Scott Nicolay

Ana Kai Tangata

Tag: BizarroCon

Garrett Cook: Narrative Tyranny and the Gilawalrus in the Living Room | The Outer Dark: Episode 28 — JANUARY 21, 2016

Cook-HungryWallsGarrett Cook discusses his latest novel A God of Hungry Walls, an extreme, brutally transgressive and claustrophobic haunted house tale that not only pushes the limits of Bizarro but provides the latest twist on a lineage of “malevolent genius loci” that starts with Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House. Twisted topics include the influence of “growing up in a grim and antiquated place,” i.e. New England, his commitment to make each story “really different,” literary and cinematic influences from Robert Marasco’s Burnt Offerings to Clive Barker’s Coldheart Canyon, uncomfortable intimacy among roommates, using narrative to invoke an unpleasant hypnotic state, his poetry roots, Dante (yes, that Dante), existential psychosis that doesn’t trace back to anything, avoiding haunted house story tropes such as the psychic, the microfiche research scene, the occult detective and the Scooby Doo ending, a Nouveau Roman approach that makes the novel seem like Jack Ketchum’s Last Spring at Marienbad,” the tyrannical nature of surrealism versus Bizarro’s narrative omnipotence, Jeff Burk’s couch, and bench-switching and writing in his own swan spot. Garrett also talks about some of his other works, including his first novel Murderland, his first foray into Bizarro Archelon Ranch, his intentionally historically inaccurate science fiction novel Time Pimp, and his short story collection You Might Just Make It Out of This Alive (Eraserhead Press).

widenerThe conversation then veers to the relationship between weird and Bizarro and Bizarro Central’s New Bizarro Author Series, which Garrett edited, including Karl Fischer’s Towers, Betty Rocksteady’s Arachnophile, Madeleine Swan’s Rainbows Suck, Chris MeekingsElephant Vice, Anthony Trevino’s King Space Void, Christoph Paul’s Slasher Camp for Nerd Dorks, Pedro Proença’s Benjamin and Lee Widener’s Rock n Roll Head Case, which Garrett calls the “absolute buy-ticket-and-ride” of the series or “Bill Plimpton’s Laser Blast.” He also “screams” about Autumn Christian, Danger Slater, and John Skipp, who is publishing them both via his Fungasm Press, a groundbreaking new imprint from Eraserhead. Finally: Garrett’s new performance series in Portland, Ore., Gilbert Road Grotesque, co-hosted by Alicia Graves, and hats.

furnace_cover_sm-662x1024News from the Weird:. Arkham Digest columnist/Strange Aeons fiction editor Justin Steele joins Scott once again with the latest about Livia Llewellyn, Richard Gavin, Xnoybis 2, Nightscript 2, Lost Signals, and more. Then special guest Michael Griffin unveils The Lure of Devouring Light, his much-anticipated first collection, now available for preorder from Word Horde Press and scheduled for release in April 2016. I have no erection, and am afraid that Levitra 20mg may be a problem. And Justin reviews Christopher Slatsky’s Alectryomancer and Other Weird Tales (Dunhams Manor Press).

This archival episode will be available again at This Is Horror soon. In the meantime, subscribe at iTunes or Blubrry to make sure you don’t miss an episode.

Next week’s guest: Mark Shapiro, marketing/brand management at Laika Studios (ParaNorman, Coraline) talks about this innovative stop-motion animation house’s upcoming release Kubo and the Two Strings.

More Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Autumn-Christian/e/B006QJ5USQ

https://www.theionpublishing.com/books/the-benighted-path-primeval-gnosis-and-the-monstrous-soul/

Rios de la Luz: Magical Surrealism, Martian Gemstones and Guardian Abuelas | The Outer Dark: Episode 27 — JANUARY 13, 2016

rios-pulseRios de la Luz explores the “inner workings that were happening in her brain” while writing her first collection The Pulse Between Dimensions and the Desert, and Scott’s suggestion that her stories resemble the Martian gemstones depicted within–each unique, energetic, fresh, multifaceted, and yet interconnected. Notions of magic realism, time travel, science fiction, Junot Diaz, Ray Bradbury, Lucius Shepard, Star Trek, Doctor Who, and her love of outer space and comic books, especially Los Bros Hernandez’s Love and Rockets, emerge, as well as working with her publisher Ladybox Books, a rising imprint of Broken River Books and being part of the dynamic small press community in Portland, Oregon. The discussion also explores diversity as a rising force in both authors and audience for spec-lit, including Rios’ identity as a “Latina-Chicana-Bruja” writer but “mostly just a strange brown girl,” as well as using Spanish to reset rhythm in her narratives, growing up in El Paso, discovering her favorite writer Sandra Cisneros and her passion for creating young characters like herself, including her excitement in seeing female, African and Guatemalan leads in Star Wars and a black Hispanic super-hero in Spider-Man Miles Morales. Another ever-present element in her writing is the guardian abuela, reflecting the importance of her grandmother and great grandmother to whom she says she “owes so much.” Also queer characters, the awkwardness of puberty (“Church Bush”), disappeared women, dead children (“La Reina”), her complicated feelings about borders and a short reading of her hauntingly beautiful story “Marigolds.Hey bros out there. For your own sake, don’t ever take two big Levitra Generic.” Finally, Rios talks about what’s next for her including flash fiction, zines, two horror stories, a bizarro tale and a novel, as well as recommending poet Yesika Salgado, aka Yesika Starr, fellow Ladybox Books author Meliza Bañales, aka Missy Fuego, and Vanessa Mártir.

