_________________
'I’m going to write a book with a much more erratic or excited voice than this one, even though I try to aestheticize or brand myself as less erratic/excited. It may still fit in a very good way based on the content of the book, which will be done by December 21, 2012 and may have a vague “end of the world” theme which will be influenced more by post-modernism and post-structuralist anarchism than by “apocalypse.” ...
'i submitted a long story to metazen a while ago on frank hinton’s request and then i emailed/facebook messaged them ahead to let them know that it’s probably too long for metazen and they haven’t hit me back.
'i already submitted the story to banango lit long ago before i had published anything or started talking to any writers, and then after that i submitted it to gayng but decided i didn’t want to be published in gayng because i was pretty certain that i would then be lumped in with men.
'it doesn’t matter if i publish this or not because hardly anybody will read it and if i ever become more well-known then it will be because of a different piece of work that will be thought of as “better” by other people and probably by myself as well.' -- CSO
Habitat
'Cities are dark places. Anonymous people live in cities. So many people pass by in a big city they can only be described by how they look or how they don’t look. Codi gives only one of them a name only when absolutely necessary. The first impulse of these characters is to judge. Knee-jerk reactions are easy things. Reflection leads each one of them to take a more rage filled approach. Upon their realization of anger they move away. Codi realizes this important part of life. One minute everybody wants to kill each other, the next they are hugging, crying, vomiting in extreme emotional cases. A major goal in anybody’s life is to comfort others. While this never seems clear it is a learned skill.' -- Beach Sloth
Excerpt
The City
A boy in a long coat is holding a boy wearing shorts to his breast. They are standing on a sidewalk in the cold at three o'clock AM. The boy in shorts is blaming the boy in the coat about something. The boy in the coat regrets himself. The boy in shorts is angry and crying and swears at the boy in the coat. The boy in the coat keeps holding the boy in shorts to his breast and wishes for something to come and make everything better for the boy in shorts. The boy in the coat blames himself for something. A man in a hood is vacant while he walks past the two boys. They stay like this for another hour.
In a different place, a girl in a coat is holding another girl to her breast, and the girl being held is blaming the girl holding her. The girl in the coat does not feel regret. She watches past the girl she is holding to her breast. She is waiting for something else to happen. The girl she is holding says something. The girl in the coat looks at the girl she is holding without an expression and says that she is sorry and she does not know what to say.
A young woman in a hood walks past them. She is holding a chain and every few steps she whips the ground with the chain. She walks drunkenly for eight miles until she gets to the beach. She feels more drunk. She whips the lake with her chain. She whips the lake with her chain again and screams "fuck" loudly. A man sleeping on the beach wakes up and looks at her, gets up, and walks away from her. She drops her chain and sits on the beach at the edge of the lake. She shakes and whispers "fuck" to herself seven hundred times.
The boy in the long coat wishes he was dead. The boy in shorts buries his head in the other boy's coat and says "I hope you die. I don't want you in my life anymore and I can't stand the idea of you affecting anybody else's life. I need you to die. I want to die but not if I know that you're still here." The boy in the long coat grips the boy he is holding closer to him and rests his head on top of the other boy's head. He closes his eyes.
In a different place, two girls are walking down an unlit sidewalk. One girl says to the other "I'm trying to support her, but I don't want to jump to any conclusions before I hear Matt's side of the story. Matt is my friend and I want to make sure she's telling the truth before I have to lose that friendship."
The other girl says "Right," but she is thinking "You're so fucking wrong about this, you're so fucked up." They turn into the first girl's house and the first girl makes the second girl a quinoa salad.
The girl that is being held swears at the girl in the coat. The girl in the coat says nothing, repositions her face, and puts her hand on the head of the girl she is holding. She is thinking about later in the day when everything will be better.
The boy in shorts quakes. He stays held by the boy in the long coat, crying, for another hour. His phone rings. He wants to yell but he does not feel like he can. He pushes away from the boy in the coat and looks at his phone. A friend has texted him apologizing for something and asking how he feels. He does not respond. He stares at the boy in the coat.
"Everything about this is fucked. I don't want to feel like this. I don't want you to have done anything or to do anything any more. My emotions are running contrary to my politics right now and I blame you for being so reckless. There is nowhere you can go from here. I'm going to stay here for the rest of our lives. I'm going to continue like this for as long as we live. I want you to have to see me every day and think about what you've done."
