Category: updates

Small Stories, Small Spaces

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I am not going to launch into a reintroduction or make excuses because I promised I wouldn’t last time. I will just say things as they are.

A few months ago, I was asked to help read submissions for Keyhole Magazine, which I happily agreed to. They now have a new online portion to the magazine and it’s worth a look. It will be updated periodically.

I’ve been reading small books and messing around with poetry. Most of my thoughts work themselves into short fiction or notebook scribblings or to-do lists. The dregs become the poems.

Vector, issue 2

Three poems of mine will appear soon in the second issue of Vector. One of these poems features a fictionalized version of my sister. If anything, that should sell you. I also noticed that this issue features a lot of writers who also happen to be editors of other literary magazines (Monkeybicycle, Word Riot, Sundog Lit, Untoward). A colorful bunch. Characters from the internet have arrived and we will haunt you.

PANK 9

I am also happy to say that my short piece of fiction, “The Geography of Squares and Circles,” will appear in the print issue of PANK 9. The piece is about a family with very different moving parts, parts separate like the seasons. They exist like islands, and unfortunately, it takes a son’s self-destruction to bring them together.

Sundog Lit, Games issue

Online, I had a fragmented piece of nonfiction appear in the Games issue of Sundog Lit. It’s about growing up, alienation, sexual identity, and video games acting as both a means of escape and a place of solace. It’s probably one of the most personally intimate pieces I’ve published yet. Admittedly, I felt like this wasn’t very different from writing fiction. The themed issue itself was large and fantastic, which the Millions selected as recommended reading.

Going smaller now: I have a short short in Ghost Ocean (in which I also do a reading for you) and a piece of Twitter-sized fiction in Nanoism. They are sad, of course, but also maybe a bit surprising.

My sister is trying to write a story about one of her boy band concert experiences and her professor wants her to show, don’t tell. Of course. So I offered her a first line: “We were hugging and sobbing.”

Mom has found an old, unfinished dollhouse in the garage that we’re going to put together. As a hobby, she used to build sets from pieces. Looking at all of the small furniture and knickknacks scattered on the table, I am anxiously waiting to see what kind of place I will call my own.

Let’s Play

Joseph Dante4 Comments

It has been far too long. I promise that will be the last time I write that on here. Fortunately, I do have things to say.

Mostly, I’ve been writing for myself. When are you not, you might ask. Well, let’s be more specific: I have been writing in my notebook and none of it has been fiction or poetry. It has been purely for cathartic purposes. Not a shooting up, but a shooting out. If I don’t get a euphoric sparkle or some kind of cleansing, I don’t bother with my scribbling. I throw my pen like a dart at the window.

Book food has been taking up most of my time. Look here for a sample. There is music and movies too. My body wants to consume rather than create. The hunger will pass, and I’ll be back to throwing things up instead. Eat desperately, regurgitate. Repeat.

I got my contributor’s copy of the newest issue of Pear Noir!:

Pear Noir!, Issue 9

Pear Noir!, Issue 9 Contributors

I had a poem in it that I’m still fond of. I always wonder how long that feeling will last. It’s also a poem that my family appreciated. This is a momentous occasion. I’m no longer a teenager, but I always feel like an enigma to them. My mom reminded me of how I’ve taken to using more personal writing as fiction. It’s not real, but she knows where it comes from.

I also received these postcards from some of the writers:

Pear Noir!, Issue 9 Postcards

Over at ReadLearnWrite, I wrote about newer ways we are telling stories. It got me thinking again about how publishing is changing, how our storytelling media are changing, how we are all responding. It can be both exciting and confusing; perhaps the best time to get messy and experiment. Want to make a video game? Go for it! The tools are right there. Want to create a fictional diary through Youtube videos? What’s keeping you?

More experimentation: In just a week, I’ll be flying out of Florida to see my significant other. I’ll be vanishing off the map even more cleanly than usual. Perhaps you don’t know this already, perhaps you do, but I am somewhat of a recluse. I feel like a baby who doesn’t know anything outside the nest. This is new and exciting, but I’m not nervous. I don’t plan on turning my relationship into a character for you to read. This is not my notebook, and I don’t want it to be. My wings are still wet and lack the muscle.

