Tarpaulin Sky Magazine
Tarpaulin Sky Magazine
IMPORTANT RE-UPS FROM THE ARCHIVE
because some people don’t pay attention the first fucking time
Essay by Katrina Otuonye: “Our Waning Sense of Goodwill”
Katrina Otuonye on the US Election: "Will you speak up and protect a transgender person from harm? Will you walk Muslim students to their cars, the same way you would with a woman walking at night? Will you stand up for Latino kids who are having 'build that wall' chanted in their faces? Will you escort women into Planned Parenthood? Will you wait with me the next time I’m stopped by the police? Will you speak up?"
Poem by Lauren Russell: “11-9-16”
Poem by Lauren Russell, following the 2016 US Election. "Distraught in possibility, the men are afraid of becoming redundant, the whites are afraid of going extinct. I say this to my mother, who is white. I say 'they,' not 'you,' not her, a part of me. 61% European by the DNA test = 0% white by the one drop law, a ghosting."
“Poem to America,” by Felicia Zamora
Post-election poem by Felicia Zamora: "skin peeled away, how defense fails; & my eyes, oh eyes, in uncontrollable wet; to witness, to experience decimation in the aortic sack; oh society oh; what you cull, piece by piece; what you strip..."
Poem by Arisa White: “Two Days After 11/9”
Post-election poem by Arisa White: "I took a walk outside today, / the helicopters are done / with surveillance, protestors / left burning roofs smoldered, / the tears of motherfuckers, down. // Bright nigger stars cause novas / in the parking lot, dice roll, / they exhale their Prop 64, / and I want someone to say / something magical to me, / like they’re a bouncy house / ready to soundbite their way / into believing this was not / our country a week ago."
M. NourbeSe Philip on the 2016 US Election
Post election essay by M. NourbeSe Philip: "Trump has won the hearts and minds of the American public that is the raw underbelly of a bloated, imperialist state. He has given new meaning to the expression: Anybody can become president of the United States—anybody as in serial harasser and predator of women; as in known racist supported by the KKK; as in a shady dealer, snake oil salesman; as in confirmed liar. Anybody! But a competent, experienced, intelligent woman."
Kiki Petrosino, Two Villanelles
"When I dream of the future, I’m always alone. / But something drags me with fear teeth. / I don’t know what I want. I only love / what I’m Lord of. Teach me, or else." -- from "Purgatorio," by Kiki Petrosino.
Ni’Ja Whitson, excerpt from “The Unarrival Experiments”
"96 percent of the universe is Black / and unknown / Black And unknown / Math is an architecture of being" -- from Ni'Ja Whitson's The Unarrival Experiments, shortlisted for the 2019 Tarpaulin Sky Book Awards.
IMPORTANT RE-UPS FROM THE ARCHIVE
because some people don’t pay attention the first fucking time
Essay by Katrina Otuonye: “Our Waning Sense of Goodwill”
Katrina Otuonye on the US Election: "Will you speak up and protect a transgender person from harm? Will you walk Muslim students to their cars, the same way you would with a woman walking at night? Will you stand up for Latino kids who are having 'build that wall' chanted in their faces? Will you escort women into Planned Parenthood? Will you wait with me the next time I’m stopped by the police? Will you speak up?"
Poem by Lauren Russell: “11-9-16”
Poem by Lauren Russell, following the 2016 US Election. "Distraught in possibility, the men are afraid of becoming redundant, the whites are afraid of going extinct. I say this to my mother, who is white. I say 'they,' not 'you,' not her, a part of me. 61% European by the DNA test = 0% white by the one drop law, a ghosting."
“Poem to America,” by Felicia Zamora
Post-election poem by Felicia Zamora: "skin peeled away, how defense fails; & my eyes, oh eyes, in uncontrollable wet; to witness, to experience decimation in the aortic sack; oh society oh; what you cull, piece by piece; what you strip..."
