Artwork by Michael Salerno
Comprised of 151, 3-line poems, "Skeleton Costumes", the new book by Thomas Moore, sees the writer's work stripped down to its most raw and effecting form yet. Skinned of any extraneous flesh, the simplicity of the pieces belie their emotional impact and visceral depth. The short stabs and sharp explosions of verse accumulate to create an unconventional and, at times, harrowing narrative. "Skeleton Costumes" investigates fear, lust and an abandonment of moral codes with a terrifying force.
AVAILABLE AUGUST 1st 2014 from Kiddiepunk.
EXCERPT
PICKING AT THE BONES
By Thomas Moore
Skeleton Costumes started somewhere else. I’ve been working on my second novel for a little while now. I’ve gone through a lot of revisions and different experiments on the way to finding the voice that’s currently running the show and moving the book along. It’s taken quite a bit of work to tune into the moods and style that I’d been trying to get to. In order to get the novel to move how it needs to, certain elements that I loved had to be snipped away in order for other pieces that had emerged along the way.
There were certain scenes and threads that, for whatever reason, just weren’t working. Or rather they weren’t working alongside the rest of the book. I couldn’t arrange and fit them into any sort of structure that felt right. Some of them had been floating round my brain for a long time – some of them had been there for longer than I’d been working on the novel. There were images and moods that I’d gotten a little obsessed with – one in particular that kept flashing back and reintroducing itself. It (and others) wanted in, but they were either too rowdy or fucked up for their own good to get along with the rest of that structures that had established themselves as what was best for the novel to work.
In between working on the novel (which I’m still in the process of), I decided to try and find out why the pieces I’d had to cut wouldn’t work, and to see, just for my own curiosity – as well as a writing exercise – if I could get them into some kind of new shape or form. I ended up trying a variety of experiments with one scene in particular. I stretched it out, restructured it, fiddled with it, chipped at it. Eventually I cut it and cut it some more until it was a tiny fragment of the chapter that I’d initially intended it to be. I hacked it down to a short piece of prose – still no good – I hacked it down to a poem – still not right but better. I hacked it down till it was a three line poem and finally whatever had been getting in the way of the piece doing exactly what I wanted it to do seemed to have disappeared. Stripped down to a minimum, it worked better.
When I was left with the three-line poem, I figured, purely for fun, I’d try it as a haiku, with the first line having five syllables, the second having seven syllables and the final line back to five syllables. I wasn’t sure whether I was happy or frustrated or just amused that after so long working with the idea I’d got it to work how I wanted, in the simplest form that I could try. So I decided to try a few more ideas that I’d been struggling with – try and get them into a similar form. I spent a morning messing around with themes that I’d cut from my novel – one particular thread that was to do with these characters and violence and sex and some more grizzly material. I ended up with about seven or eight haikus.
I was quite happy with the stuff that I’d come up with. And when I was emailing Michael Salerno about something, I decided to copy and paste the new poems into the message. After some encouragement from him I decided to keep working with the form and use the themes that I’d been struggling with and hang them over this new framework that I’d realised I could use. The intention was not to specific book of haikus or anything like that, but the three-line, five syllable, seven syllable, five syllable form had proved the best mode to go, so I went with that.
There’s a narrative that runs through Skeleton Costumes, but it’s one built more on moods and suggestions as opposed to something that I feel the need to map out for anyone. It came from somewhere else and ended up in the minimalist, fragmented piles that were left at the end of the massacre.
- Thomas Moore, July 2014
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SKELETON COSTUMES SPECIAL EDITION DETAILS / ALL OF MY FEARS ARE SHARED WITH STRANGERS, LIMITED EDITION ZINE
Skeleton Costumes will also be available as a special edition that includes a separate 40-page zine titled “All Of My Fears Are Shared With Strangers” by Thomas Moore. This zine is limited to only 20 copies and will also be available on August 1st.
About “All Of My Fears Are Shared With Strangers”
Between 2007 – 2010, Thomas Moore kept a blog. During the prolific 3-year period, the site featured over 1000 posts, including hundreds of poems, many short stories, criticism and interviews with various musicians, filmmakers and visual artists. All Of My Fears Are Shared With Strangers is a collection of selected fiction and experiments from Moore’s blog and is available with the first twenty copies of Skeleton Costumes.
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BONUS MATERIALS
SLAVE HAIKUS
I started using DC’s monthly Slave posts as a way of experimenting with the form and enjoyed it. It helped to have that, so a big thanks to Dennis and the blog (as always) for being a space to work in, be inspired by, and experiment in.