A boy comes up behind the young woman in the hood and places his hand on her shoulder. She grasps around for her chain but she can't find it. He looks at her worriedly and she scowls at him. She is unable to do anything. She stands up and her arms shake. She falls to her knees and vomits. He attempts to put his arm around her shoulders but she backs away about to cry. She walks into the lake until it is up to her waist, and then she begins to swim.
A man walks by the boy in shorts and the boy in the coat. He asks if they want to buy any weed. The boy in the coat says no thank you. The boy in shorts never takes his glaring eyes off the boy in the coat. The man continues to walk down the sidewalk. A car slowly passes by. The boy in shorts begins to choke the boy in the coat. The boy in the coat doesn't know what to do.
____________________

self-published
'i almost went to art school for this / show me truer words / and i’ll show you a dad / in a Land’s End collared shirt // seems good that nathan masserang wrote this/ slingin the art ‘allusions’ / and growin the alt lit canon // let’s all sell bait now / and die in a silo // let’s all experience death in the middle of the action / and sell our souls for / deviantArt store credit // complete a picture and post it to Twitter/ to show we exist // and how about the first alt lit poem / about jury duty' -- i am alt lit
3 things by Nathan Masserang
Given the presence of everything before us, I find it impossible to even consider the creation of a nature poem.
I am taking my laptop to the woods
and turning their little speakers up all the way
and playing ‘Call Me Maybe’
until nature connects with the song
or the song connects with nature.
Connect me to your spotify
Connect me to your Internet
Connect me to your Facebook
We can worry about how Facebook connect
Ruins the Internet
When we get out of the woods
I am starved for natural attention
like a dog wanting to be loved in summer.
Carly Rae Jepsen is starved for natural attention
But she is doing okay now
Since we just started a wildlife fan base for her.
Listen we are almost next to nature
and I think we are getting the attention we deserve.
My computer is in a tree now
And I can’t stop saying
‘dude, you’re getting a dell.’

I have a cellphone and we are in the seventies and I don’t know what is going on oh my god.
Full moon as in I’m showing the world my ass
For comedic effect or to piss someone off.
Or something we are looking at as I drive us
Down I94 to get back to my house in Detroit.
I cannot tell if it is waning or waxing.
I did not pay attention in college Astronomy.
You tell me that my power lays in the moon.
I am a cancer and that much I do know.
My life in astronomy is uncertain
But you knowing my life in astrology is certain.
Tycho Brahe was a punk kid who grew up
To be an astronomer with no nose
Who believed in geocenticism.
We need more punk kids to change things in our lives
Even if they are inherently wrong
Or proven to be wrong when they are older.
I am your Johannes Kepler.
Teach me how to orbit things like your body
And your cock and your mouth.
We are listening to Com Truise really loudly
This is the music that is played in the seventies and eighties
During a science fiction film with rock stars.
And as the moon moves from left to center on the drive
I will end up at home in bed by my window
And I will tell you to paint the moon on my back
With eyeliner or sharpie or whatever will stick to skin.
And you will paint every crater and shadow
Because I told you we only see one face of the moon
And you will then take a picture and show me
And I will laugh and you will lay on top and inside of me.
A real man in the moon teaching me
About how things work in the world.
actualy nathan masserang
__________________
'I want to learn your name and discover you don’t have a Facebook so I can never talk to you again. I want to learn your name and ask my friend if she knows you, she does, and I discover you’re easier than the first level of the first Crash Bandicoot game on the first Playstation.
'I want you to ask me why there is cum on the game controller and I will say Metal Gear Solid makes me solid and you will fall on me and we will kiss for the last time because you mistook me for somebody else, you thought I was him but I’m only me.
'I want to call you a faggot because I hate you and I want you to cry so I can lick your tears away (I imagine they taste like the twenty-fourth flavor in a can of Dr. Pepper.)