Poem by Arisa White: “Two Days After 11/9”
Post-election poem by Arisa White: "I took a walk outside today, / the helicopters are done / with surveillance, protestors / left burning roofs smoldered, / the tears of motherfuckers, down. // Bright nigger stars cause novas / in the parking lot, dice roll, / they exhale their Prop 64, / and I want someone to say / something magical to me, / like they’re a bouncy house / ready to soundbite their way / into believing this was not / our country a week ago."
M. NourbeSe Philip on the 2016 US Election
Post election essay by M. NourbeSe Philip: "Trump has won the hearts and minds of the American public that is the raw underbelly of a bloated, imperialist state. He has given new meaning to the expression: Anybody can become president of the United States—anybody as in serial harasser and predator of women; as in known racist supported by the KKK; as in a shady dealer, snake oil salesman; as in confirmed liar. Anybody! But a competent, experienced, intelligent woman."
Kiki Petrosino, Two Villanelles
"When I dream of the future, I’m always alone. / But something drags me with fear teeth. / I don’t know what I want. I only love / what I’m Lord of. Teach me, or else." -- from "Purgatorio," by Kiki Petrosino.
Ni’Ja Whitson, excerpt from “The Unarrival Experiments”
"96 percent of the universe is Black / and unknown / Black And unknown / Math is an architecture of being" -- from Ni'Ja Whitson's The Unarrival Experiments, shortlisted for the 2019 Tarpaulin Sky Book Awards.
Hybrid / Transgenre / Monstrous Scripture
Madison McCartha: Video-Poem from “The Cryptodrone Sequence”
Using technology & borrowed texts, Madison McCartha's new video-poem digitizes excerpts from his long empire-subverting poem, "The Cryptodrone Sequence."
Lauren Russell, excerpt from “Descent”
"Heard a whippoorwill holler this morning for the first time this spring. Heard a whippoorwill holler. All hands choking cotton. Heard a holler, a whimper. Heard a will whip her. Will heard a whip. Whip or will." -- from Lauren Russell's Descent, co-winner of the 2019 Tarpaulin Sky Book Awards.
Jessica K Baer, excerpts from “Midwestern Infinity Doctrine”
"Behind the supercenter, its immortal gloaming a refinery pumps slowmagma against the purple-contour ripped sky. Outloud, colors I cry My God, My God." -- from Jessica K Baer's Midwestern Infinity Doctrine, shortlisted for the 2019 Tarpaulin Sky Book Awards.
Hybrid / Transgenre / Monstrous Scripture
Madison McCartha: Video-Poem from “The Cryptodrone Sequence”
Using technology & borrowed texts, Madison McCartha's new video-poem digitizes excerpts from his long empire-subverting poem, "The Cryptodrone Sequence."
Lauren Russell, excerpt from “Descent”
"Heard a whippoorwill holler this morning for the first time this spring. Heard a whippoorwill holler. All hands choking cotton. Heard a holler, a whimper. Heard a will whip her. Will heard a whip. Whip or will." -- from Lauren Russell's Descent, co-winner of the 2019 Tarpaulin Sky Book Awards.
Poetry
Five Poems by Patrick Samuel
"Head never throws-up on purpose because there’d be no one / to hate if I got skinny."
Madison McCartha: Excerpt from “The Cryptodrone Sequence”
"when sharing a host / in the contagion zone / install my blue-threat-checkpoints along the doors & windows"
Olivia Cronk, excerpt from “Womonster”
"You’re dead meat baby. / You’re not gonna kill the Internet, and you already missed your chance to sleaze up your thirties. / I’m sure I don’t know what you mean / but that choke of diamonds / is certainly sweetening the deal." — from Olivia Cronk's Womonster, co-winner of the 2019 Tarpaulin Sky Book Awards.
Poetry
Five Poems by Patrick Samuel
"Head never throws-up on purpose because there’d be no one / to hate if I got skinny."
