Linda Griggs Lets Us Know Plain and Simple, The First Time Is Not Like Porn

BY DALLAS ATHENT

The walls of Christopher Stout Gallery, New York are lined with expertly painted images drawn from porn by artist Linda Griggs. Faces with mouths agape moan in ecstasy. Next to these images are stories of people losing their virginity. One memory recalls “It really hurt. Tears were sliding down the side of my face. He didn’t notice. Then outside the window a bottle rocket went off and we laughed.”

What these stories do is show the reality of what “the first time” is often like, divorcing the over-saturated, hollywood version that porn teaches us is real from our psyche. Griggs’ adaptation of the images through the work of her own hand, restores them to an organic order on the page. As Griggs herself said, pornography creates unreasonable expectations. “Young women need to see this so they know it’s okay to be awkward.”

The collection is powerful and honest. Griggs has possibly made one of the most complete bodies of work to enhance feminist ideas in 2015 with this show.

Christopher Stout Gallery, New York is located on 299 Meserole Street. “The First Time Is Not Like Porn” is on view through the end of the month.

Gallery Hours: Thursday through Sunday, Noon-6:00pm and also by private appointment.
E-mail: c.stout.gallery.ny@gmail.com

Photos by Dallas Athent

Dear Poet Who Never Wrote Me Back

BY JENNY MACBAIN-STEPHENS

There were so many times when I read your poems and the images on the page were little bombs going off in my head. I thought, little dark waste-land misgivings can be the subjects of poems? These jewels of weirdness that I totally recognize? Yes. I couldn’t get enough of your surreal mistakes.

So, I sent you an e-mail, gave you a tasteful compliment and asked about the availability of one of your chapbooks. My e-mail was a fist bump. Days went by. Weeks. Who the fuck doesn’t bump back? I went through excuses on why you didn’t write back. Why I didn’t receive a simple, “thanks for the kind words.” That would have sufficed. I told myself, he’s traveling, he deleted the message by accident, he forgot. But I had to come to terms with the blow-off.

It took me a little time to pick up one of your books again, but I did. I tried to lose myself in the text but it was a little harder this time. It was harder to get lost in your woods, your ponds, your opera singers, your lumberjacks, and the still pieces of furniture that displaced themselves with other pieces of furniture. Six months later, when I read that you were touring select cities in America, and if people wanted you to come to their city, to E-MAIL you with a reading venue suggestion I swallowed my pride and sent a damn e-mail with a reading venue suggestion. No return message.

When I read this line****, I thought, “So am I.” We are of mental kin. The speaker does not need to exist in the universe as we know it. This idea thrilled me and I wrote a poem in the middle of the night that was accepted quickly—the poem as drunk off fiery inspiration as I was. Your work existed on a different plane. However, I still couldn’t help but think that we existed on the same plane—the earth—a seasoned writer and a novice writer, and still no contact.

I know from reading an interview that you appreciated your mentors and even name them in dedications, revealing that you understand how important encouragement is to a new poet. To capture my emotional core I will use your words from “What I Did With The Rock.” What have I done?

I mentioned this lack of correspondence to my therapist. (Yes, I have a fucking therapist.) Your lack of response made me question me. In my mind I had become the woman with gigantic tree-trunk legs (who makes an appearance in your third book,) who strangles you with her thighs until you suffer convulsions and are hospitalized. Was I being a stalker? No. Had I “stalked” before? No. Had I obsessive thoughts? Yes. But doesn’t every writer? Why would someone display their g-mail address in a twenty point font size on their web page if they didn’t want any discourse?  Is that just for editors to solicit work?

I am not trying to fuck you. I am married. I have children. I have self-worth. At this point, I didn’t want to say screw off—I still want to review your catalog (several chaps and now four, five? full collections to date,) and draw inspiration from them—but I have to say, as much as I try to not let it affect me, as much as I try to “forget,” you blowing me off—your work is burning less bright in my heart. Again, I will use your words to capture how I felt/feel: (From your poem “The Woman Who Falls From the Sky”).

You have inspired me with your words, and maybe you will continue to do just that. I look back at how it all began. I came across your first book at the Mission Creek festival and it was a wondrous surprise. Your editor was there, and out of all the books on the table, he picked up yours, and said, “Start with this.” I was intoxicated. But then I was rejected by you. We, writers, who have to face rejection from our e-mail in-boxes every day, this one stank like rotten milk. Go on with your life, your readings, your tours, your creative poem-ic films. I wasn’t even a blip on your radar.

Now I’ve become this person writing about you in an online lit mag. I know one day we will meet. I’ll have a couple of books under my belt—or just one. But I will be reading somewhere. You will come up to me, afterwards—a glass of wine in hand, say you like my work, and then I will have a choice to make.  Do I bring up how you were a dick who never wrote me back? Will I take that out of my back pocket like a smelly sardine and lay it on your silver platter? Or will I rise above, clink my glass to yours, and just know- know that I will always have this over you.

Sincerely,

J.M.

---

Jennifer is a writer who currently works at a scientific journal. She just moved to Virginia with her family. She grew up in Michigan and went to New York University where she studied three subjects: Drama, English, and Journalism. She has also lived in California, London, New York, and Iowa City for various periods. There are lots of hills and green foliage here in VA.  All of the roads look the same to her. If you see her in the wrong lane somewhere, don’t bother honking, she already knows she is in the wrong lane.  The only thing keeping Jennifer going at the moment is writing about herself in the third person, making collages, and writing poetry.

10 Distinctive & Offbeat Lit Mags That Want Your Work

BY ANA PRUNDARU

For new writers and those pursuing alternative fields, the submission process can be quite nerve wracking, if not straight up soul crushing. Various journals have incredibly strict guidelines about what kinds of works and writers they strive to publish, while others contain a contributor’s list boasting so many intimidating crème de la crème journals that it will likely deter most emerging writers from submitting. Whether found poetry is your thing, or you like to write on prompts, the magazines listed here celebrate the craft of writing in its variety, while welcoming contributors from all walks of life.

After the Pause
After the Pause explains its name as follows: Life throws pauses at us, art follows the pause. Thus, whether your piece was inspired by a beautiful experience, or an unforgettably sad event, as long as it explores the human condition, they want to see it. This journal publishes mainly online, but has a print anthology scheduled for 2016. Their aim is to feature diverse and experimental pieces from the Midwest and the world. AP warmly welcomes emerging writers.

Unlost Journal
For the sister site of Unbroken Journal, editor R.L. Black is looking for various types of found poetry, as well as artwork. Previous poems range from humorous to poignant, come in all forms and sizes and were created from Google searches, novel chapters, song lyrics and other sources.

Souvenir Lit Journal
This beautifully curated journal features adventurous and well crafted prose and poetry next to each writer’s depiction of his or her favorite souvenir. Souvenir Lit invites new and emerging writers to submit and is open to all forms and topics that stir a strong emotion from the reader.

Found Polaroids
Kyler Zeleny has collected thousands of unidentified Polaroid images over the years, eventually deciding to launch a site that celebrated and honored the legacy of those portrayed in them. Writers are invited to browse the online album for inspiration, pick a photograph and deliver a micro narrative uncovering such questions as who they were, what their motivation was and where they were going. The mission, in Kyler Zeleny’s words, is to ‘give life back to images that might otherwise find themselves in a waste bin.’

Visual Verse
Another venue for works inspired by artwork is Visual Verse. An anthology of art, fiction, nonfiction and poetry, they offer a unique writing experience, in that they supply an image and the writer has one hour to come up with a matching written work of 50-500 words. The resulting pieces both surprise and delight with their diversity of aesthetics and innovation.

Queen Mob’s Teahouse, Misfit Documents
This online magazine is the sister site of Berfrois and publishes bold new writing on a daily basis, covering a broad range of topics that stretch from politics to pop culture. Absolutely no limits are set for the Misfit Documents section. Different voices, ideas, perspectives and esthetics are encouraged to submit their unconventional visual and written works.

101 Words
With a goal of promoting short-form prose, this journal delivers fresh works of exactly 101 words to your mailbox and on their site. The publication has a dynamic and accessible community-feel to it, where readers can comment on stories or peruse an assortment of eloquently written flash fiction from other literary magazines, weekly curated by a different guest editor. Moreover, 101 words regularly runs contests, as well as book giveaways.

People Holding
Those of you who enjoy writing to prompts will want to consider submitting to this edgy magazine from NY. Their mission is straightforward: To display gorgeous, sharp writing inspired by an image of an individual that is holding something in his or her hand. Potential contributors are asked to send an e-mail and then submit a piece inspired by the image they received as a prompt.

