I think this image speaks for itself.
As referenced in the previous post, I will not be around for a minute, or two weeks to be exact. Where will I be? In the greatest van to ever tour the United States of America. That’s right: a handful of writers will be coming to a city near you sometime soon. Check out the Dollar Store website for dates, locations and times.
See ya soon!
Kind of the opposite of this.
That’s a nice round number on which to take a hiatus, I think. A story of mine was just rejected from the fancy new magazine, The Collagist.
It seems Mr. Bell’s reasoning was that they aren’t taking work for the first few issues from Dzanc authors, which, I think, makes perfect sense. I actually hoped this might be the case when I sent the story, but indeed, I was excited and thought I’d at least try.
Anyways, get pumped. It seems obvious this journal is gonna rock.
Hola. Please check out the new issue of Gander Press Review. It is quite lovely and features attractive geese icons as well as the work of the following:
Ignatius Valentine Aloysius — J. David Bell — Catherine Bergart— Ryan W. Bradley – Mark DeCarteret — Adam Deutsch — William Doreski — Dave Engeldrum- Richard Fein — Jéanpaul Ferro — Roland Goity — Gordon A. Graves -Alamgir Hashmi — Kai Hoffman-Krull — Jac Jemc — Zachary Kluckman -Jane Rosenberg LaForge — Peggy Landsman — Krystal Languell — Gregory Lawless -Laura LeHew — Carol Levin — Kurt Luchs — Lisa Markowitz -Robert McGowan — Kristine Ong Muslim — Benjamin Nardolilli — Patrick Nevins-Taylur Thu Hien Ngo — Derrick Paulson — Simon Perchik
— Nahid Rachlin -Marina D. Rubin — Sarah Salway — Adeline Scout — William Seaton -Ron Singer — Johanna Stoberock — Carolyn Stoloff — Ray Succre -Janice Krasselt Tatter — Donna D. Vitucci — Mark Vogel — Anne Walls -Anne Whitehouse — Shellie Zacharia
Maybe I need a different tactic.
I cannot crack the SmokeLong shell. They continue to send me rejections praising my language/ sentences, but apparently my stories are not up to par. I can’t figure it out.
A year and ahlf ago I had the pleasure of TAing for a class called “Text Off the Page” at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The class features a gallery show at the end of the semester along with a response reading. We made a book of the work featured in that show that you can look at here.
Then, last fall, I was invited to write a response to one of the pieces in the 2008 show, and that whole show, including part of my response, can be found here.
These are really incredible publications representing what were terrific gallery show/ response nights. Go flip through the books if you havea minute. There are lots of gorgeous color photos. Finally something ultra-browsable to share.
This has kind of been my life for the last few months. I will make you laugh, if you ask me about it.
I’m posting a couple times in June (which is almost over) at the Our Stories Blog. We’re allowed to post about anything literary, and mostly I just ramble a bunch about how things are obviously changing in huge ways, especially in the world of publishing/ writing, and how it makes me nervous and excited, but also fearful of people like this dude I went on a date with who had spear tattoos and didn’t understand that he was a living animal and not a robot who could solely function in some other realm.
There are details about this date at the Our Stories Blog. You should go there.
Also, I should really start a blog about the dates I’ve been on in the last 4 months. You would crack up. If you email me at jacjemc@gmail.com, I will tell you a story. I have a minimum of 21 of them. I will email one date to each person who asks in chronological order. Srsly. I don’t know what got into me. I have an addictive personality. I am saying it aloud.
I lied. I don't have any of those cds. Even if I did download the single of "Jellyhead" because it reminded me of Junior High Teen Night. Whoa. So many awkward-young-person social gatherings referenced in this post. You have been warned.
Score! I am back in the game with Diagram. I got a little personal note from Ander this time saying that he was passing, but not without interest. He also said I’d sent “interesting poems” and pointed out a line he especially liked.
This night has been salvaged, even after I was run out of what I hoped would be a marathon writing night at the coffee shop by a newly minted “High School Open Mic Night.”
And, yup, “SCORE!” is back in my vernacular. Anyone want to borrow my Jock Jams cds?
Top of the list. I am not even joking.
Why do I submit to Zoetrope? Because the starfucker in me loves the idea that Lou Reed or Guillermo del Tor0 or Mark Mothersbaugh might read my work.
You know…that and the reasons I submit to any other magazine I like.
Anyone know a way to figure out who the next guest-designer is before the issue comes out. If Christopher Walken was editing an issue and I somehow missed that window, I might not recover.
Give it up.
Come hang out at Quickies. Duh.
Here is the awesome line-up:
Dave Reidy
Fred Sasaki
Scott Stealey
Jac Jemc
Steve Tartaglione
and a Secret reader!
Even I don’t know who this Secret Reader is. Harriet the Spy knows, I think, but she wouldn’t give it up even with the tickle torture I inflicted on her.
QUICKIES!
Tuesday, June 9
7:30pm
The Innertown Pub
Chicago
Gin looks just like water, but it smells like Christmas trees.
Bombay Gin doesn’t want the batch of poems I sent them. 6 months later, no one else has either. I was really hoping they’d take these, just to make my Dad proud. I thought he’d like the name of this journal, what with all of the “special waters” I’ve fetched for him at family gatherings.