Madison McCartha: Excerpt from “The Cryptodrone Sequence”
"when sharing a host / in the contagion zone / install my blue-threat-checkpoints along the doors & windows"
Fiction
“Summer Thighs”: Fiction by Elle Nash
"I wanted to fuck god or I wanted to fuck something else that wanted me on my knees, looking up."
“Conversation of a Girl and Death”: fiction by Emma Claire Foley
"Always on the edge of my mind you’ve been a dog, a dog in the house of love who tries its hardest to negate with its own being."
“A Pinker Pink”: fiction by Shantal Jeewon Kim
"I dreamed the same dream again, my sight blinded with pink, but this time when it covered my sight it started to turn red. And there was the dead flamingo."
Fiction
“Summer Thighs”: Fiction by Elle Nash
"I wanted to fuck god or I wanted to fuck something else that wanted me on my knees, looking up."
“Conversation of a Girl and Death”: fiction by Emma Claire Foley
"Always on the edge of my mind you’ve been a dog, a dog in the house of love who tries its hardest to negate with its own being."
Nonfiction
“Liminal Spaces”: non-fiction by Kelsey Inouye
"A therapist once suggested you write phrases on an index card, instructing you to read them whenever you start to obsess over food or experience the guilt that often follows a slice of birthday cake." — Kelsey Inouye
“The Straight Story”: non-fiction by Julia Madsen
"Some crimes never resolve themselves but go on for miles before disappearing into the vanishing point" -- Julia Madsen explores her family's legacy and the intersection of true crime, intergenerational trauma, and the Midwestern Gothic.
“Nine Nevada Depressions”: Non-Fiction by Kelly Krumrie
"The road extends westward like a ray, and from far away, from miles, a bright light: fine, white-yellow, on the side of the highway. The light grows: an orb in the distance, a star, a UFO, a small sun."
Nonfiction
“Liminal Spaces”: non-fiction by Kelsey Inouye
"A therapist once suggested you write phrases on an index card, instructing you to read them whenever you start to obsess over food or experience the guilt that often follows a slice of birthday cake." — Kelsey Inouye
“The Straight Story”: non-fiction by Julia Madsen
"Some crimes never resolve themselves but go on for miles before disappearing into the vanishing point" -- Julia Madsen explores her family's legacy and the intersection of true crime, intergenerational trauma, and the Midwestern Gothic.
Book Reviews
Kim Vodicka’s “The Elvis Machine” reviewed by Charlene Elsby
"A poetry collection like none I’ve ever read, Kim Vodicka’s The Elvis Machine has a powerful emotive force. It has a rhythm that make you want to read out loud. It’s a poetry collection to dance to. But what sticks with me, most of all, is its demand." - Charlene Elsby
Sara Wainscott’s “Insecurity System” reviewed by Caryl Pagel
"In this collection, in the span of a single crown, death is both action and inaction (“there’s time enough for that”), while a rose suggests tribute, trophy, genitalia, and motivation." — Caryl Pagel
Nathan Hauke’s “Indian Summer Recycling” reviewed by James Knippen
"Nathan Hauke’s Indian Summer Recycling, a collection of postmodern pastorals, evokes a singular sense of place. Front and center is the typically disregarded detritus of rural life" - James Knippen
Book Reviews
Kim Vodicka’s “The Elvis Machine” reviewed by Charlene Elsby
"A poetry collection like none I’ve ever read, Kim Vodicka’s The Elvis Machine has a powerful emotive force. It has a rhythm that make you want to read out loud. It’s a poetry collection to dance to. But what sticks with me, most of all, is its demand." - Charlene Elsby
Sara Wainscott’s “Insecurity System” reviewed by Caryl Pagel
"In this collection, in the span of a single crown, death is both action and inaction (“there’s time enough for that”), while a rose suggests tribute, trophy, genitalia, and motivation." — Caryl Pagel
Reading Guides
What I’m Reading Now… by Celia Bland
Celia Bland discusses books by Donika Kelly, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Anniky Brodokov, and Alejandra Pizarnik.
