!! I’m reading with Suzanne Burns on April 16th at the Someday Lounge. Details to come.

That’s all I can think of at the moment. Be well.

KS

Currently reading : Knockemstiff By Donald Ray Pollock Release date: 18 March, 2008

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2/3/2008: This Week To-Do

A couple of quick notes for the week...

If you're in San Francisco, go see Myriam Gurba, the author of Dahlia Season, at Michelle Tea's Radar Reading Salon on Tuesday night. Go go go! And give that girl a high five for me!

Here in Portland, the wonderful editor/author Felicia Sullivan will be reading at Powell's on Hawthorne this Thursday. Felicia deserves props because of three things: 1. She edits the great Small Spiral Notebook. 2. She has her debut book out now; and 3. She has been Ettlingered!

That's about it. Hey--how was AWP this weekend? If you were there, I wanna hear some gossip!

KS

Currently reading : Rock On: An Office Power Ballad By Dan Kennedy Release date: 14 January, 2008

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