Zombies are True (repost from one year ago)

Zombies are True

Book Review…

Link, Kelly. Magic for Beginners. Orlando: Harvest Books, 2006.

The nine stories in Kelly Link’s second collection are fantastic, meaning incredibly good and also containing elements of fantasy. They are innovative and down to earth, about people, the things people do and feel. Some of the most sparkling gems in this collection are “The Faery Handbag,” “The Hortlak” (my favorite), “Stone Animals,” and “Magic for Beginners.” The collection does not ostentatiously defy genre, but perhaps simply disregards the literary market’s desire for such superficial distinctions. Link’s style is confident and innovative, borrowing from various traditions, most notably fantasy, horror, and fairy tale—humbling and improbable vestiges of life, worlds that exist only between the covers of the book. But don’t all fictive worlds only exist in this capacity?

Link achieves the nearness and reality of the world by oscillating between the ultimately fantastic and the simple basic truth of human reaction and interaction, what is and what is not. In Link’s work, zombies exist as incidental, assimilated, mythic, harmless, feared, fictive, and real. Zombies, like haunted objects and animated cats, can be considered in their relation to action, to private thought, to the larger continuing world. In “The Faery Handbag,” as well as other tales in this collection, the shocking, inventive, and unfamiliar are crafted with beauty and a sensitivity to human interaction—attention to a character’s inner world as well as the outer. These crossings of people, in and out of each other’s minds and physical worlds, is what is real. In “Stone Animals,” Link explores this human interaction in a haunted, mysterious setting. The plot folds in on itself in repetition, similar to how time and interaction repeatedly fold in and out for the characters.

A reader of literary fiction may look askance at Link’s work, what has been called fantastic or fabulist, and wish to pass preliminary judgment based on preconceived notions of reality. But there are often opposite ways of getting at the truth, and in Magic for Beginners Link has bravely forged her own path, a path any open reader will be drawn through, surprised by, pleased by, amazed by, and ultimately affected by.

February 18, 2008 0

Great “Best Of” List

I’m too lazy to compile a best of list for 2007. Also, I feel like ’07 slipped by without enough reading of contemporary work on my part. I did manage to almost read everything ever published by Eudora Welty, but, again, that’s not new. And, I read my share of student essays…So, I direct you to a fabulous best of list, compiled by Steph over at Natual/Artificial.

February 1, 2008 0

Link at GSU!!!

Kelly Link will read in Atlanta this month, along with Sarah Gorham. I am not familiar with Gorham’s work, but Link is one of my favorite contemporary writers. Her collection of stories Magic for Beginners is one of the most interesting, startling, colorful, and memorable books I’ve read. My three favorite stories from this collection are “The Hotlak,” “Stone Animals,” and “Magic for Beginners.” Zombies, rabbits, magic, and fabulation aside, Link’s work is full of, simply, good stories. I was so excited about her work that I’m sure I looked like a mute idiot back at AWP in Atlanta last February when I all of the sudden realized I was standing at the booth for the press she co-founded, Small Beer Press, and of course she was standing right there too.

The reading is Thursday February 21 at 7:30, in the Troy Moore Library at Georgia State University; it is open to the public. Earlier that day the New South’s Writing Workshop will host the third annual Conference on Literary Publishing, which is sponsored in part by Five Points and Poets & Writers. However, I believe the Conference may only be open to students and faculty at GSU.

February 1, 2008 0

WANTED

Ok. So. (imagine hand gestures meant to convey encouragement and excitement. )

I’m interested in profiling tattoo artists (and fabulous original tat work) in future issues of SUB-LIT. Please spread the word to those who might be interested. Submissions are open. I’d love to see some high quality photos of original tattoo work, as well as the usual photography, painting, comics, drawing, etc. I am open to anything, just make it good. It’s fun. It’s basically free advertising, especially if you own a studio or shop.

Amber Nicole Brooks
Art Editor
SUB-LIT

www.SUB-LIT.com

www.myspace.com/sublit

February 1, 2008 0

Happenings

Five Points will be at AWP in New York City this year: January 30-February 2. Last year, the convention was in our hometown, Atlanta, and it was a blast. I, regretfully, am unable to make it this year. But be sure to come visit my colleagues at booth B68 at the book fair. We have new bear badges and great deals on subscriptions.

SUB-LIT is accepting submissions for the next issue and beyond. I need art, photography, high quality photos of original tattoo work. Check out the latest issue. Spread the word to artists and writers.

Edward Hirsch will read at Georgia State University on March 17, 4:00 in the Troy Moore Library. Why anything is scheduled on St. Patrick’s day, I don’t know. But you should go anyway.

January 19, 2008 0

Keegan Quotes

“Here’s some fish. It came from an old headache. It’s a big fat purple fish.” [Holding a wad of purple Play-Do]

[whispering in my ear] “Tyson puts his thumb in his mouth. He has a backpack with cars on it.”

[seriously] “Mommy, put this band-aid on your arm fur.” [Thanks, kiddo.]

[triumphantly] “This. This is my treasure chest!” [carting an empty Beast Light box he stuffed with curtain tie backs]

“Christmas trees are GREEN!” [I tried to have us buy a sparkly aqua one. We got a sparkly green one instead.]