What I’m Reading Now… by Christine Hume
Christine Hume discusses books by Claudia Rankine, Crisis, Deb Olin Unferth, Christina Milletti and Linette Lao.
What I’m Reading Now… by Ching-In Chen
Ching-In Chen discusses books by Ruth King, adrienne marie brown, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Kai Cheng Thom, Wai-Yant Li and Kai Yun Ching
What We’re Reading Now ….
What I’m Reading Now… by Celia Bland
Celia Bland discusses books by Donika Kelly, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Anniky Brodokov, and Alejandra Pizarnik.
What I’m Reading Now… by Christine Hume
Christine Hume discusses books by Claudia Rankine, Crisis, Deb Olin Unferth, Christina Milletti and Linette Lao.
Columns
“Original Obsessions”: Interview with Valerie Hsiung
Original Obsessions seeks to discover the origins of writerly curiosity -- the gestation and development of these imaginings -- focusing on early fixations that burrowed into an author's psyche and that reappear in their current book. In this installment, Julia Cohen and Abby Hagler interview Valerie Hsiung, author of You & Me Forever.
James Pate’s Evening Signals: Germán Sierra’s “The Artifact”
"Here, fiction is never used to illustrate theory. Rather, the concepts are expressed in language so particular, and in circumstances that create such specific moods and ambiences, that to try to extract the theory from the fiction leads to a reductive misreading of the text. " - James Pate
Kelly Krumrie’s “figuring”: Review of Carrie Tiffany’s “Exploded View”
Figuring is a monthly column that puzzles over (to figure) and gives shape to (a figure) writing, art, and environments that integrate or concern mathematics and the sciences. This month's column reviews Australian author Carrie Tiffany's novel, Exploded View.
Columns
“Original Obsessions”: Interview with Valerie Hsiung
Original Obsessions seeks to discover the origins of writerly curiosity -- the gestation and development of these imaginings -- focusing on early fixations that burrowed into an author's psyche and that reappear in their current book. In this installment, Julia Cohen and Abby Hagler interview Valerie Hsiung, author of You & Me Forever.
James Pate’s Evening Signals: Germán Sierra’s “The Artifact”
"Here, fiction is never used to illustrate theory. Rather, the concepts are expressed in language so particular, and in circumstances that create such specific moods and ambiences, that to try to extract the theory from the fiction leads to a reductive misreading of the text. " - James Pate
Occult Studies
Guitar Astrology For Greta Thunberg
5-Track performs and discusses guitar interpretations of both Greta Thunberg’s astrology chart and the position of the stars at the time that he composed this essay: September 11, 2019.
James Pate’s Evening Signals: Reflections on Olivia Cronk
James Pate examines Olivia Cronk's Skin Horse (Action Books) and Louise and Louise and Louise (The Lettered Streets Press): "the theatrical, the occult and the unnerving..."
Janaka Stucky’s “Ascend, Ascend” reviewed by Chris Muravez
"We thrive on the dead – animal and plant carcasses, fossilized energy, microbial environments in our guts – and in this sin, we are allowed to continue breathing, fucking, shitting, living, becoming." Chris Muravez explores "negative ecstasy, incantations, and ritualistic destruction of the ego" in Janaka Stucky's Ascend, Ascend, from Third Man Books.
Occult Studies
Guitar Astrology For Greta Thunberg
5-Track performs and discusses guitar interpretations of both Greta Thunberg’s astrology chart and the position of the stars at the time that he composed this essay: September 11, 2019.
James Pate’s Evening Signals: Reflections on Olivia Cronk
James Pate examines Olivia Cronk's Skin Horse (Action Books) and Louise and Louise and Louise (The Lettered Streets Press): "the theatrical, the occult and the unnerving..."