Seven Fifty
by Justin Maurer
When I was 16 years old I had my dad thrown in jail for physically assaulting my sister. I fell completely out of touch with him until he heard that my career as a touring punk rock musician had fallen on its face.
“Son, your uncle and I want to retire. I’m offering you a unique opportunity to run the family business.”
In our morning reading: an award for Hamid Ismailov, an interview with Jeff Jackson, and much more.
In our afternoon reading: interviews with Omar Robert Hamilton and Kristen Radtke, recommended punk songs, and more.
White Light by Justin Maurer White light, white light goin’ messin’ up my mind White light, and don’t you know its gonna make me go blind White heat, aww white heat it tickle me down to my toes White light, ooo have mercy white light have it goodness knows -Velvet Underground, “White Light/White Heat” Most people like ghost stories, but I don’t. They scare me. I don’t like to think about ghosts or demons because I know they are real. […]
As New York’s all-too-briefspring begins to transform into summer, aided and abetted by an abundance of humidity, I’ve opted for the only logical response, and made with the reading of zines. That seems to fit, right? This particular edition of the column will focus on two: one collection of poetry, and one issue that includes an host of prose and poetry centered around a particular topic.
Julia Fierro on building a literary scene, interviews with Justin Taylor and Wendy C. Ortiz, a look at the history of ABC No Rio and zines, and more.
Insanity & the Russian Doll Conundrum An excerpt from Doctor, I Don’t Wanna Be Crazy Anymore by Justin Maurer Good afternoon, Doctor, nice to see you too. How am I doing? Well, last night I watched the film American Psycho with my girlfriend and it really got me into a rut. Why? Well, first off, the screenplay seemed smug. I could tell that the film was based on the book, and actually I’m sure the book is alright, but […]
Last month, after finding a last-minute cheap flight to the states, our favorite expat, Justin Maurer made it up to the Vol. 1 stage, and told this story about his distaste for doing readings. I hate giving readings. It is one of the most uncomfortable, embarrassing, and awkward moments for me as a person, a human bug living in an ant farm of six billion writhing maggots. That’s not really how I feel about humanity. I love people. The last […]