3x (Primal Scream, Murnane, Gian)

Preorder info for the debut Rose Books Reader, my return to Gerald Murnane, and a memorial event on Jan. 30

1. Rose Books Reader

The first volume of the newly launched Rose Books Reader is up for preorder. Themed for “Primal Scream” it looks to be much needed and full of heads and new voices:

Esther Alter, Maeve Barry, Kate Barss, Eric Boyd, Michael Buckius, Blake Butler, Danielle Chelosky, Christina D’Antoni, Erin Dorney, Kate Durbin, Owen Edwards, Juliet Escoria, Matthew Gasda, Nicola Maye Goldberg, Julia Hannafin, James Jacob Hatfield, J. Kemp, Lexi Kent-Monning, Yin Lichuan (trans. by Cecily Chen), Amy Lyons, Amelia Mangan, Shay McIntosh, Clare Michaud, Shelby Newsome, Breen Nolan, JoAnna Novak, Gina Nutt, Amy Raasch, Zoë Ranson, Rodrigo Restrepo Montoya, Cody Roggio, Brooke Segarra, Nicole Sellew, Dena Soffer, Catherine Spino, Mary Alice Stewart, Gina Tomaine, Felicia Rosemary Urso, Adam Voith, Natalie Warther, Shy Watson, Ray Wise, BR Yeager.

Edited by Katie Coleman
Cover design by Steak Mtn
Interior design by Adam Robinson

My contribution is a story called “Christian Literature in the Gulch,” inspired by Ayn Rand and the Bolaño novel of a similar title. It’s a fun one. Preorder.

2. Inland

Been slow with reading this week as I’m in what I believe is the home stretches of a chapter on the very long novel I’ve been working on since two summers ago. Which means I’m roughly 1/7th of the way through. Planning to take a break once the chapter is complete so I can get my head reset.

Currently I’m in the middle of Inland by Gerald Murnane, the second book of his I’ve read. The first I tried was The Plains and I couldn’t really get into it, so I started shittalking him in my head whenever I’d see people mentioning his work. Inland, however, is hitting the spot in a much different way; immediately, he has a wild knack for meta-consciousness that he uses to explode the form of the novel from within, in a really effective way that reminds me of a slightly more lucid Trilogy-era Beckett. It’s a style that is really hard to nail, but when it does it’s among my favorite of all modes. I love when something I write off comes back to prove me wrong and I’ll look forward to reading more of him now, though I’ll probably let The Plains go.

I like how when there’s a song that I don’t like on an album I otherwise play incessantly for years, and then much later decide I like the song and feel refreshed by not having it carved so deeply into my brain that it feels like an undiscovered part of the album and really nice to have saved for later. “The Bad Thing” on More Songs About Buildings and Food by Talking Heads comes to mind as the prototype for my noticing this, and now I’m having a hard time thinking of any other songs that fit the description, besides all of Tom Waits. Except I think once I started liking Tom Waits, the opposite eventually happened and I eventually wore it out and started thinking he is silly again, though maybe it’s been long enough since that I could go back now and discover the same trick. Another thing I despised for a long time until suddenly it clicked and became one of my all-time favorites is Cocteau Twins.

Lastly, I think I really don’t care for the design style where they start the first sentence on the cover of the book, memorably used on works by Dave Eggers and David Markson. Seems disrespectful, or like makes me not want to listen.

So those are my thoughts on Gerald Murnane.

3. Gian Tribute

If you happen to be in the Richmond area, this Thursday evening I’ll be at a fundraiser for the Giancarlo DiTrapano Foundation for Literature and the Arts along with a slew of other writers who have been to the residency. Tickets are available here.