Ok, so I’m a little late, but last week I formally released my book Silverfish into the world. I believe I posted about it before, but it was held at the Baker Building in North Portland (NoPo.) The space is amazing and recommended if you’re looking for Portland event space.
I was joined by Whiskey Tit’s own Stefan O. Rak, and Alex Behr, both amazing authors.
Anyhow, here are a few pics from the event.
I’ve been political as long as I can recall. I fomented dissent in the 6th grade, recited a subversive version of the pledge of allegiance in 8th, and I went to a Quaker college in no small part due to their long history of promoting social justice. Guilford College has long been proud of its role in the Underground Railroad.
While there, I was keyed into a lot of eye-opening socio-political ideas. I got a student subscription to The Nation and Harpers. When those ran out, I sought new issues in the library.
It’s sorta odd, then, that I didn’t study journalism or political science. There are reasons for that, but what’s important are the actions I take today.
Today, I am happy to announce that I have published a political essay in The Big Smoke. It’s titled “Binary Trending,” and it’s about the intersection of media and power. It takes a look at the individual’s role and how even the best-intended can find their online activities used for purposes they did not foresee – such as the election of the very worst human being to the most powerful office in the nation, if not world.
I hope you’ll read the essay and give it a thought. As citizens we need to be aware of how we use online tools. Our voices are being broadcast, but we don’t necessarily control how they are amplified…
With every great book comes a great book release. Silverfish is no exception. If you’re looking for something to do in Portland on Star Wars Day (May the Fourth) that does not involve mega-billion-dollar movie franchises, pop-culture nerds, or any other mainstream sorts of consumerism, I have the event for you.
The event will include yours truly reading from Silverfish. We are also featuring:
Stefan O. Rak – author of Adventures of Bastard and M.E. (Whiskey Tit)
Alex Behr – author of Planet Grim (7.13 Books)
Music by Astro Warrior
This is more than a typical dry reading you might be thinking of. This is a real-deal Portland literature party just like in the old days of 4 years ago. There will be a cash bar, music, fun people. It’s the literary event of the season, people!
On May 4, 2018 at 6 PM, Whiskey Tit will help me unleash my tentacle-ridden, alien-infused, debauched novel unto the world. We will do this at the Baker building in NoPo.
That is:
Baker Building
5511 N Albina Ave (map)
Portland, OR
6 PM
I hope to see you there. Everyone in the world is invited.
What does it mean to live a writer’s life? Well, it usually involves a lot of writing. It means other things, too.
Living as a writer means that I see story everywhere. Details pop out of nowhere and demand attention. Themes and tones resonate throughout a bus ride or a trip to a godawful shopping mall.
Being a writer means having a myriad of lenses through which I see the world. It means that there is no single answer or interpretation to a problem or situation. My personal panopticon appears, the multiverse happens here, now.
Writers know that revision is possible. I can take a piece of prose and change it from 1st person to 3rd. I can change the narrator. I can zoom in and out of a consciousness. I can omit details for later surprise or delve into the intricacies of the smallest thing. However, the important thing to note is that the best writing, the best writer, does not do this by a force of will.
That is to say, we know that there is no final judgment. There are truths we find and rely on to push things forward, but those truths are not absolute. When we change something in a story, what follows necessarily changes, too. This does not mean that we can change things at random. We make changes thoughtfully, and with an eye to all of the variables in play. Making a change simply to please a self-centered notion is a recipe for failure.
The best writers know that what they write is not theirs. The characters and stories are gifts from some other source. The writer’s job is deliver those to the page. We are mediums, conduits for truths, falsehoods, and all the things that make this nutty world. We own nothing, we are simple tools that ideas and stories find convenient.
Writers have a responsibility to the stories we’re given. The story is not there to aggrandize us. That is a grave error that too many make. This leads to writers not wanting to promote their work because it somehow is all about them. This is a simple ego-trap that harms their gift – the story.
In this world that increasingly relies on text, it seems that everyone thinks they are writers. While I am happy that more people are using text, I fear that they are not using it to its best and highest uses. Writing is a means of exploration. Through writing we can find out what we think, we learn what things are all about. When we only use a few hundred characters, we think that’s all we have to say. That’s often not the case.
I hope this new media sparks an appetite for more reading and writing. I fear it won’t, that people will continue to cheapen their language and degrade themselves for the two-sentence tweet. However, the potential is there.
Ok, it’s been a while since I posted… Since I posted about self-publishing my first novel Silverfish I found a real, live editor and it’s now a book!
It’s been a wild ride going from being accepted by Whiskey Tit to finally receiving a real book. I could go into all the weird circumstances that led to me finding my publisher and the road from that point to the book’s official release, but I won’t. It’s probably more interesting to me.
One thing that happened was that I designed a new cover. The original artwork is from my buddy Jonathan Treadway. He’s a folk artist in Bowling Green, KY and he’s gaining traction there and in Nashville, TN. He’s a poet too, so check him out.
The reviews have been trickling in since the book dropped back in December, but everyone seems to think it’s great. Rumor has it that a Powell’s Books employee declared it the scariest book they’d read.
In fact, Silverfish is in the small press section of Powell’s. It’s featured prominently and it seems like they’ve needed to refill that spot a few times. If you’re in Portland, Oregon, stop by and pick up my book!
If you happen to review avant-garde literature or have a thing for literary science fiction, please order a copy and write about the scary rabbit holes the book sends you down. Please note that you are not in for a typical reading experience. However, it is a gratifying read, and loads of fun. Plus, it features tentacles.
Hobie Anthony 