The Next (Big) Thing

Susana Gardener kindly tagged me in this self-interview thing that has been setting the nets afire.

The Next (Big) Thing


What is the working title of the book?

The End of Dork Swagger


Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was born in Philly and I think that city has always “valued” the swagger. I’m thinking of Moses Malone, Dr. J, World B. Free, Wilt Chamberlain, and AI. This season the Sixers signed Nick Young who goes by the nickname, Swaggy P. There’s also a statue of Rocky in Philly. So I started thinking about the intersection of “swagger” in politics, sports, music, and art, as well as what happens when superficiality of it fails. The book wound up exploring this more through the lens of youth: ambition, slackerdom, parties, and naïveté.

What genre does your book fall under?

Poetry


What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

Don would be played by Richard Pryor hovering somewhere between his stand-up routine, and setting himself on fire.

Maria (Don’s party/junky girlfriend) If the Parker Posey’s character in Party Girl partied harder.

Bree (high school/college crush turned awkward post-college “just friends”)- Perhaps Thandie Newton or Charlotte Gainsburg.

Unnamed narrator – Somewhere between Aaron Stanford (in Tadpole) and Jesse Eisenberg (Squid and the Whale) skating the line between awkward and idiocy. Wait maybe that’s Paul Giamatti.

Hitomi- (girlfriend of unnamed narrator) Carry Mulligan (circa Education or Never Let Me Go) or Anna Karina.


What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

“You itch your head & hair falls out.”


How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

The first draft took about a year (most of the poems came fast and delirious). The revisions however, are coming much slower and more focused.


Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I wanted to take a break from another manuscript (Sister, formerly From Every Slit Throat Still Song) and write poems that more openly relished in Ugly Feelings ala Sianne Ngai. This allowed me to embrace a lot of (dark) humor.


What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

As mentioned before, there’s a healthy dose of black humor, a sprinkling of feel good moments, references to Warhol, Eddie Fiola (freestyler from the 80s), bonfires, salmon, film and art by the ever-awesome Joseph Lappie aka Peptic Robot Press. Also its on Coconut Books!!!


Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Coconut Books(October, 2013).


My tagged writers for next Wednesday are:
Alexis Orgera, Farrah Field, Jared White, Kate Greenstreet, Shane McCrae