“Cows make milk.” [Me: “Yes, and butter and cheese are made from…”] “NO! Goats make butter, and they carry it to the store. CHICKENS make the cheese.”[looking at me like I’m sooo out of the loop]

January 18, 2008 1

Meditations.

I’ve been having all sorts of fascinating conversations with my son lately. He just turned three. He’s not only a sponge for language, but his fantasy world is rich, often logical, surprising. He’ll rattle off a five minute narrative that begins with something concrete (the toilet overflowed) and leads to detailed fantasy (the account of building the boat after the entire house filled with water). We’ve been discussing, for weeks, the difference between “drain” and “drought.” A drought is hard to grasp, I guess. It equals “drain” in his speech. We can’t put more water in the bathtub because of the drought. And maybe the leaky drain.

Lately he’s been talking about dying: “Pick up the elephant [stuffed toy] or he will die! He fell into the water [the floor by the couch].” The couch is the boat, of course. Neither his father or I have cable, so he doesn’t watch much t.v. He watches his share of dvds, but they’re Sesame Street, Bob the Builder, that kind of thing. I’ve figured out he gets a lot of information from school, a Montessori school where ages 3-6 are in the same class. It’s a pretty structured class, but they do have time to chat on the playground.

Me: “Keegan, what is die? What do you mean?”

Him: “Die? That’s when you get lost.” (Looking at me like I’m an idiot for asking)

His explanation broke my heart. For one, it’s an appropriate explanation for his age. Or maybe it is what really happens. Maybe death is getting lost. I like that idea. So. I’ve been telling him not to worry about the elephant getting lost, that he’s just fine, that our boat is safe. But he has a mind for the dramatic. And there will always be older kids on the playground. We’ll see what comes up next week.

January 9, 2008 1

CL Fiction Contest Celebration

If you’re in Atlanta, you should stop by the Creative Loafing Fiction Contest Party on Thursday the 10th. It starts at seven. Two of my friends won first and second place this year. (Last year, if you remember, the great Brett Bender won first place.) This year, Laurah Norton Raines (she recruited me to work at SUB-LIT) placed first. Sam Miller (his work has appeared in McSweeney’s) placed second.

January 8, 2008 0

Creative Loafing Fiction Contest

The 2008 Creative Loafing fiction contest is officially over, and so are my hopes and dreams. Just kidding, sort of. Two of my friends claimed first and second place. Right now that list of names is on the DL, but I’m told I can give away names as of Monday the 7th. So check back then. As usual, there will be a celebration. From an email I got from CL:

Regardless, we¹d still like to invite you to the Fiction Contest party on
Thursday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m. at Eyedrum (Suite 8, 290 MLK Jr. Drive SE,
Atlanta, GA 30312; 404.522.0655, www.eyedrum.org).

The party, which is free to the public, is a great opportunity to meet other
writers in the community, listen to readings of the three winning entries,
and enjoy some live music and refreshments.We¹ll have beer on sale, with food and beverages provided by Café Intermezzo.

Aside from the readings, we¹ll have appearances and book
signings by our panel of judges (David Fulmer, Joshilyn Jackson and Fiona
Zedde). (Bound to Be Read Books will be on hand to supply copies of the
authors¹ works, but purchases are not necessary; bring your own copies if
you have ¹em.)We¹re also happy to welcome the ambient sounds of Duet for Theramin and Lap Steel. (Check out their music at http://duetonline.net.)

Please come help Creative Loafing (along with the Chattahoochee Review)
support Atlanta¹s burgeoning literary scene. We think you¹ll like what you
hear.

January 4, 2008 0

SUB-LIT Issue 3: The Art

Dear SUB-LIT readers,

A few words on the art in issue three:

Kimy Martinez’s paintings from her Seizing Me collection are images created for an independent film: Seizing Me, a psychological thriller. The “Seizing Me, Razor,” “Seizing Me, Buckle,” and “Seizing Me, Key” are realistic images with a distinct style: extreme lights and extreme darks are juxtaposed in a way to make the realistic subject matter almost more real, more present, more startling. The images command a presence, demand attention, creating a feeling of edginess, an edginess mirrored in the actions and gestures of the female figure.

Amy Johnson’s images may at first appear deceptively simple, but her paintings are jarring in their outward expression; “Been there done that” is a subversive, comic gesture toward a archetypal image and theme. Johnson has a knack for reworking traditional motifs into something engaging. Her work is deceptively playful; the play is doing directive work on the viewer, if you look closely.

H.L. Groen’s “Kinnari” is striking in its implications, the blending of woman and bird; Groen’s painting, with its bold colors and strong profile, stands confident. The image of the Kinnari, though solitary, points forward and backward to a large body of religious and mythological writings. Groen’s representation of woman sums up the selections I’ve made for this issue, representations of the world as painted by women.

Although I in no way sought out the theme of women and painting, the selections I was left mulling over at the end of the reading period happened to all be works of the same medium, and the artists happened to all be women. A theme, not preconceived, emerged for this issue. I hope you enjoy the selections.

And don’t forget to send me your art. I’d love to see more photography. Spread the word.

Sincerely,

Amber Nicole Brooks

Art Editor, SUB-LIT

January 3, 2008 0