'I want you to mistake my thigh for my dick and I want to look at you and I want you to look at my forehead because eye contact is more uncomfortable than a wet vagina or you will identify my eye color as “the brightest brown” and my tears will fall across my face like a horizon and you will call me a hopeless romantic and I will call you a nihilistic cock-juggler and I will hold you until you stop shaking because your cousin died in a car accident, you couldn’t remember her name, but the crying feels good so I don’t blame you for the way you feel but I hate you one week later (a used condom in your pocket is a boring way for me to find out.)' -- Alexander Seedman
self-published
'Alexander Seedman reverts back to childhood in this timeless holiday classic. Eleven years old is a tough time for anybody. Friends surround young Alexander. He thinks of sexy thoughts. That’s no good. Sexy thoughts belong to kids older than the age of eleven. While Alexander might be eleven he’s having erotic thoughts on a 7th grade level. This is impressive. How else are they supposed to entertain themselves in the frigid moisture? Well Eldar has a way of keeping Alexander entertained.' -- Beach Sloth
Excerpt
Myndskeið0003
*
p.s. Hey. Oh, I want to mention, if it's not already clear, that all these wonderful eBooks today are free of charge and can be had/read by merely clicking the designated links up above. So, easy peasy. Speaking of books, I'm very happy to be able to share the news that Mark Doten, amazing writer and one of the original d.l.s of this blog, has just had his first novel 'The Infernal' -- which I've read, and which is really brilliant -- accepted by the superb Graywolf Press, so, hooray for Mark and for all of us! ** Lee, Hi, L-ster. Young and untricky, nice. Nice combo. Nice: sloshing. I can almost picture those works-in-progress, and they sit quite gorgeously and antsily in my imagination. Thanks for the Lem clarification. I'll go see if I can find that. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi, D. I need to watch 'My Blueberry Nights' again. I'm not sure I gave it a total chance. Anyway, fingers crossed on the new one. It gives good advance vibes, and that trailer does look quite good, yes, thank you for that. Yes, a new Bowie song, how about that surprise? I actually love the song, which I didn't expect. I'll try to dispel my shyness and say hi to Mr. Rappaport by email. Thank you! ** Sypha, Ah, well, I'm happy that you decided to give 'IJ' another chance. Can't argue with the Braque quote, but then I wouldn't, would I, ha ha. I need to read 'The Tunnel'. It's one of those musts that I've been putting off for far too long. And I think you know that I love James McCourt's books very much. Great about 'Django'! I'm hoping to catch it this weekend maybe. Nice. ** Kyler, Hi, K. This might sound weird, but I'm in awe of the p.s. too, ha ha. I often feel less like its maker than its go-between or something. The big one, err ... I'm still dreading the official part, but I'll get to spend it having a bunch of fun with a close friend of mine, and that'll compensate for the ticking time aspect. 8 left is a lot left, so fingers as crossed for you as they need to be, know that. And then, if all eight are total dunces by some horrible miracle, you can begin the 'smaller' target hunting, and, even if that happens, it shouldn't be as hard or as stressful, I'm pretty sure. ** Colbaltfram, 'Downtown Abbey' will join the future stack of DVDs that I look forward to watching. Really, TV-wise, or American TV-wise, I'm 7 years behind the times, so that's going to be full-fledged crusade. Yeah, the environment where you are certainly is an important factor in the self-identification thing, for sure. Big extenuating circumstance. Weirdly, I can't remember the name of that 'MLT' character? Hm, Bobby doesn't sound right, but you could be right. Oh, you know, like I think I've explained, my characters aren't real to me at all, so I don't think about their future or past in a realistic way, so I don't know the answer. If I was to take a step back and try to think of that character as person rather than as a prose configuration, I guess I would say that the sexual activities that he undertook in the book in order to try to create a clear public definition of himself as a 'person' were specific to the circumstance and don't necessarily indicate a self-revelation that he would act on in the future. You mean 'Speak, Memory'? I did read it but ages and ages ago. I know I liked it, but I honestly can hardly remember anything about it now. ** Posing at the Louvre:, Louvre-ster! It's going okay with me at the moment, actually, I'm happy to report. Up and down but well ... that sounds acceptable, all in all. Can you get away for a sunny holiday? Where would you go? Where is the sun the best in your imagination? I hope Tony saw your comment. I think he may be boycotting the internet or something, but word famously travels. ** Alan, Hey! Really? I think the new Bowie is really beautiful, and I really like the strange, melancholic Tony Oursler video too. But I'm really interested right now in representations of the personal and elegiac, and I'm studying them, and I actually think Bowie's choice in that song is kind of extraordinary, so maybe that colors my opinion, but, yeah, I find the song moving and really well