Malko

Recently, Ampersand Books unleashed J. Bradley's Dodging Traffic, an excellent poetry collection. I had the pleasure of blurbing it. Here's what I say: "Reading J. Bradley's Dodging Traffic is a lot like actually dodging traffic--both are unpredictable, thrilling, surprising. Prepare yourself, because these poems hit hard." For samples of his work, click here and here. For other samples of J. Bradley (blood, semen, stool, etc.), contact the author via his blog.

Speaking of J. B., the man has several poems in the November 2009 issue of PANK, which boasts a lineup consisting of Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, CL Bledsoe, David Erlewine, Roland Goity, Sean Lovelace, Ravi Mangla, Shya Scanlon, Jeanann Verlee, y mas.

The Los Angeles Review #6 is now available. Great list of contributors: Steve Almond, Michael Czyzniejewski, David Erlewine, Alicia Gifford, Barry Graham, Tai Dong Huai, Ravi Mangla, Ethel Rohan, Shellie Zacharia, and others. It's expensive--$18.25 total--but I think it'll be worth it. If not, I will win the NBA championship and then riot.

I received my first check from my new, warehouse job a few days ago. I currently work fifty-four hours per week. Unfortunately yet predictably, Uncle Sam took more than I would've preferred--a fifth of the total amount. No wonder so many people work under the table. The only saving grace will be next year's tax refund, providing I get one. If not, I will win the National Basketball Association championship and then celebrate in a violent manner with several individuals who also share my mentality.

Fiery Rebirth

Pear Noir! #3 is available for preorder here, and, like the previous issue, this one has a stellar lineup: Michelle Reale, Roxane Gay, Jimmy Chen, Eric Beeny, Mickey Hess, Noel Sloboda, Ryan Dilbert, John Dermot Woods, Audri Sousa, David Fishkind, and many more.

Today is Veterans Day:

In a Past Life I Ran with Van Helsing

Monkeybicycle #7 is available for preorder. This issue features Angi Becker Stevens, Molly Gaudry, Roxane Gay, Corey Mesler, and others. Any time I hear a new Monkeybike is coming out, I order it immediately.

Mel Bosworth has a chapbook called When the Cats Razzed the Chickens & Other Stories available for preorder.

J. A. Tyler rocks Apostrophe Cast with an excerpt from his forthcoming novella A Man of Glass & All the Ways We Have Failed. His interview is here.

When I received my check for my Hint Fiction piece, I didn't think anything was out of the ordinary. However, Mr. Swartwood wrote the title of my contribution ("Take It Off") on the Memo line of the check, and the teller at the bank noticed it and told me she wasn't going to ask what it meant, fearing, perhaps, that I am some sort of freakish, bearded stripper.

I'm working a lot these days--fifty hours per week. I wish humans were able to hibernate like bears, even though we'd miss Christmas (see below).

The Internet rules so hard:

decomP: November 2009

decomP: a literary magazine

www.decompmagazine.com

From the Editor-in-Chief

By Jason Jordan

Welcome back to decomP for the November 2009 issue. This month we're featuring new work from Michelle Askin, Bridget Bell, Matthew Browning, Susan Buttenwieser, Julian Callos, Adam Henry Carrière, Dave Clapper, Lydia Copeland, William Crawford, Rich Ives, John Jodzio, Sarah Kay, Ben Loory, Michael James Martin, Kaisa Ullsvik Miller, Angi Becker Stevens, and Sabrina Stoessinger. Additionally, we have a review of John Dermot Woods's The Complete Collection of people, places & things.

Finally, enter the contest to win Keyhole #8, featuring work from Jamie Iredell, Robert Lopez, Steven J. McDermott, Cooper Renner, Anne Valente, and more, by posting the title of your favorite piece from the November 2009 issue of decomP in the following blog entry:

http://poweringthedevilscircus.blogspot.com/2009/11/decomp-november-2009.html. The contest runs from Sunday, November 1 through Sunday, November 8 at 12 p.m. We'll be giving away two copies, and winners will be notified in the blog entry and via email.