10374457_627170827394930_3262260669077353846_nNews from the Weird: Ladybox Books Head Editor/Curator Constance Ann Fitzgerald joins Scott to talk more about this innovative women-run press/collective, how it got started, its exciting slate of “fiercely talented” authors, the rebirth of the zine and the current dynamic and label-defying small press scene.

 

Next week’s guest: Garrett Cook, author of You Might Just Make It Out of This Alive (Eraserhead Press)

11059843_737530326358979_7942642027074885308_nMore links:

Yesika’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/yesikastarr

https://www.autostraddle.com/hidden-gems-of-queer-lit-meliza-banales-life-is-wonderful-people-are-terrific-307618/

One of Meliza’s short stories: https://ladyboxbooks.com/2015/02/08/story-of-the-week-face-lift/#more-131

https://www.facebook.com/States-of-Terror-289014071299287/?fref=ts

News From the Weird:

https://ladyboxbooks.com/2014/09/27/ladybox-on-sale-october-15th/

The Punk Singer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwrXC5OXqgc

https://pioneerspress.com/

Varieties of Weirdness Panel at BizarroCon 2015 | The Outer Dark: Special Presentation — NOVEMBER 9, 2015

bizarroconpanelModerator: Ross E. Lockhart. Panelists: Garrett Cook, G. Arthur Brown, Mike Griffin, Rios De La Luz.

Writers and editors working in Bizarro and Weird discuss the Germanic origins of the word “weird” in “wyrd” and how its association with fate and destiny continues in the contemporary Weird narrative form, whether Weird and Bizarro grew out of same sense of the Weird or are unrelated movements, authors who have walked between the lines of Weird or Bizarro in mind-blowing works of fiction, film and comics, the importance of dream realms and logic in Bizarro Weird fiction, if New Weird and Bizarro are different blurry wings on the same creature, similarities to the loud versus quiet horror rift, artificial taxonomies and bleed-through, slipstream as literary effect, Bizarro as a movement and a community, irreality versus surreality and how it might relate to Weird, objective vs. subjective lies, magic in fantasy versus Bizarro, and more.

Thanks to Helen Hopley for the panel photo.

This archival episode will be available again at This Is Horror soon. In the meantime, subscribe at iTunes  or Blubrry to make sure you don’t miss an episode.

More Links:

https://bizarrocon.com/

https://www.fedoganandbremer.com/products/ana-kai-tangata-deluxe-limited

https://wordhorde.com/

https://cafeirreal.alicewhittenburg.com/index.htm

Next on Nov. 11: Orrin Grey, author of Painted Monsters & Other Strange Beasts.

The Leveling Up of Justin Steele | The Outer Dark: Episode 18 — NOVEMBER 4, 2015

IMG_1847Justin Steele, The Outer Dark’s resident reviewer, talks about his vision as the new fiction editor for Strange Aeons, how he went from fan to big-time editor, the roots of his blog Arkham Digest, the weirdness of growing up and living in Delaware, how he got into horror books and Universal classic monster and giallo movies on VHS, the significance of the 2013 NecronomiCon Providence and its role in the secret origins and intelligent design of The Children of Old Leech which he co-edited with Ross E. Lockhart, books and whiskey pairings, future projects which may involve sharpening swords and his own fiction, transgressive writers including Alistair Rennie, why it would be prime time for a new horror anthology TV series adapting the feast of contemporary Weird stories, why Ask Lovecraft’s Leeman Kessler would be the ultimate horror host, and spreading the gospel of the Weird.

b6e048_6104986a2cac4d03acfc094dd6afb65b.jpg_srz_p_130_134_75_22_0.50_1.20_0Plus Kristi DeMeester makes a guest appearance to preview her story, “The Fleshtival,” upcoming in Strange Aeons, and how she had a blast writing something so much more raw and filthy than she is used to, as well as her recently completed first novel, her first collection, more upcoming stories including “To Sleep in the Dust of the Earth” in Shimmer on 12/1, and her recommended current authors including Michael Wehunt.

issue17_1And the debut of News from the Weird.

Please share your Levitra experience, or if you know some one who know the answer.

This archival episode will be available again at This Is Horror soon. In the meantime, subscribe at iTunes or Blubrry to make sure you don’t miss an episode.

Next week’s guest: Orrin Grey, author of Painted Monsters & Other Strange Beasts.

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