Kiss As Many Women As You Can

by Franki Elliot, Shawn Stucky (Illustrations)

"The typewriter idea got my attention, but the writing kept me hooked. Franki's stories have soul and wit, but are also made of real flesh and blood."—Drew Dernavich, cartoonist for The New Yorker "Franki Elliot's creative writing experiment is proving to be a unique blend of performance art, public art, literature, and text-based multimedia."— L.A. Weekly "Sometimes I run across a poem that makes me second guess my opinion on poetry. It could be a line in the poem that impresses me. Or a person in the poem that makes me wonder what he'd be like in another situation. Or a relationship that makes me want to know if it worked out. Or a memory I have while reading the poem. For me, Piano Rats by Franki Elliot had all of the above."— Chicago Tribune Kiss As Many Women As You Can presents new Franki Elliot "typewriter stories" in an art book brimming with full-color detachable postcards adorned with Chicagoan Shawn Stucky's ethereal paintings. Stucky's work has been shown across the United States and Europe, most notably at Aldo Castillo Gallery, Chicago (2009); Ferreira Projects, London (2008); and Sundlaugin (the recording studio of Sigur Rós) in Mosfellsbær, Iceland (2007). Franki Elliot is a music industry professional making a name for herself by crafting typewritten stories for people upon the suggestion of a word or phrase, as covered by L.A. Weekly and Flavorpill . Curbside Splendor published her first book Piano Rats to critical acclaim.

Genres: Poetry

55 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2013

About the author

Franki Elliot is the critically acclaimed author of Stories for People Who Hate Love (2018), Piano Rats and Kiss as Many Women as You Can (via Curbside Splendor Publishing). She has received praise from The Paris Review, Chicago Tribune, Paper Magazine, Time Out, etc.

The Chicago Tribune says Elliot writes poetry for people who hate poetry.

The Paris Review named her book Piano Rats as "awkward, offensive and ultimately heartbreaking."

Reviews

[Edward Rathke]

A brief but beautiful book. Captures that momentariness of love and life, and has amazing images to accompany the postcards.

Well worth a look, and it'll only take a bit to make your way through the whole book.

[Melissa Reddish]

I bought Piano Rats on a whim because it looked like the kind of poetry I had been reading lately, and it did not disappoint. The poems (or stories) are beautiful, meandering, searching, colloquial, and constantly surprising. To me, they seemed to represent the endless possibilities juxtaposed against the looming existential dread of being in your 20s. (That sentence may be the most pretentious thing I've ever written.)

So when Curbside Splendor offered a Gold membership for half the price, I jumped on it partially because I knew this author had another book. The poems (or stories) in this book fulfill the promise of delving into other people's lives while maintaining the same voice as the first book. And, of course, there are two important additions: the artwork by Shawn Stucky and the postcard format.

The postcard format perfectly encapsulates the ephemeral nature of these poems while giving the reader a chance to make his or her own connection with another, much as the author did with her typewriter. The artwork too seems to match the tone of the poems while adding a distinct artistic point of view. After reading a book of ekphrasis by this same publisher, these poems and artwork seem to embody the overall aesthetic impression, if not the exact rules, of ekphrasis.

Definitely recommend. And if you enjoyed this book, pick up Piano Rats.

[Jen]

I received this book as part of a giveaway here on GoodReads. I was thrilled when it arrived. It is postcard sized, paperback copy. The stories inside are intriguing, with a lonely sort of poetry to them that makes the soul ache and feels recognizable somehow. Like something you've read before, it evokes a nostalgic sense of having been there, while experiencing the power of the stories and art together for the first time.

I am picking over the postcards to decide which ones to keep and frame--the stories are short, but strong--and which ones to send to my favorite people!

I love this book! I might even purchase a few for people for Christmas..its a perfect gift. For yourself and others. Loved it!

[Nicole Jacob]

Franki Elliot is my role model. She's everything I've ever wanted to be as a writer. It's quick, witty, catchy, and beautiful. Everything in this book, Kiss As Many Women As You Can, is so thought provoking and interesting... it makes you want to sit down with Franki and discuss all your feelings with her in hopes she can turn your story into something funny and beautiful for the rest of the world.

[Donna]

Really cool use of rip & share postcards. Artwork is fantastic. The backstory on this book is also very interesting:
http://frankielliottypewriter.tumblr....

[J.A.]

I didn't really know what to expect from this book, which was nice, because it was unexpectedly beautiful and moving - like Cummings peppered with Bukowski. And Shawn Stucky's artwork is both charming and whimsical - fantastic eye-candy between each poem. Another stellar release by Curbside.

[Brian Perusek]

I was gifted a few copies of piano rats. One was read and now on the book shelf, the others were buried under sand in the Great Lakes region, waiting for someone to discover tomorrow or years from now. Then came the pink typewriter. The idea always reminds me of that poet on the street in Paris in before sunrise (or sunset), Linklater's masterpiece... "sweet cakes and milkshakes, I'm a delusion angel on a fantasy parade." But they knew, despite the magic in these words, that he was a scam. Franki brought this to new life, in person, genuinely, non-scam romantics on a pink typewriter. Long before these words, she used to write love letters; love letter type writer. I find I these words to be an extension of those times. Great read for a night in - on a cold winter night next to the fire. Kiss as many women as you can, or at least try to.

[LemontreeLime]

I won this in a giveaway and had no idea what kind of book this was going to be. A quick read, a book of postcards really, but i found that i enjoyed it. Imagine 'Deep thoughts by Jack Handey' with more feeling as interpreted via haiku and a smith corona, to be dispersed as non-sequiter postcards, and there you have Elliot. The art was an inspired variation of the steampunk fashion, I really enjoyed how Stucky manipulated the images. They had layers and depth, the longer you examined them the more you saw. I bet these two can take this concept to the next level and really rock some socks with their next book. Keep going!

[Staci Ann.]

I think this is one of the most unique books I've ever encountered. It may be short but the poems are powerful and thoughtful and the illustrations are absolutely wonderful. What's even better is that you can rip out pages and share them with friends if you want to. A very lovely book.

[c.vance c.vance]

To clarify: the book as object is a 4*--- the binding and perforation. Full color post cards as a book that can be maimed and sent to friends. It is beautiful.

The illustrations within are-- y'know --slightly bizarre things that make cute post cards. I'd not hesitate to send them to my mom, so they have that going against them. Still, they are better than sending along photographs of half-eaten ham sandwiches.

The writing? It's fine. It's in the 2-3* range. It's... it's like if A Softer World did a book of all the quirky lines you never really cared for from their comics. It's still good, but it's not that good.

[Sarah]

I know this isn't intended to be a read-in-one-sitting book (or perhaps read as a book at all), but I enjoyed flipping through the simple but heartfelt typewriter poems and the beautiful illustrations.

[Victor Giron]

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