Only two months until the brand new site is unveiled. See you next month!

decomP looks best in any browser except Internet Explorer, but it's designed for Google Chrome.

decomPrint: 2010

decomPress: 2010

Fathom

David Erlewine has "Who Stormed the Beaches" in So New's Necessary Fiction and "A Whack at Happiness" in Fiction at Work. Speaking of the latter, their memo idea is cool. Check it out here.

James Iredell has "On the Bus" and Adam Moorad has "The Snake People" in H_NGM_N #9.

Matt Bell has "The Cartographer's Girl" in Gulf Coast 22.1 and "His Last Great Gift" in Conjunctions 53.

Tiff Holland has "Wrapping Kevin" in Night Train.

Roxane Gay has "We Do Not Speak of Graceful Things," Tim Jones-Yelvington has "Seducing Adam Lambert," and Anne Valente has "To a Place Where We Take Flight" in Storyglossia #36, the Music + Obsession issue.

The second issue of Twelve Stories has new pieces from Lydia Copeland, Roxane Gay, John Jodzio, Ben Loory, Andrew Roe, and more.

Wigleaf: Elizabeth Ellen and Angi Becker Stevens.

Read about Lauren Becker's East Bay reading here. You can also watch the readings. Writers included Ethel Rohan, Roland Goity, Reynard Seifert, et al.

That's all the lit news for now. On to heavy metal. I've been listening to the following two albums a lot lately. They rule.

Wodensthrone - Loss

The Chasm - Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm

"Iron Willed Death Metal"? Fuck yes.

I got a full-time job. I'll be working in a warehouse. Orientation is Sunday afternoon, and I'll be working my first shift afterward. It'll be nice to be making money. They said I may be working up to fifty hours per week until Thanksgiving, at which point I may be working up to eighty hours per week until Christmas. I figure it's better to have too many hours than too few since I don't know how long I'll be employed. Come Sunday, I won't be online nearly as much.

Funny:

Why the Fuck Do You Have a Kid?

Philos

I attended a family gathering last night at a cousin's house, a joint birthday party for my grandma and uncle, where I watched Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991). Some of it was legitimately funny while some of it was legitimately stupid, which made it bad, which made it unintentionally funny. Rotten Tomatoes has it listed at 59%. That's a fair score, I guess.

This is funny: On The Three Ps of Post-Montana MFA '08: Ph.D.s, Publications, and Panhandling blog, they compiled the ten worst MFA slogans. My alma mater, Chatham, is among them at #5. The full post is here. Thanks to Erin Fitzgerald for the link!

xTx has a new eBook out called Nobody Trusts a Black Magician. I've read some of it so far, and it's good.

Mickey Hess and Jac Jemc have new work in Front Porch #12.

Night Train 9.2 is out and it rocks. Stuff that is new from Roxane Gay.

I turned the novel idea I had a few weeks back into a 1,000-word flash/short. It could still be turned into a novel, but I doubt I'll do it. I like the story's density and would prefer to keep it brief.

Speaking of flash, there's a new journal coming out called Camera Obscura. Bad pun, I know.

This album rules:

Russian Circles - Geneva

So does this one:

Converge - Axe to Fall

Infected Nation

The Fall '09 issue of DOGZPLOT is now online. Enjoy words from Eric Beeny, Roxane Gay, Ben Loory, Dave Clapper, Heather Fowler, J. Bradley, and others.

Electric Literature released their second issue recently. Contributors: Colson Whitehead, Lydia Davis, Stephen O'Connor, Pasha Malla, and Marisa Silver.

Molly Gaudry was interviewed on the JMWW blog--"We Take Molly Apart."

New installment of The Northville Review, with Michelle Reale, Lydia Copeland, Tara Laskowski.

Need to know about a book but don't want to read it? 60 Second Recap.

Apparently, Denver, Colorado, the site of the next AWP, is full of "brianiacs," whatever those are:

Still sick, sort of. Still unemployed and looking for a decent job. Until then, I'll dream of Heaven:

and this other Heaven: