Five brief examples in support of evidence that William T. Vollmann is a better writer than you and me and that is okay.

So I'm still working through Vollmann's The Atlas and here are some examples of amazing moments when this guy is on magic writing dust he may have stolen from the tomb of William Shakespeare.


Example 1:

"In this town, we answer a question only by I don’t know and probably."

Example 2:

"...behind which occasional lights burned weakly like failures."

Example 3:

"...but the hair of the one he danced with was as flowery ricefields under hot purple clouds."

Example 4:

"...whose trees spread lushly pubic shadows..."

Example 5: 

"Since Heaven and forever are both beyond time, whoever is meant to be in Heaven must already be in Heaven now."

In which I gush some more about William T. Vollmann.

This is one of those posts I sometimes write because I start getting the feeling that Bent Country has converted back to its original form—a mostly unfurnished room where the sound of my own voice becomes more interesting than usual.

I'm reading William T. Vollmann again, which is always dangerous. He writes so fluidly and so well, like a water hose of perfectly combined words that is stuck and sort of spraying all over the yard of literature. Not to mention if you look up the prolific in the dictionary there's an awesome picture of William T. Vollmann with an amazing bowl haircut.

The book of his I'm reading is called The Atlas. I saw somewhere about a month back that someone cited it as their favorite book. A writer, which, let's be honest, carries far more weight than, well, more average readers, for lack of a better term.

It is for sure all it's cracked up to be, though. Vollmann can stop a reader in their tracks about as good as anybody working. Browse THE ATLAS at Goodreads.

The People in the Trees is my favorite book so far this year. It'll take a lot to knock it down.

Just finished reading The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara and so far it's my favorite read of this year. I'm only eight books deep at this point, but I feel like this one's going to be hard to beat.

Last year my favorite was The Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson and I read 42 more books after that one with none topping DJ's magnificent farewell collection.

I've seen reviews saying The People in the Trees is difficult to read because of the depictions of child sexual abuse, but don't buy into that. There are certainly difficult scenes but everything feeds the narrative. In other words, there's nothing that's disturbing for the sake of being disturbing. Besides, the central theme of the book - immortality and the discovery of immortality - will keep most readers pretty focused.

"Her Eulogy, Etc." is a beautiful homeless story of mine that found a beautiful home @ Vending Machine Press

Mike Lafontaine published a story of mine called "Her Eulogy, Etc." at Vending Machine Press this weekend. Mike has always supported my writing at VMP, and I'm so grateful he liked this story. So many other places turned it down...dozens and dozens, acutally.

Here's how the story starts:

“She saw the ghost of the old slave when she was sixteen. Ephemeral, a mustard-colored fog in his form. She figured him a ghost. There was no way knowing for sure that wasn’t wicked, like Tracy’s magic or taking up a ouija. She never considered the bourbon she drank or how she’d never see daylight again.”

- from an Appalachian folktale, as told by Sister Hall

I hope you go read this story. It's one I'm proud of and Mike liked enough to publish. In the indie lit, it's the most generous thing one can do for another.

Again, here's a link to the story — HER EULOGY, ETC.

So I'm Reading The Overstory by Richard Powers

Two nice quotes from the book and why they resonate with me:

"A woman in the coda of life, raising her eyes and lifting her hands in that moment just before fear turns into knowledge."

This one made me think of my heart attack. When they told me I was having a heart attack, I so distinctly remember the original and entirely unique fear that ran over me. A fear I had never experienced before, and I've had my share. I flatlined but was shocked back to life or I would have reached that point when the fear would have been turned into knowledge, entry into the largest mystery of all time. What's on the other side.


"We don’t want to kill the golden goose, but it’s the only way around here to get to the eggs."

This one drops me directly into my homeplace of Eastern Kentucky. I could be peeling potatoes in Belgium, read this, and be at once back at home. Home, a place where me and mine have no choice but to do what has to be done to survive. If that process, for instance, lands us with a credit score in the 400s, then that's the price that has to be paid for day-to-day existence. We don't have the luxury of working on something as abstract as a credit score. We have to get the eggs.

New World Writing publishes my short story "Almost Alone in Dark Valleys"

I'm thankful to have new work published yesterday at New World Writing. This is the fourth story of mine they have put out into the world, for which I owe editor Kim Chinquee and founding editor Rick Barthelme a huge, huge thanks.

The story is called "Almost Alone in Dark Valleys" and it's one I'm particularly proud of, which is something I don't always have the courage to say about my work. I hope you'll read it and let me know what you think.

READ "Almost Alone in Dark Valleys"