HOBART

I interrupt this action-packed Chapbook Month to bring you contributor news

Yeah, so we've not been great about chapbook month. The month is almost over and although there are plenty of chapbooks around, news of very few of them made it to the blog. Maybe chapbook month can become chapbook financial quarter and we'll just post chapbook-related business here through the end of the year. Or no.

But! 

Recent Hobart contributors have had some happy news lately. And I am here to share it.

-Reynard Seifert, whose story "A Businessman &" appears in this month's Hobart, participated in the first East Bay on the Brain reading series a couple nights ago along with past Hobart contributors Greg Gerke and Stefanie Freele, Ethel Rohan, Timothy Crandle, Roland Goity, Andy Dugas and hosted by Lauren Becker. His reading of "A Businessman &" can be seen in a video posted examiner.com in an article about the literary-tude of the East Bay and readings there in general. Scroll down to the middle-ish part of the article for Reynard's reading. Appropriately, he is wearing a business suit. 

"A Businessman &" also appears in Reynard's chapbook (it's Chapbook month, after all!) How to Skin the Moon. Info about the chapbook, including how you can purchase a copy for yourself, can be found here.

Reynard also edits HAHACLEVER.com, did this and lives online here. Many congrats to him on the recent successes!

-Speaking of recent success, Patrick Wensink, whose story "My Son Thinks He's French" appeared in Hobart last May has just published a collection of stories called Sex Dungeon for Sale, which includes "My Son Thinks He's French" and a handful of other, equally strange goodies. I got my hands on a copy of the book (Pat was very kind to send one to me) and have been really enjoying it. To get a further taste of what to expect, head over to Monkeybicycle to read the title story. I'll be posting a longer, more in depth look at the collection soon. For now, you can buy a copy for yourself right here. 

Carry on!

Our Fearless Leader...

Aaron Burch, founding editor of Hobart, has won the first annual PANK Chapbook Contest. His Chapbook, HOW TO TAKE YOURSELF APART, HOW TO MAKE YOURSELF ANEW: notes and instructions from/for a father, will be published by PANK in January 2010. It'll be also be available with PANK 4, so if don't already subscribe, now might be a good time to start.

October = chapbook month!

So, one of our favorite literary & blogging things every year is Dan Wickett's creation of May as "Short Story Month." Like Dan, short stories are quite possibly my favorite form of writing to read. That said, one of my new favorite formats to read those stories (and, even better and more specifically, short shorts) is the chapbook. Not that the chapbook is new as a format but... you know. It's a relatively new personal favorite. 

I love the small size and being able to carry one around wherever I go. I love when they are letterpressed or even stitched by hand or anything else that shows that a little extra love and care went into the making of the object itself, not just the words inside. I love that they seem the perfect format for these short shorts that I have somewhat fallen in love with (similar to poetry, it seems a few short shorts can be so much more powerful than one individually and, yet, too many and it can be easy to lose sight of them individually as they all start to blur together).

So, all that said, we are going to try to devote this month to highlighting some of our favorite chapbooks, albeit with less drive and effort and commitment than Dan's Short Story Month. Because, for one, we're a bit lazier around these parts. Also, it's already a week into the month. Oops. What can we say? These are crazy and busy times and, also, see previous mention of Hobart's leanings toward laziness.

To start with, we thought we would highlight some chapbook contests. If you know of more, shoot us an email or leave a comment and we'll try to keep this post updated. Also, for what it is worth, we will probably be focusing specifically on publishers that either focus on, or who we know are receptive toward, collection of short shorts. 

PANK (due soon! 10/15/09) -- this will be their first chapbook, so there is no precedent to judge, though we are a huge fan of the journal and most if not all of the Hobart team has contributed or has work there forthcoming. So, obviously we like their tastes, right?

Rose Metal Press (due 12/1/09) -- Previous winners include Claudia Smith, Geoff Forsyth, and Sean Lovelace. Holy shit, right? These are 3 of, if not the 3, our favorite chapbooks. 

Bateau (due 12/31/09) -- what can we say? Bateau is beautiful; like the RMP chaps, there covers are letterpressed and we love what they've done so far. 

New Michigan Press (due 4/30/10) -- we enter this every year, and every year we get no love, but we keep going back for more. Because we love what they put out and so we just can't help ourselves. This one is a ways off, but maybe start trying to get that mess together now no?

Noemi Press (haven't announced this next year's contest yet, but usually due mid-February) 

OK, I am getting tired and going to put this blog post up, even though I know that is only 5 contests, which is a small "list." But I'll add more soon!

-aaron

Best American Essays 2009

First off, big congrats to Mike Alber, whose "Magic: The Essay" from Hobart #9 is credited as a Notable Essay of 2008 in the new BAE. So: congrats! Seriously, if you don't already have Ho9 you should get it right now and then read the essay as soon as you receive the issue. Obviously I'm not the most objective opinion maker here, but this is seriously one of the best essays I've read in recent memory, maybe ever. I mean, it's about Mike soothing his med school failings by getting pretty serious into Magic: The Gathering. Like, serious enough to at one point consider becoming a PROFESSIONAL Magic player. See? You want to read this essay right now, don't you?

