Robert Detman's Blog, page 4
November 8, 2014
Another orphan finds a home: Superstition [Review] publishes "Fire"
The estimable Superstition [Review] has selected for publication my short story "Fire." This long forgotten gem, many times altered inextricably from its origins and almost as many times re-titled (formerly known as "Double Kayak"), once went toe to toe with a dozen or more challengers as a finalist for the 2008 New Letters Literary Awards. Goes live December 4th.
October 31, 2014
On having to explain one’s work (or that dumbing down logic)
There
is the idea that, as an artist, you should not have to explain your work. If
there’s any need to explain, it seems to highlight some idea of there being a
flaw in the work. If I attempt to explain my work, which I often feel compelled
to do, it is usually out of a sense that the work will be misunderstood. Or it
is just as much to alert an unsuspecting reader that this may not be what you
is the idea that, as an artist, you should not have to explain your work. If
there’s any need to explain, it seems to highlight some idea of there being a
flaw in the work. If I attempt to explain my work, which I often feel compelled
to do, it is usually out of a sense that the work will be misunderstood. Or it
is just as much to alert an unsuspecting reader that this may not be what you
October 22, 2014
Guerilla Marketing V 2.0
Almost without exception, everyone in publishing speaks of marketing and selling a book in terms that are, let’s be honest,
anathema to most creative writers. The fact is, I doubt very much my fictional
works are going to give you anything of value. I’ll go further and suggest that
they are going to cost you time and maybe some small expenditure of money, and, in
the worst extreme, if you
anathema to most creative writers. The fact is, I doubt very much my fictional
works are going to give you anything of value. I’ll go further and suggest that
they are going to cost you time and maybe some small expenditure of money, and, in
the worst extreme, if you
October 7, 2014
Ben Marcus Responds to My Question on Goodreads
Ben Marcus answered your question
As a writer who writes in a great tradition of the more esoteric and experimental vein of fiction, how do you explain your work to people who probably will not understand it (when they read it), or to those that you can be certain will not understand it?
I don't. That way no one gets killed, no one is harmed, no one grows sad or uncomfortable. I don't think I
As a writer who writes in a great tradition of the more esoteric and experimental vein of fiction, how do you explain your work to people who probably will not understand it (when they read it), or to those that you can be certain will not understand it?
I don't. That way no one gets killed, no one is harmed, no one grows sad or uncomfortable. I don't think I
October 2, 2014
Girl with Curious Hair: On David Foster Wallace as Storyteller
David
Foster Wallace never seemed to care if a reader engaged with his writing or
not. So much of his work seemed to strive for clever performance at the expense
of readability, shunning those willing to go along for the ride.
There’s
a sense Wallace was writing for himself, and in retrospect, we now read his
work and see in it the construction of the edifice of DFW. It is a façade: how
Foster Wallace never seemed to care if a reader engaged with his writing or
not. So much of his work seemed to strive for clever performance at the expense
of readability, shunning those willing to go along for the ride.
There’s
a sense Wallace was writing for himself, and in retrospect, we now read his
work and see in it the construction of the edifice of DFW. It is a façade: how
September 11, 2014
"First Time, Last Time" up at Akashic Books
Akashic Books has posted my short piece, "First Time, Last Time", for their supplement, Thursdaze: Original Flash Fiction Under the Influence. This is an excerpt from my forthcoming novel, Impossible Lives of Basher Thomas. This piece is not, I repeat, not autobiographical!
August 13, 2014
The Second Inaugural Meeting of the Knausgaard Society
A Review of My Struggle: Book Three: Boyhood by Karl Ove Knausgaard
When searching for an explanation for the popularity of Knausgaard’s My Struggle, the real answer lies in the writing. The usual questions arise about the veracity of a translation, but lacking anything else to judge by, all we have is the prose. The popularity and hype has now been doled out in spades. And if there is
When searching for an explanation for the popularity of Knausgaard’s My Struggle, the real answer lies in the writing. The usual questions arise about the veracity of a translation, but lacking anything else to judge by, all we have is the prose. The popularity and hype has now been doled out in spades. And if there is
July 16, 2014
The Li(n)e Between Truth and Invention in Fiction
In the recent biography Updike
by Adam Begley, we learn that the celebrated writer ransacked his entire life
for story material. He did it religiously, assiduously. In fact, he didn’t invent
anything, he merely mined his own life. I found this both a surprise and a
letdown. To read Updike’s stories however, the remarkable observation and
acuity with detail perhaps make up for a deficiency in
by Adam Begley, we learn that the celebrated writer ransacked his entire life
for story material. He did it religiously, assiduously. In fact, he didn’t invent
anything, he merely mined his own life. I found this both a surprise and a
letdown. To read Updike’s stories however, the remarkable observation and
acuity with detail perhaps make up for a deficiency in
July 12, 2014
How to Use Your Short Work to Get Your Long Work Published
The exciting Akashic Books has a regular feature on their website, Thursdaze: Original Flash Fiction Under the Influence, and they have kindly selected a piece from my novel Impossible Lives of Basher Thomas. (This novel is also forthcoming from Figureground Press in October--cover at left--more details to come as they develop.) This excerpt, "First Time, Last Time", goes live on September 11
May 20, 2014
A Reading on the Penultimate Eve of the Possible
HAARP, a literary
journal brought to an unwitting public and published by The Hexagon Press, and as
part of The Possible exhibition in
cooperation with The Berkeley Film Museum & Pacific Film Archive, are
publishing one of my poems, “Of Kafka” in their third and final issue, Vol. 1, No. 3 (scroll down to third issue to see index). In addition, there is a reading at Adobe Books (San Francisco)
journal brought to an unwitting public and published by The Hexagon Press, and as
part of The Possible exhibition in
cooperation with The Berkeley Film Museum & Pacific Film Archive, are
publishing one of my poems, “Of Kafka” in their third and final issue, Vol. 1, No. 3 (scroll down to third issue to see index). In addition, there is a reading at Adobe Books (San Francisco)