Slave Haikus, written for DC’s over the last few months:
BBaSStard4BBaSStard
It’s one day later
I can tell something is new
No one has helped you
impawster
You are suffering
But not in the way you want
You don’t even realise
smirkylittleasshole -
You know more than us
Something really makes me sad
But it’s me not you
SexSlaveForFree
He’ll die without you
I know someone will kill him
Race him to the end
Littlecock
The grammar errors
You remind me of someone
I can’t tell you who
andthensome
Hesitant to me
A hotel won’t keep you safe
The bed is your grave
nochance
Can’t relate to you
I don’t get the foot fetist
But good luck in life
slavewantlife
Surf until we burn
Become what you need to be
Crawl to me with love
screamloudforever
Dumb rhymes turn me off
But hey – look who is talking
Haikus about slaves?
shakemetolife
You’re confusing me
You’re not a sex maniac
Tell me what you want
TinyTeen
I can help you soon
It’s not as weird as you think
You need to relax
tormentedfrenchboy
Can’t be more perfect
A naturally sad face?
You’re in the right place
Buckythedog
I can’t see your dream
God damn the language barrier
I’m so ignorant
MouthofStorm
Gamer for athlete
Doesn’t sound like a good mix
You believe in love
DissoluteLibertine
What started to change?
And I don’t know who you are
I feel like I should
FireBiker
This is so simple
Have you really faced the truth?
This is formative
HoneyTrain
Try to tempt masters
Be careful what you wish for
These guys are assholes
blondpower
Weird mommy issues
Although I’m not judging you
Childhood fucks us up
TheUnusualSub
Says he’s confusing
Christian, Republican
Not that strange really
Youngassslave
I won’t spare your life
Photos of swords and headphones
That fix your boner?
Jose
Such a simple line
But I’ll never work you out
You are confusion
analizeme
Abandoned orphan
You can’t go back anymore
Sleep here forever
StraightDisgrace
Taking you over
Completely format table
Then DELETE DELETE
FggotISOPussySuregy
You want surgery
You really want a pussy
But must stay a boy
tellittotheking
It’s easily done
The requests are so simple
Where are the crazies?
TillDeathDoUsParty
Love to stab yourself
Blood gives you an erection
Horny suicide
Bunny
Raped and “all sexy”
Yeah, you’re right – it’s pretty weird
Good luck in LA
Fuckmeharddad
It’s the wrong website
I think something’s going wrong
That photo is gross
imdark
You’re lost in the dark
Hate and love are tough to crack
Cool spelling mistakes
itsyourtime
Treet treet treet treet treet
Get me some fucking breakfast
Treet treet treet treet treet
Rapemyasshole
Wanna get so wired
And get shocked repeatedly
Too dazed and helpless
boyONfire
Not sure what you want
Your profile feels binary
But with half missing
GOLD_PENIS
Laidback skaterdude
You shouldn’t joke on this site
You face will be crushed
destroynipples
You sound really lost
And anything could happen
My favourite type
Plasticdoll
Neon plastic boy
You dislike losing your mind
Satan’s attitude
shrinkme
It’s Rick Moranis!
It’s Honey I Shrunk the Slaves!
It’s a niche fetish!
Pompei
Very extreme search
You’re looking for someone’s trust
Before you can say
Deepthroatfordays
Kinky rural boy
Looking for local old men
Fill your moth with cum
slaveboy2012552
No speed limit holes
You’ll give up everything
Your last owner died
ilike2sit
Real legal contract
To cover all avenues
Like real sadism
Heartless
Give me evil thoughs
Massive psychiatrist bills
You think this will help?
doe-eyed
Not fucking OK
I know not to trust you now
You won’t tell the truth
fucknowownnow
Twenty two years old
Political refugee
I’m nice – please hurt me
joe
I want to be loved
And I want my dick locked up
Please help me decide
loveusomuch
Cut of my penis
Trust me, I’m a piece of shit
Spit and piss on me
AsphyxiateMe
Fag freak amputee
Put a bag over my head
Just do whatever
Neaty
You’re not making sense
I don’t know what SCAMPY means
At least your cunt’s tight
Redrum
Drop the controller
Do you know why they come here?
