Ravi Mangla's Blog, page 37
January 1, 2013
"Italia" @ Wigleaf
I have a new story—”Italia“—in Wigleaf:
In this country, bird droppings are considered good luck. I say to her, Honey, in this country, bird droppings are considered good luck.
She scoops the waste off her shoulder with a city map. She says, Good luck or not, I don’t appreciate being shit on.
(Also, I highly recommend checking out some the recent stories on the site. A lot of killer pieces.)
December 28, 2012
"Third Party" by Joanna Ruocco
He put down her palm and began to tap a rhythm on her chest, a gesture that might have seemed absentminded but instead impressed her as simple and exuberant. Then he caught up her hand again and said, “That was the penultimate.” Of course the man, who was also very young, meant something positive, he meant super ultimate, he meant that he had enjoyed himself, that it had been wonderful, their fucking, the best fuck of his life. He was the sort of man who would say something like that, a positive, sensitive man whose sincerity she questioned, although he always behaved in accordance with his expressed intentions and his expressed intentions were mild and consistent, not to mention kind, generous, and flattering to her ego. As their acquaintance deepened, and with it, her suspicions, she began to worry more and more about her character. Why did she question the man’s sincerity? Why was she always looking for the worst in people? What vileness in her did she want to see borne out in the rest of humankind?
- “Third Party” by Joanna Ruocco (from Web Conjunctions)
December 26, 2012
2012 Year in Review (Fiction)
STORIES
“Outlander” in American Short Fiction
“Loafer” in matchbook
“A Good Meal” in Treehouse
“Spoils” in Matter Press
“Herbert Hoover” in Melville House
“Tot” in Corium Magazine
HUMOR
“But Enough About Me” in FRiGG
“Rejection Notes #1: Norman Mailer” in BULL
EBOOK
Blurb from Artistically Declined Press
December 17, 2012
December 11, 2012
Grace Paley
I think sometimes when people write, they don’t really write about all of life in a way. They’ll write about some guy who’s all fucked up, and who cares? We know all about all those fucked up people. And to me, they’re not interesting any more. I mean, people in pain are, but not people who are so totally in their own pain that they don’t notice any pain around them at all.
- Grace Paley interviewed by Gail Pool and Shirley Roses at the Boston Review
December 8, 2012
Jonathan Lethem
LS: What about envying other writers?
JL: Every human life includes moments of rage at unrecognition. We’re all injustice collectors. But that’s not the truth of any situation. I don’t mean to pretend that those bad feelings don’t exist. I know them intimately; they’re daily friends. But once you give them their name and shape, they’re like a set of really lousy cats living in your house. You kick them out of the way to get to where you’re going.
- Jonathan Lethem, The Art of Fiction No. 177 (from The Paris Review)
December 7, 2012
"Safety" by Lauren Becker
I filed a police report. I noted a few things that were missing. Things of little value. A silver ring engraved with a deer’s head, a pair of fleece socks, a little pair of scissors for trimming my cat’s claws. He put the scissors and the socks back later. In places they hadn’t been.
People joked that it was a ghost. They do, still. Ghosts do not try to break into your apartment when they see you are there.
- “Safety” by Lauren Becker (from The Rumpus)
December 4, 2012
What We Tweet About When We Tweet About Writing #4
- Don’t forget, President Obama’s victory assures many of us at least two more opportunities to not be awarded fellowships from the NEA. - Samuel Amadon (@samuelamadon)
- I’ve been reading the most boring book while working out lately. Somehow though it bores me so much I forget I’m exercising. - Ryan W. Bradley (@rwrkb)
- a pulitzer to whoever can shout their novel the loudest - Darby Larson (@darbylarson)
- Guys, my novel keeps getting stuck at the scene where my hero drinks coffee at his desk. What else do people do? Put on sweatpants? - Adam Peterson (@AdmPtrsn)
- Don’t gloat, five-year-old niece. I can read “chapter books,” too. - Matthew Simmons (@matthewjsimmons)
- just wish there were more stories in the third-person about semi-wealthy people at dinner parties who’re in sad, semi-crumbling marriages. - Sarah Rose Etter (@sarahroseetter)
- Awkward moment with my agent today when he said, “You know I’m just a squirrel who lives in your yard, right?” We try not talk about that. - Steve Himmer (@SteveHimmer)
- Rumors are true: in an effort to stay competitive I am in talks to merge with another author. - Jess Walter (@Jess__Walter)
- All I want is for my book to get published, and also lots of other stuff - Alice Bolin (@alicebolin)
- Still, I understand why some think book awards should only go to famous artists. That’s what’s kept the Grammys so very relevant. - Michael Schaub (@michaelschaub)
December 2, 2012
November 28, 2012
Seven Quick and Easy Ways to Spur Economic Growth
1) Repeal No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service. Customers shouldn’t be turned away due to improper clothing. Not in America.
2) Restore market confidence by telling our market that it’s prettier than all the other markets, despite what some might say (yes, I’m looking at you, China).
3) Provide tax incentives to small money laundering operations that have been hit hard by the recession. Let’s get our bills circulating again.
4) Put 5 to 10 Cash Cabs in every major American city. (We should also consider reviving Supermarket Sweep.)
5) Politely ask companies to stop shipping jobs overseas. Find someone with a really convincing sad face to negotiate the deal.
6) Invest in cold fusion. It’s entirely possible. I saw it done in a movie once.
7) Encourage middle and lower-income children to pan for gold. (Has anyone checked the sewers?)
