In our weekend reading: stories by Diane Williams, an interview with Bud Smith, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Marie Myung-Ok Lee Interviewed, Benjamin Myers’s Playlist, Bud Smith on “Teenager,” and More
In our afternoon reading: interviews with Marie Myung-Ok Lee and Bud Smith, horror fiction for the summer, and more.
Weekend Bites: Bud Smith and Rae Buleri Interviewed, Ishmael Reed Revisited, Revisiting Atticus Lish, and More
In our weekend reading: talking with Bud Smith and Rae Buleri, thoughts on the writings of Ishmael Reed, and more.
We’ll Both Go Down Together: A Review of “Teenager” by Bud Smith
Are we looking for the absolute truth of love or the absolute feeling of it? Or is the question better put: is love whatever best suits our personal needs, or is love ineffable? In Bud Smith’s novel, Teenager, one can imagine it as a light flickering past the darkness in our lives. The main character, Kody, would likely say that he was too dim to comprehend the deep meaning of such things. After all, he is a teenager and can only know what he has already seen and what he imagines. What he has seen is a bleak mixture of foster homes, a hellish high school, juvenile hall, and then Teal. To the world, she was Tella Carticelli, but to him, she was his LIGHT flickering past his darkness. She was his “Teal Cartwheels” and no obstacle or sense of reality could keep him from her. Or her from him.
Vol. 1 Brooklyn’s May 2022 Book Preview
As the city segues further into spring, we’ve got books by a couple of old favorites due out this month. Our notable literary offerings for May tilt heavily on the side of fiction, though there’s also an important and incisive new history of New York to be found here, as well as a resonant memoir and an essential guide to an essential musician. Looking for something to read as the days grow longer and the trees turn green? Here are a few selections for your consideration.
Morning Bites: Rita Wong on Poetry, Ali Smith’s Fiction, Jordan A. Rothacker Interviewed, and More
In our morning reading: interviews with Rita Wong and Bud Smith, tips on writer’s tilt, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Revisiting Henry Dumas, Alison Bechdel, Marissa Levien’s Latest, Bud Smith, and More
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on the writings of Henry Dumas, new work by Bud Smith, and more.
Currents, an Interview Series with Brian Alan Ellis (Episode 21: Bud Smith)
BUD SMITH works heavy construction and lives in Jersey City, New Jersey. He is the author of Teenager (Vintage, 2022), Double Bird (Maudlin House, 2018), and Dust Bunny City (Disorder Press, 2017), among other books. His fiction has been published in The Paris Review, Joyland, and The Nervous Breakdown. He is also a creative writing teacher and editor.