The guiding principle of Six Ridiculous Questions is that life is filled with ridiculousness. And questions. That only by giving in to these truths may we hope to slip the surly bonds of reality and attain the higher consciousness we all crave. (Eh, not really, but it sounded good there for a minute.) It’s just. Who knows? The ridiculousness and question bits, I guess. Why six? Assonance, baby, assonance.
What are we looking forward to reading this month? Stories of the uncanny, for one thing. Candid true-life stories, for another. If there’s a running theme here, it might well involve New England, which several of the writers with books out this month have ties to. Does this prefigure us spinning off Vol. 1 New England? We can’t say for sure, but if you read on, we can point you in the direction of some notable July books.
We’re pleased to present an excerpt from Jackson Bliss’s forthcoming book Dream Pop Origami: A Permutational Memoir About Hapa Identity, due out next month on Unsolicited Press. Boasting advance praise from Regina King and Porochista Khakpour, Bliss’s memoir abounds with formal innovation and interactive texts. Unsolicited Press describes it as a literary work that “examines, celebrates, and complicates what it means to be Asian & white, Nisei & hapa, Midwestern & Californian, Buddhist & American at the same time.”
In our morning reading: a conversation with Dennis Cooper, Alma Katsu and Jackson Bliss on writing, and more.
In our morning reading: nonfiction from Rebecca Solnit, thoughts on Jackson Bliss’s new book, and more.
Looking for something new to read this October? There’s a lot that looks impressive this month, including a few books by writers we’ve published here in past years. There’s also formally inventive fiction, thought-provoking explorations of the state of literature, and bold debuts. What’s not to like?
French Vowels that Make You Look like Goldfish
by Jackson Bliss
1. Traître
As long as I’ve known my son, he’s had a thing for French and this obsession has driven my white husband insane, but now our son won’t speak to us in English. It’s gotten so bad that after four months of nagging and fighting in two different languages, we’ve had to hire a French interpreter. We don’t know what he’s saying otherwise. Charlie doesn’t care. He says, Fine, let the boy speak surrender monkey. See if I care? But I’m his mom and caring is literally my job.