Joe Meno's Blog, page 2
August 12, 2023
Question Mark, Ohio. Part One finale. Get caught up at: questionmarkohio.com. Video by Todd Baxter…
Question Mark, Ohio. Part One finale. Get caught up at: questionmarkohio.com. Video by Todd Baxter of baxterphoto.com.
Come visit Question Mark, Ohio, the novel-across the internet created by Joe Meno and Dan Sinker….
Come visit Question Mark, Ohio, the novel-across the internet created by Joe Meno and Dan Sinker. Visit the Reader’s Guide below:
May 5, 2022
Coming September...
Coming September 2022.
http://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/book-of-extraordinary-tragedies/
Aleksandar and Isobel are siblings and former classical music prodigies, once destined for greatness. As the only Eastern European family growing up on their block on the far southside of Chicago, the pair were inseparable until each was forced to confront the absurdity of tragedy at an early age and abandon their musical ambitions.Now in their twenties, they find themselves encountering ridiculous jobs, unfulfilling romantic relationships, and the outrageousness of ordinary life. Doomed by fate, a family history of failure, an odd mother, an absent father, and a younger brother with a peculiar fondness for catastrophes, the two siblings have all but given up.But when an illness forces Isobel and her three-year-old daughter to move back into the family home, Aleks becomes deeply involved in the endless challenges that surround his relatives. Once Isobel begins playing cello again, Aleks comes to see a world of possibility and wonder in the lives of his extraordinarily complicated family.
January 28, 2020
Coming June 2,...
Coming June 2, 2020.
https://www.counterpointpress.com/dd-product/between-everything-and-nothing/
“Ambitious exposé of the troubled immigration system as seen through the lens of two African migrants’ experiences.Meno, a professor of creative writing and prolific fiction writer, tracks the grueling journeys of his complexly rendered protagonists, Razak and Seidu, both from Ghana, one fleeing a murderous family dispute, the other a promising soccer player facing persecution after being outed as bisexual. The author portrays them convincingly as hapless pawns in a massive explosion of migration, countered in the Americas with greed and cruelty. Even for those with legitimate reasons to seek shelter, like his protagonists, “the asylum process in the U.S. has become its own inviolable system.” The narrative is both sprawling and controlled, as Meno alternates between a terrifying account of their attempts to reach safety across the Canadian border during a blizzard and the longer-term arc of their improbable, brutal journeys as migrants…Meno writes deftly, with a fine sense of detail and place, bringing an all-too-common story to life.A well-paced and engaging account, highly relevant to current political debates.” -Kirkus, starred review
“When Ghanaian refugees Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal meet by chance at a bus stop on a freezing night in Minneapolis, in December 2016, each man had already been on a long and torturous journey to reach the United States. Razak fled Ghana for Brazil after his half-siblings brutally attacked him in an effort to rob him of his part of his inheritance from their father. Seidu, 11 years Razak’s junior, traveled to Brazil for soccer tryouts, but when his coach caught him in bed with another man, he fled, fearing retribution from the anti-LGBT Ghanaian government. Both men set off across South America, heading for the U.S., and facing perils ranging from armed robbers to swindlers, starvation, dehydration, and bureaucratic officials seeking bribes as they made their way through Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. When the men finally arrived in the U.S. to apply for asylum, they were incarcerated and thrown into a system so hostile, and so brutal, each of them was forced to look north to Canada for sanctuary, despite having relatives in the U.S. In his first nonfiction book, acclaimed fiction writer Meno (Marvel and a Wonder, 2015) presents a powerful and eye-opening recounting of each asylum-seeker’s harrowing odyssey, essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the current immigration crisis.”-Booklist, starred review
“A suspenseful account of two Ghanaian refugees’ quest for political asylum … Meno’s well-written story of survival and friendship puts individual faces on the plight of millions of refugees around the world. Readers will be equal parts outraged and inspired by this novelistic account.” ―Publishers Weekly
“The most important book I’ve read in a long time, Between Everything and Nothing vividly dramatizes what the world needs to know about the tragic effects of our corrupt and dehumanizing immigration system. Though harrowing, the story of Seidu Mohammed and Razak Iyal is also deeply inspiring, revealing how two powerless but fiercely courageous asylum seekers, battered by years of injustice and cruelty, held fast to their religious faith, their dignity, and their love and hope for humanity.” ―Sigrid Nunez, author of The Friend
Please read an excerpt:
Forthcoming June 2020.
Forthcoming June 2020.
July 25, 2017
Read Joe Meno’s serial novella on Electric...
Read Joe Meno’s serial novella on Electric Literature:
Joe Meno’s serial novella appearing on Electric Literature on...
Joe Meno’s serial novella appearing on Electric Literature on August 14, 2017.