Star 82 Review
Brought to life by Alisa Golden, senior adjunct professor for the Printmaking Program at California College of the Arts, this magazine wants hybrid forms, including postcard literature, erasures and collages. Leafing through their aesthetically pleasing, experimental, yet not too abstract back issues, it is clear that the magazine values quality storytelling in the most creative way possible. Contributors come from near and far, giving the impression of genuine inclusiveness.

LossLit
Against the backdrop of the site’s minimalist, but sublime design, a diverse range of voices give insights into one of the most drastic human experiences; that of loss and grief. For its exemplary contribution to the literary sphere, LossLit – despite being around for only a year – has already been short listed for the Saboteur Awards.

This Week's Reading List: Lynch, Life Advice, Tarot & Hillary Clinton

There's so much out there to read, we know. So we rounded up a few of the best things we've read, just for you. And, like us, they're all weird or neurotic or dark. Happy Monday, darling.

Ask Polly: Am I Too Smart for My Own Good? - The Cut, New York Magazine
"You are not a crazy genius or an irredeemable asshole or a misfit who's damned for all time. You are just a person."

David Lynch's Elusive Language - The New Yorker
“No matter how weird something is, no matter how strange the world is that you’re making a film about, it’s got to be a certain way. Once you see how that is, it can’t be another way or it’s not that place anymore. It breaks the mood or the feeling.”  

Guillermo del Toro’s Guide to Gothic Romance - Rookie
"Guillermo has curated a syllabus of the Gothic and Gothic romance novels, short stories, and engravings that influenced the making of the film [Crimson Peak]."

Not Looking To Predict “Outcomes” In Tarot? Try These Ideas Instead - Autostraddle
"So what do you do if you’re a non-predictive kinda tarot reader? How do you reconcile your feelings that tarot can’t foretell future events with the fact that the very last card in your reading is purporting to do exactly that?"

Deadly Maidens - Death & The Maiden
"This experimental short really opened up my ideas towards imagery and
nonlinear narratives. A mirror faced, hooded Grim Reaper-like figure haunts the waking dreams of a young woman."

We Were (Sobbing? No, Not Yet): On Jennifer L. Knox’s Days of Shame & Failure - Weird Sister
"While many of Knox’s speakers are misfits of some sort, Knox herself has appeared more and more in poems, an autobiographical impulse that is not so much confessional as it is a means to ground us amongst the more absurd situations Knox’s speakers get into, such as the corporate lawyer in “Between Menus” who talks to bees or the old volunteer clown who sodomizes a Siberian tiger in “I Cast the Shadow of a Sword over Sky & Sea.”

The Black Girl Dangerous Podcast 10.15.15: Why We Don’t Trust Hillary - Black Girl Dangerous
"She will sort of start off like she’s talking to Black people but then it will just veer right off. You know like, we’ve left her mind and she’s talking to white people and it’s just the weirdest thing. I mean, not weird, because white, whites. But it’s still fascinating to watch." 

Amazing Feminist Zine Roundup

BY ELIZABETH KING

Summer is here, and for many of us that means one very important thing: THE BEACH. The beach is where we relax, rollick, get sun-burnt, and enjoy light reads. I’ve perused my fair share of tabloids over past summer months, but these days, I have a new quick-read obsession: zines. All the zines! Well, all the girl power zines. The zine world is still alive and very well, even though it’s been a couple decades (we’re getting so old…) since the Riot Grrrl movement blew the lid off of the DIY feminist art movement.

Over the last several months, I have scoured the internet (and by internet I mean Etsy) for the best in what’s new with feminist zines, and I am happy to be able to report back some killer recommendations. Instead of reaching for Us Weekly or god forbid Cosmo for our summer reading, we can support feminist artists and writers while simultaneously being entertained and even learning a thing or two.

So, for your feminist reading pleasure, I present to you my top five zine recommendations of the moment:

Interactive Intro To Self-Care

This is perhaps my all-time favorite zine. Brought to us by the wonderful Janelle Silver, this adorable little creation is packed full of amazing ideas, activities, recipes, and other goodies all centered on ways to love yourself. What could be better? The uplifting and super-cute illustrations accompany serious insights about why it’s important to care for ourselves. I have never seen such a fun and honest way to approach self-care. The best parts: stickers you can color yourself and tea recipes for different moods. Check out this and other works from Janelle at www.janelle-silver.com, because you are worth it!

