From January, “Life on the Dead Tree” by Jennifer Pieroni. Jennifer answers questions about climbing, eating, editing, rapping, and witnessing.

1. When was the last time you climbed? How high was it and what did you see?

I don’t climb anything. I’ve become afraid of heights, and this was unanticipated, and I’m not proud of it. I envy children. Typically they can’t be bothered with those worries. So, the last time I “climbed?” A hilltop rock overlooking Gloucester harbor a frightening distance below. That was yesterday.

2. What don’t you eat?

My hunger knows no bounds. Except bugs. I won’t eat those. And I’m practicing portion control. So, there’s that. I also try not to eat things that aren’t from nature. But I have many exceptions to this rule, so it’s kind of a joke. Children are completely irrational about food though. It’s neverendlingly interesting to watch them pick and choose what they’ll eat on the day-to-day.

3. How has being an editor for so long affected your writing style?

I’m not sure it has. A few of the writers we published were (and are) doing work that really resonates for me. Some of them I keep in touch with and those friendships have been really helpful. You need people to keep you in the game. That was the great takeaway for me. Many new inspiring friends. Continue reading →

In February, this wonderful piece of fiction from Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes, “The Lights.”

1. Why did you choose to write “The Lights” in second person?

This started as an exercise from Noah Eli Gordon based on Eula Biss’s essay “Time and Distance Overcome.” I picked an object and researched it and let the research take me where it wanted to go. I picked traffic lights because I can be boring and read a lot about naked streets, which are just as exciting as they sound. I feel like traffic lights speak in the second person. They tell us what to do in command form through their colors. The voice and the lights expanded from there.

2. Should cakes be abolished due to the laziness we have about using them to celebrate any occasion?

I’m definitely pro-cakes but I think that they should be eaten in silence and alone.

3. How could you use “The Lights” in a corporate team builder?

Thank you for asking this. I think it’s actually the most practical and direct use for “The Lights”. I’m always looking for a use for these things. I should probably patent it and hold workshops. I can’t tell you how I would use it because of the patent. Continue reading →

In February, “Arrow” from Robert Rothman.

1. If you were Cupid, what projectile would you use?

Love is savage but an arrow with its expanding tip rips and ravages. I would use a dart that pricks interest, that causes the beloved to turn, startled and aroused by the sharp but not lethal hit of love/pain.

2. What kind of arrows would you have in your quiver?

Love, desire, rapture, adoration, kindness, raw and finished arrows.

3. Robin Hood or Green Arrow – who would win in an archery death match?

Not into death: these arrows bring life. Continue reading →

“The Inexact Nature” by Eric Higgins was published in the January Issue. Now, Eric discusses prostitution, restraining orders, and illegalities.

1. Who would you prostitute? What would be your pimp name?

I wouldn’t prostitute anyone. To prostitute someone seems deeply despicable.

2. Who would you beatify and pray to?

Beatify, pray to, and pray for ecosystems. (If a corporation can be a who, then I see no reason why an ecosystem can’t be one, too.

3. How do you put a restraining order on desire?

I’m not sure it’s possible; quite a few governments, religions, and social institutions have been rendered inconsequential in the course of attempting to do just that. But if I had to put a restraining order on one of my own desires for one reason or another, I suppose I’d attempt to remind myself of some greater good I would be inhibiting if I slaked that desire. I’m a fan of self-imposed restraint and moderation, so that approach might work. Continue reading →

In January, “Back-Story” by Bejanmin Rybeck. “The real story isn’t starting yet.”….

1. When is the real story starting?

The idea of “the real” is but a construct used to mediate “the imaginary.” Which is to say, it’ll start on Tuesday.

2. What method would you like your back story told?

Told through languid voiceover in which Jessica Chastain whispers things like, “How did you come to me, Benjamin Rybeck? What are we to you?” Or through newsreel footage played after my death to a group of reporters.

3. Would you stop for a woman on the side of the road?

Actually, that part really happened to me. Late at night a woman ran in front of my car like the beginning of Kiss Me Deadly and then jumped in before I could lock the doors. I gave her a ride down an increasingly narrowing series of one-way streets to her destination while I got really paranoid because a car followed us several miles across the city. But I didn’t get robbed. Instead, she called me “a nice Jewish boy” and gave me a motherly kiss on the cheek before getting out. Continue reading →

In January, these Two Poems from Matthew Gilbert. Now, this interview. Read both today.

1. How does one feign virginity?

In the same way you fence: in the suburbs where I was raised (a cow-town parents brought us to as an offering) we were trained in morals and expected to be proficient. ‘There were no drugs’ was a common feint. ‘Sleepover’ was a misstep that resulted in our parents not loving us the same.

2. Would you elope? If so, where?

Despite the presents a wedding requires of people, I would prefer to elope in order to avoid church ceremonies. I’m not particularly affiliated (with a certain religion or a certain person, which hinders marriage in general). I would love to do it somewhere I haven’t been, but I’ll be honest: if I fall enough for a woman to marry her, I’ll go anywhere she wants to go.

3. What kind of clouds are your muscles?

Muscles intrigue me because they’re contractile tissue, but they’re meant to cause motion. Every muscle is provoking some sort of movement, so I guess (or I hope) that they’re cumulus clouds. I’d like to be associated with severe weather. A hailstorm of some sort. I believe in muscles associating with action instead of being just for show. Continue reading →

Jeffrey Kingman’s Two Poems were published in the January Issue. Jeffrey answers violent questions about drumming, comfort, and body shots.

1. What’s with poetry’s fascination with crows and winter?

Crows are big and handsome and outspoken. Yet not obnoxious like blue jays … Winter, well ya know. It’s cool.

2. Who would you peck apart?

Wow! Are you implying I should like to kill somebody? I’m basically a peaceful person. That said, I admit I’ve watched a few Sam Peckapart movies.

3. How has drumming influenced your writing?

Well, having grown up studying musical rhythm, it feeds into the poetry rhythm for sure. My uncle was a drummer in Chicago in the ‘40s, but he died before I was born. So I wasn’t influenced by him—it’s just in the blood. Continue reading →

This wonderful piece, “Blackbox” by Mika Seifert, was published in the January issue.

1. Whose body would you hide in the ocean?

The body of Julio Cortazar who was an axolotl.

2. What would be in your black box?

Mostly false information.

3. How has being a violinist influenced your writing?

The most obvious thing would be that it’s given me a sense of rhythm (I hope), and of the cadence of a sentence. In that way, the two are sometimes quite similar. But it works the other way around as well; the attention and care that is needed in writing for every word, and for the space between words, is something that has translated very well into music. It’s been a great way to increase concentration. Also, it’s given me a topic for the novel that I’m writing now. Continue reading →

You must read “For Provisional Description of Superficial Features” by Matthew Battles. And, also, you must read this interview.

1. How would you murder someone using Wikipedia?

2. What fictional starcraft would you like to pilot? Where would you go?

3. Would you say there’s a parable hidden in “For Provisional Description of Superficial Features”?

But I’m content as master of my little farm domain. I have a Small House, a Small Pond, a Pine Tree Ready to Chop, a 2×2 Seeder, a Brown Dog, Carnations and Tulips, a Waterwell, a Cat Hedge, fruit trees to harvest, and the occasional tornado. There’s just enough power in that, I think. Living the dream!