crafted, words-wise. For your sake, I read an interview with Tony Visconti, who produced the album, yesterday, and he said the single is not characteristic of the album at all. No, it seems that few are excited for 'The Weaklings (XL)', but maybe it'll be a sleeper or something. Good to see you, man, of course. ** Bill P. in Chicago, Hi. Really very interesting thoughts on horror. I felt excited reading them over Tony's shoulder. Kudos, and thank you. ** 5STRINGS, I think I like CrotchlessRock. No, wait, that would mean Rock with its genitals exposed. I don't mean that. Maybe I like BaggyCrotchRock. Yeah, that's probably a better term. AIC ... I'm blanking. What do those letters stand for? Well, I totally understand why you loved that. I clicked over while drinking my first coffee, and I didn't get out of there for an hour. I absolutely love that stuff. And I learned new things, like that the prison wasn't located smack dab in the center of Place Bastille, which I had assumed, and that it looks like they completely rerouted the Canal St. Martin because it's in a different locale in those old drawings. Weird. Anyway, I loved it, thank you! ** Trees, Hey, man! Very awesome to see you! New job, training, gotcha. Boutique skincare stuff. Yury would like that. Every other words out of his mouth are Creme de la Mere. You like the job, related-sleeplessness and all? If you're getting to write, it sounds like an okay deal to me. Cool about the synching of our year end list. I don't have Nu Sensae's 'Sundowning'. I'll get that right away, clearly. Thanks. Cool about 'The Wilding'. Its director is a d.l. of this very blog. How about that? I haven't seen 'Snowtown', so thank you for reminding me. I meant to, and it got lost in my brain somewhere. Uh, well, the Alex Dimitrov book was on my list because I've liked some work of his that I've read, and so the book interested me. Just that simple, I guess. I don't know him personally, other than being Facebook friends. Your letter to him is very interesting. Hm, yeah, I guess I want to read the book and see what's inside the book and what relationship it has or hasn't with the cover before I have an opinion on the Wojnarowicz thing. I don't feel like I can have an informed reaction to it until I know the whole picture. My only reaction so far is that it's a ballsy choice, and I'm curious to see why he decided to do that. Like I said, I don't know him or have an opinion of him, so I'm just waiting to get a better sense of his work and him, and I guess I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt until then for whatever reason. But, yeah, I see what you're saying, and I totally get how there could be a real problem there. What's the Dan Hoy that you're liking? I like him too. Big gracias for your anticipations list. Great stuff. And, yeah, Arthur is back, that's pretty cool. Okay, man, you take good care, and it's lovely to see you, my pal. ** Thomas Moronic, Hi, T! Oh, sure, I would love to have a look, if you don't mind, of course! Do look into Paris around then. It'll be fun, and there might be some other cool people and d.l.s here at the same time. Yay, another thumb up for Jedward. I'm feeling much less bizarre. I actually loved that you 'live the first version immensely', ha ha. Maybe I can retitle it 'The Weaklings, a Biography of Thomas Moore'. ** Bollo, Hey, man! Sweet to see you back! As an iPhone klutz, I totally understand. Sucks about the idiocy behind those show rejections, but, obviously, onwards and upwards. Curators are blind all the time. I speak as a part-time one. My sickness held on long enough to be really annoying, but I think it's vamoose now, and yours will be. Short-lived fuckers. The xTx will be back in business in early February. I don't know if it can be preordered yet. Must get. Yeah, welcome back, man! ** Steevee, Hey. My guess would be yours, aka Cannes, since most or maybe even all of his films have premiered there, but I don't know. I guess the Cannes line-up will start leaking pretty soon. Thanks for the link to the Kar-wai review. I'll read that pronto. ** Billy Lloyd, I read that too. I mean that Rowling was at least not against going back to Potter, and I did go, Ooh, more films maybe! A prequel would be better than Harry and friends as married with kids and all that. I mean, I liked the last shot of them older and all that, but I think I'd rather leave their middle-age antics to my imagination, but, hey, you never know. To be happy is what it's all about, isn't it? It has to be, right? Sounds like you had a rich night there. In the future, hangovers usually end up seeming like they were fun. I've had a few murderous ones, and now they're just material I can use to make people laugh. Still, I hope you got de-spaced. Well, of course you did. You're probably humming the melody of your next masterpiece to yourself right now, aren't you? ** Paul Curran, Hi, Paul. Take even more mega wishes. Thanks for the link to the doc, man. I'll watch that later, of course. Everyone, the kindly and very talent-impaired Paul Curran can link you up with a documentary relevant to the Video Nasties yesterday. It's here, and it's called 'Dear Censor - BBFC Documentary - Video Nasties', and, in Paul words, it shows 'fascinating/absurd/hilarious letters between the censors and the directors. In Britain things are only acceptable if they are 'educational'.' Check it out. Thanks a bunch, man. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. Palace does look really interesting. Thanks, I've heavily bookmarked it. And I'll pass on your suggestion. Everyone, _Black_Acrylic has a really good tip and possible suggestion to you guys out there. Here he is: 'All these Video Nasties put me in mind of a project by my friend Darren Banks. I worked with him last year on THE SHAPE, and he has something on the go called the Palace blog that I'm gonna do some writing for. If anyone else maybe fancies it, he's looking for some writing about one of these films: The Evil Dead 2, Dream Demons, Night of the Demon, Brain Damage, Vampire at Midnight, Edge of Insanity. Drop me a line for further details. Anyway, it's rather a luscious site he's got going on over there.' Go for it! Cool, man. ** Rewritedept, Hi! I think I saw your thing in my mailbox. Thanks! I'll open it, etc. in just a bit, but, yeah, awesome! Haven't heard the new Yo La Tengo track. I'll listen today. I like the Bowie track and the accompanying video. I think I read that he's not going to tour or do any interviews. I did see Kanye Wes Anderson, yeah. Pretty funny. I'm not a Kanye fan at all, but what the heck. Well, okay, world domination without fascism sounds okay. ABBA pulled it off, so I'm sure you can. Good luck with that. Oh, gosh, thanks about the p.s. Yeah, it's weird how it works. Nice future things list, and thanks for putting my thing on it, of course. ** Bill, I know, I had it my head that Paul's book was coming out this year too. Damn! Hope your flight was as tolerable and as great film-inflected as possible. ** Tomkendall, Hi! I've read the dialogue one so far, and I'm going to read the other(s) hopefully later today. Beautiful! A month, that's a long time to be apart. When does she come back? Oh, shit, overdraft. Ha ha, or, rather, not ha ha: I went to the ATM this morning and got an 'insufficient funds' announcement, so, urgh, I hear you, bro. Oh, thanks, man, about doing the page dip reading method on 'TMS'. I ain't saying nothing, but it just could work. Hugs. ** Chilly Jay Chill, Hi, Jeff. I don't know what's up with Tony's book and HP. We do share the same editor, so I'll query him. I read something somewhere that said Tony's new novel was only coming out in Germany or something (?), which I didn't understand. Word on the Grandieux as soon as I get to see it. September! Yes! Man, so great, please, yes, give the word when there is word. Jesus, could 2013 possibly be more exciting? I don't think so. My novel: I think, maybe, I think I found my way back into it, although I'm very hesitant to be too confident about that yet, but maybe I have found a way to finish it without becoming a total emotional wreck again. That's been a lot of the problem, fearing that. Thank you for asking. Heavy work on the new theater piece just started. Gisele and them are down in Tarbes right now working, and I join in on Monday. So, it's the beginning of crunch time on 'The Pyre', but I think I can do that and novel too. Thanks for asking, J. ** Misanthrope, Ha ha, yes, will you all please stop objectifying me! Well, perfect then, plan for it. Bring enough Xanax along to get Joe on the Eurostar too. Like that'll ever happen, God love him. When will you know about the job extension? Surely they'll extend you. You're perfect for them, I'm sure. And they need your cuteness, man. ** Ken Baumann, Ken! Oh, Jesus, ha ha, I swear there's a little tiny version of you sitting on my right shoulder giving me little love-slashes with a tiny benevolent whip as we speak. You should meet him. You'd like him. Yours, me. ** Paradigm, Hi, Scott! Welcome back! Thanks about the novel. I sure hope so. The Day would be a dreamy birthday present, I mean only if it's no trouble. Thank you kindly, sir. I've known about the secret tunnel for a couple of years now, but, for some reason, I've only just become obsessed with finding it, and I have a plan and a co-conspirator friend who's equally obsessed, and we're going to find that thing now if it's the last thing we do. Hm, I imagine that there's perfectly logical reason why the vast majority of Australians live on the East Coast, or rather why the cities ended up being built there rather than elsewhere, but ... what is it? Prettier, calmer seas, better nature, better access to New Zealand, ... ? That is nice and unexpected about all the Dalkey stuff in the library. Literature-wise, you hardly need much more than what they've published. Fine day to you! ** Un Cœur Blanc, Hi! Oh, interesting, about the Bachelard. 'Round' is a beautiful word. I mean, I don't know the specifics of its allure for you, but, even just seeing the word typed without context, it really jumps out and radiates. Beautiful comment too. Your comment, I mean. Thank you very much for its great pleasure. ** Creative Massacre, Hi, M! I'm feeling pretty good, thank you. And you? Lonely Christopher is really good. Well, I published his book, so obviously I think so. Oh, I hate the 'Frisk' movie. I think it's miserably bad, but there are people who like it, so, if you see it, tell me what you thought, but, yeah, I really don't like it. I think you can watch it on Youtube now. Really nice to see you, my friend! ** Okay. Those eBook up there are real good. If you read them, I think you will be glad. See you tomorrow.