Empower Yoself Before You Wreck Yoself: Native American Feminist Musings

I love this zine because it exclusively discusses the experience of young Navajo women. The Native perspective is rarely heard in mainstream feminist discourse, and this zine is a great way for all of us to educate ourselves about this particularly margianalized intersection. Co-writers Melanie Fey and Amber McCrarty created this zine in order to make a space for Navajo women to contribute to the feminist dialogue and feel at home in various counter-cultures. Based on the awesome content of their zine, I would definitely say they are succeeding. In particular you will want to check out the letter that Melanie wrote to her Governor about the use of Native mascots in public schools. If you are a Native woman who wants to contribute to this zine, you can get in touch with the creators at NAfeministmusings@gmail.com.

OMG Lesbians!

This is a great comic for when you want to crack up while also giving a little side-eye to stereotypes about lesbians. OMG Lesbians! is Greek artist Smar’s exploration of the ridiculous ogling and leering that lesbians are frequently subjected to when they express any affection in public (the comic includes a lot of honking and whistling). She also humorously confronts some stereotypes that come from within the lesbian community, as well as the nutty myths that persist about gay women. My favorite quip is from a page about lesbian myths. Myth: lesbianism is contagious. Lesbian’s response: Sadly, no… You can see more from Smar at SmarMakesComics.tumblr.com. You won’t regret it.

Black Women Matter

The importance of this zine can’t be understated. Created by the artist and writer’s collective Underground Sketchbook, Black Women Matter uses portraits, quotes and thoughtful biographies to honor and remember Black women who have been killed by law enforcement. The zine is heartbreaking in that it details tragedies many of us have never heard of before, but it is also very empowering to take the opportunity to commemorate these women. This zine is critical reading for anyone involved with, interested in, or following the Black Lives Matter Movement. I would encourage everyone to explore more of the social justice-based art created by Underground Sketchbook at undergroundsketchbook.tumblr.com.

Anxiety Comics

As someone who struggles with anxiety, this comic really resonated with me. Artist Stacey Bru portrays her anxiety in a way that so many of us experience it: as an annoying little creature that incessantly nags us with insecurity, self-doubt, and angst. Stacey also shows readers that it’s possible to deal with anxiety in healthy ways (see: Intro to Self-Care!) so that it does not control our lives. This is a really cathartic zine to read if you experience anxiety, and a great learning opportunity if you have any sort of relationship with an anxious person. You can see what else Stacey is up to on Twitter at @staceybru.

So there it is! I am always fiending for more zines, so if you have a cool idea for a comic, informational series, or DIY art book, go ahead and make one! Chances are I will end up being one of your customers.

Poems by Collin Kelley

NINETEEN

Up for anything, pliable

nothing out of bounds

dress you up, dress you down

undress you in public

Far from home, no witnesses

this is space exploration

boundary breaking

daddy’s long arm can’t reach you here

Sidewalk swagger dissolves

to breathless whisper, begging

for release, for tongues

your mouth a light socket.

BRUNCH

This is just brunch, not sex. Not like two nights ago when nothing but a sheen of sweat separated us. We're being good boys, divided by this canyon of a table, but I can't keep my eyes off your lips that so readily met mine, explored at will. Silverware and a barricade of condiments restrain us, so even reaching to touch your hand feels like transgression. As we eat the all-day breakfast, the promise of neverending eggs, I wonder if we’ll ever meet again. We fucked too soon, my old Achilles heel tripping me up, but you insist it was a mutual lack of control. How to erase and rewind, take back the night we went too far, so that this date is full of anticipation, palpable electricity, barely touched food, our parting kiss prelude, not postscript. 

NOSTALGIA

I always loved you best at a distance

voice a faint radio signal

an image lost in television snow

The idea of you

perfect and acquiescing

sculpted, blonde and grinning

Then you momentarily resurface

tangible, flabby and older

one wrong word and then another

Now you live in another time zone

always behind me

stay in the west.

__________________________________________________________________

Collin Kelley is the author of the American Library Association-honored poetry collection Render (2013, Sibling Rivalry Press) and Better To Travel, which will be reissued by Poetry Atlanta Press in 2015. Sibling Rivalry Press is also the publisher of his Venus Trilogy of novels Conquering Venus, Remain In Light and the forthcoming Leaving Paris. For more information, visit www.collinkelley.com.