All that said, I picked up BAE 2009 a couple of days ago and have read maybe 20-25% of it already and so am now pretty sure Mike's essay wasn't chosen by Mary Oliver for inclusion in the antho because: 1) it isn't boring enough, and 2) he doesn't ever mention being a writer. I don't think. I just went back and skimmed it and don't think there is any mention of his going from med school to an MFA program. This might have even been on my recommendation, as I tend to prefer essays that shy away from the writer's own, you know, writer-y-ness. A prejudice that Oliver obviously doesn't share. Here's a rundown of the issue:

Taking a Reading by Sue Allison: look at the title. last couple of lines: "A ream is a lot of paper, sold and purchased blank. Written on, it's a book."

(En)trance by Chris Arthur: (I haven't read this yet, but here's the first line:) "It was while thinking about pillars at Shandon that I realized I would never be the sort of writer I used to believe I'd become."

Portrait of a Masked man: (also not yet read, though it looks good. doesn't appear to mention writing, though it is about writing's cousin, art. first line:) "I'm sitting in a wood cabin... about to begin drawing a portrait of Subcomandante Marcos."

Faustian Economics by Wendell Berry (also haven't yet read, though looks to avoid my ire)

The Greatest Nature Essay Ever by Brian Doyle (an actually pretty cool short-short though, obviously about an essay)

Cherish This Ecstasy by David James Duncan (I liked this as well, though the premise and

set-up was great and then, frankly, I think it got a little writerly for me. the first sentence of second para:) "The same year that I was researching a novel about birds..."

The Dark Art of Description by Patricia Hampl (not yet read, first para:) "I was coming down the last lap of my most recent book, a memoir about my mother and father, and I was painfully aware of just how specific every bit of writing is, full of choices and chances, not theoretical at all, not the business of sweeping statements or smart ideas about "form" or "genre" or anything remotely theoretical. Just subject-verb-object and the hope of meaning."

And Such SMall Deer by Garret Keizer (looks good though maybe too smart for me. also looks, from super-quick skimming, to avoid meta-"I am a writer" pronouncements, though there are references to The Old Man and the Sea, and The Great Gatsby, and Moby Dick, among others)

Our Vanishing Night by Verlyn Klinkenborg (looks to be most devoid of mentions of writing yet. which feels refreshing right now)

You Be the Moon by Amy Leach (see above. was that just two in a row?)

The Mansion: A Subprime Parable by Michael Lewis (first sent.:) "I was looking to return to New Oreans, where I'd grown up, to write a book."

OK, that's only half the book, but I'm getting tired (I'm not a very good blogger) and you get the idea. One, I guess I've actually read much less than 20% still. And two, I'm not saying there is anything inherently bad in an essay acknowledging that the writer is a, you know, writer, but the above percentage couldn't help but make it a trend that I kept noticing.

Thoughts? Do other people like it, dislike it, care at all?

-aaron

Want to help with Hobart? Intern!

So… I don’t have too much to add beyond the above subject. We are currently in need of some help around here, both in basic behind-the-scenes type stuff as well as reading submissions. If you are interested in learning some of the basics of how a lit journal works, or just want to help out, or are curious how people including myself who are so seemingly disorganized get anything done at all, then contact us! We are going to work on getting this a little more official-sounding and whatnot, though maybe that won’t happen. We’ll see.

If interested, shoot me an email, detailing why you’d like to help, what you’d ideally hope to do, and anything else you might think is relevant.

Thanks!

-aaron

Catch-22

I'm re-reading Joseph Heller's classic and realizing I had forgotten how amazing it is. Tonight I watched the 1970 Mike Nichols film, which is also terrific. You must see it if you haven't.

Still, I had two critical reactions to it.

The first is, I don't understand why MASH, the Altman film of the same year, became so much more popular over time, and resonated more in the culture. OK, I do know. Because, I guess, MASH, with it's rapid-fire dialogue, and characters mumbling and stepping on each other's lines, was so much more modern. In fact, it's hard to believe the two films were made in the same year. Also, maybe because MASH was more relatable to the Vietnam War, even if it wasn't about that war, it resonated more in the culture and left more of a lasting effect.

But imagine if, somehow, Catch-22 could have been given a sensibility as modern as the sensibility in MASH. If, instead of seeming like a movie made in the 50's, it seemed more like the movies that were just coming out at the time. I think that would have been incredible. The strength of the material in Catch-22 and a more modern sensibility would have carried the film farther, I think.

I was also disappointed that Mike Nichols let some of the characters other than Yosarian act as if they, too, understood that things around them didn't make sense. It sort of diminished the terror of the situation.

The chaplain, for example (played by Anthony Perkins!), in that first scene of his, acts as if he's more perplexed by the insanity around him than even Yosarian is. For me that lowers the stakes. If other characters can see the insanity, I'm more comforted by that, and less afraid. But if, as the viewer, I'm Yosarian, and I'm the only one who can see the insanity, that's more terrifying. It can still be comic, but it becomes, more terrifying as well.