Preemptive Strike

Joseph Dante4 Comments

If you hadn’t noticed already, I’m able to cross off one of my little resolutions from my list: blog makeover. I think it came out nice. New theme, but I decided to bring back the chameleon. I’ve missed my old mascot. I’ve also been devouring several books at once, so I updated what I’ve been reading too.

I’ve finally joined the e-reader generation. I received a Kindle Fire for Christmas. Maybe it will force me to read more of the classics now, seeing as they are so readily available. I already plan on reading as much Virginia Woolf and Edith Wharton as I can. As much as I like having beautiful new books in my hands to touch and smell and hug, this is a nice alternative. I can see why people enjoy both, really. Sometimes, when I can’t fall asleep, I’ll get my Kindle out now and read in the dark until I can.

I have a new story up at the Rose Red Review and you can read it here. It’s called “The Loudest Lullaby,” and it is one of the strangest things I’ve published so far. I was trying to describe it to a friend the other day but stopped trying mid-sentence. I remember saying something like, “a surreal dystopian fairy tale.” I guess we’ll go with that for now. It is about a mother and her child, in a world that is crumbling and suddenly mixing its colors in unexpected ways. Writing is also very important and one of the few things that makes the mother feel safe, but it is against the law.

I also have a poem that I’m oddly proud of, “Dolphin Therapy,” that is going to be in the newest issue of Pear Noir!. Very rarely will I say things are great, but I am really excited about this. You can pre-order your copy here. From what I’ve heard, it is supposedly going to be one of the most interesting issues too.

We’re off to a good start.

Happened Before It’s Happening

Joseph Dante6 Comments

We’ve already had our tree and house fully decorated since last week. Our Christmas shopping seems nearly finished. This year has happened before it’s happening. An internet god must have clawed his way out and deleted November from real life too somehow.

I’ve noticed a lot of bloggers and websites composing their “best of” lists already. I think I will wait a bit for that. I’ll probably do like I did last year and combine books with movies and music and other memorable things. We will see. To be honest, I may not have that many books to list simply because this year has been a much more fruitful year in regards to my writing instead.

Speaking of which, I received my contributor’s copy of Foxing Quarterly. You can now order a copy for yourself here. It features comics, photography, fiction, and poetry. It’s all in full color and it’s gorgeous. Well worth the price. You should also read Jim Rugg’s blog about the art in the issue, which includes some of the designs included and some unused logo ideas.

I also had a short story published in Literary Orphans. It’s dark and moody and features misfits who find each other. It’s also loosely inspired by science fiction books that are more soft with the science part. Mainly things that William Gibson would write. Also a club in Miami that I went to. The character Yukimi is named after the lead singer from the band Little Dragon. Of course, fictional Yukimi is nothing like her and I never got to meet the real one, just in case you were wondering.

Although I haven’t been reading many novels lately, I have been reading a lot of lit journals. I updated my reading section if you want to see what exactly I’ve been making my way through.

The Weather Sleeps and the Nights Stay Awake

Joseph Dante8 Comments

This year has been both fast and quite strange. The weather is cooling down for once and being consistent with its pleasant breezes, which never happens during the “winter” holidays in Florida. Usually it is sweltering and uncomfortable and I’m unable to wear all the jackets I want to.

I started being brave. I sent out my writing to all different places. Now I can’t stop. I’ve written essays, articles, short stories, poetry. I got published both online and in print publications. I got paid sometimes for this, which was exciting. I’ve received contributor’s copies. I’ve made a lot of new writer friends that I wish I could meet in real life. Maybe someday. For now, it will have to be letters and emails and tweets.

My friend Kelsey has been putting together an online magazine that features interviews with all kinds of artists. She has been rolling out a lot of them lately. You can read it here. You should also read Thistle Magazine because it’s gorgeous.

Speaking of gorgeous magazines, here is the inaugural issue of Foxing Quarterly:

If you look closely, you might see something special. Hint: Notice the books.

The first issue features my poem, “Settling on a Freckled Shoulder.” There was even a release party at a bookstore in Austin, Texas to celebrate. Music, readings, food. I really wish I could have gone. But I will let you all know where you can get your hands on a copy once I get mine. The cover is by Jim Rugg.

I also put together another mix tape to go with this peaceful weather and I hope you like it:

The Week the Weather Slept from josephdante on 8tracks Radio.