There's also a fair amount of Vaudeville-style comic acting and clowning in the film, and I got a little tired of that. It felt as if Nichols and the actors didn't quite trust the material, or didn't quite know what to do with it. Or maybe they were just falling back on familiar conventions. But I think it took something away from the story.

Yes, these are relatively small complaints. But I also think about those scenes near the end of the film, when Yosarian wanders through Rome's back alleys in search of Nately's whore. He wanders past one scene of madness after another. Those are very powerful scenes. Catch-22 becomes a very different film at that point. Suddenly, there's real weight to it. I think that if, to that point, the film hadn't been as much of a 1950's, Vaudeville-style comedy, and had had a more modern sensibility and style, and Yosarian had been the only one to recognize the insanity around him, those final scenes might have had even more power and meaning.

-- Sean

(this posted was edited)

Zeitoun

Zeitoun, Dave Eggers' new book, gets a rave review from Tim Egan in the New York Times. The review is here.

Excited to read this now . . .

-- Sean

Contributor News

One of the great things about being an editor here at Hobart is being introduced to new (to us) writers, getting to watch where they go in their work and how they get there. There really is nothing like seeing a story we accepted or a writer whose work we fell in love with in the slushpile go on to even greater things. Eugene Cross, whose story "Hunters" appeared in the December 08 issue of Hobart, recently got in touch with news about "Hunters:"

On Sunday August 16th, WordTheatre, a nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping the love of language and literature alive through the ancient tradition of oral storytelling, will present "Thrill or Peril: Tales of Adventure" at M Bar in Hollywood. The actor Xander Berkeley who has starred in such films as Taken and Year One, will be reading "Hunters" as part of the evening's program. "Hunters" will be read alongside several other stories, including three originally published in The New Yorker. 

You can find out more at the Word Theater website. If you live in or near Los Angeles, you should go check this out. 

Congrats, Eugene!

Kinda Super Awesome Art: Joseph Lappie!

Joseph Lappie contributed to the Hobart #9 cover and is also not only one of our favorite artists, but one of our favorite people in general. He is getting ready to move and so is having a sale to 1) not have to move all of his stuff/art because, let's all agree, moving super sucks butt; and 2) make a little extra $ for the move (see, again: moving sucking super butt). We can't recommend this deal strongly enough. At least pick up a rad, cheap print, eh?

Text taken directly from an email I just received (and which I hope is OK to re-post):

subject: One last push for the biggest art sale a man named joseph could produce in July of 2009

A quick recap: 
 
Anna and I are moving to Iowa where I will be working at St. Ambrose University as an Asst. Prof. in Printmaking and Book Arts as well as tending to a (soon to be) wonderful printshop.
 
Moving causes financial distress. So we came up with an idea for an art sale. 
 
and now we are at the present time
 
There are only two days left of the Giant-Sized Lappie Art sale of July 2009! Art at 50%+ off until Saturday at 6. 
 
 
Also I have a promotion where the next three buyers of over 50 dollars worth of stuff get a free drawing on handmade paper (4" x 6") and the next three buyers of art under 50 dollars get a free print (of an animal-headed fella) Go to ---

(note: I got this email about 15 minutes ago, and just spent $50 myself, including both the above and below prints, despite currently having the equivalent of no money at all, so I'm not sure how many more buyers will get free stuff)
 
www.josephlappie.weebly.com
 
now! Hurry! 
 
Also, thanks for all of your support. physically, mentally & through purchase power. 
 
Take care. 
 
Joseph Lappie

 

upcoming HOBART readings

More info coming on the HOBART site soon but, until then, a quick preview:

Chicago HOBART 10 Release Party!

Tuesday, July 28th, 6 p.m.
Book Cellar, Chicago, IL
Aaron Burch, Andrea Kneeland, Erin McCabe, Mark Rader, and more!

Mary Miller's west coast tour!

Wednesday, August 5th, 7 p.m.
College Inn Pub (hosted by University Book Store), Seattle, WA
Mary Miller, Jonathan Evison (All About Lulu), and Aaron Burch

Thursday, August 6th, 7:30
Powell's Books on Hawthorne, Portland, WA
Mary Miller, Kevin Canty (Where the Money Went), and Aaron Burch

Saturday, August 8th, 7:30 (doors at 7) $3 - $5 sliding scale
Writers with Drinks
Make-Out Room, San Francisco, CA
Mary Miller, Dorothy Allison (Bastard Out of Carolina), Adam Savage (Mythbusters), Clint Catalyst (Cottonmouth Kisses), Steven Barnes (Shadow Valley, In the Heat of the Night)

Los Angeles HOBART 10 Release Party!

Monday, August 10th, 7 p.m.
Book Soup, Los Angeles, CA
Aaron Burch, Tod Goldberg, Alicia Gifford, Stefan Kiesbye