You are in danger
Knockknock_whatsthere_my head
Straight and no limits
I’m nothing but product, now
I need misery
Psycrologist
Shy and closeted
Blablabla be violent
But please don’t kill me
gapingboypussy
Bred since eleven
Want to be used by black thugs
Then thrown in my cage
slave266
use my prop tie code
Yeah, you know what he means
Come on, he’s begging
heshorrendous
He’s a Twin Peaks fan
Which makes him kind of ideal
Wrap him in plastic
Nice_choice
I’m way, way too nice
So make me drink piss and cum
I feel so, so sad
meetyoutoo
I need honesty
So don’t be angry with me
Fuck google translate
SATANSwhore
Magical anal
Luxury property too
Weirdest mix today?
Unsustainable
Yeah, my mom is dead
My dad’s not but he’s a dick
Find me or kill me
GroomerSlave
Let me groom your crotch
I’ll leave scrotums sanitized
Book appointment now
Destroyme96
Cum and piss in me
Smash my skull with a hammer
I’m ordinary
BigReader
I’m getting older
Maybe I’ll just stay in bed
Read porno eBooks
smallfuck
You choose when to leave
Guys beat the shit out of me
I keep the receipts
LostItAll
I like extreme sex
Body’s covered in bruises
No respect or shame
shineatnight
Another gamer
Tie me in your car
Then just sell me on
haircut14
Change the way I look
Take control of my haircut
This is my first time
lol
A nursing student
Who wants you to explore him
He’s got weed, to help
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BUY
To purchase Skeleton Costumes, please visit here: http://kiddiepunk.com/skeleton_costumes.htm
Kiddiepunk: www.kiddiepunk.com
Skeleton Costumes at Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22601122-skeleton-costumes
Thomas Moore on Instagram: http://instagram.com/thomasmoronic
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p.s. Hey. So, today is ultra-cool 'cos Mr. Thomas 'Moore' Moronic has chosen this blog to be an official space of announcement for his great and gorgeous new book 'Skeleton Costumes', and I've got an early copy, and it's a knock out, so enjoy the intro and put your finger on the ordering link, if you know what's good for you, and all indications are that you do. Thank you kindly, Thomas! ** Bill, Hi. There seems to an endless or at least monthly supply of them out there so far. A ton of picking and choosing, though. John Wall, nice. I've still never been to Cafe Oto. It's one of my little dreams. Online compilation, cool, what's that? Say hi to Marc for me. Tell him that I and the blog miss him. Oh, no monopolizing, heavens. You're like a pea in the top spot's pod or something. ** Thomas Moronic, Yes, new ones! Thanks 'in person' for housing your baby's birth in these confines! The new slave sonnets are, you know, superb, my friend! ** Nicki, Hi, N. Oh, ha ha, then you're going to love Monday's post, not. I don't think you told me that story. Or maybe I heard the beginning of it? I knew a guy who escorted in order to write a novel about being an escort, and he would basically interview his clients pre-sex and then make a mad escape as soon as he got what he needed. He didn't take the money though, or he said he didn't. My FB feed is like the real world or something, which has its plusses and, of late, minuses. Hooray on finishing your chapter! Oh, yes, please post that link to said chapter when the time comes. I kind of want to see 'Guardians of the Galaxy'. In the theater rather than in some future plane. We'll see. Love, me. ** HyeMin Kim, Hi. I hope your heavy work day worked out heavily in your favor or, at the very least, in your work's favor. I'm not into hashtags. I feel like I should find them more interesting than I do. I keep trying to imagine them as poem titles, but it doesn't work, and that's probably the wrong approach. Great thinking and words on Satori Kon, thank you! You take care too. ** David Ehrenstein, Not a fan of heavy tattooing, eh? I'm not a huge fan, I guess. I do think it means something about the person who does that that's elusively interesting. RIP: Margot Adler. I listened to her on the radio a bunch of times. She was really cool. That's very sad. I'm very sorry, D. Hugs. ** Jack Kimball, Mr. Kimball! Yay! It's always a big honor to see you here, and with your writing so gloriously forefronted this time. Wonderful. Thank you ever so much! Beautiful thing! ** Gary gray, Hey. You think? About sexual appetite leading to great things? That's what they used to say about the nuclear bomb, ha ha. Yeah, I'm very happy to not talk about LVT. 'Nuff said. Thank you about the slaves. It was a unusually cogent group for some reason. Howdy! *** Cobaltfram, Hi, John. Yeah, let me know, and we'll sort it. 90s is too hot for me. I'm okay with mid-upper 80s at the most. But I've been a heat wuss since I was a squabbling blob. I hope duty called in a Siren-ic fashion at least. Mm, no, no slaves have written to me in a while, I don't think. I did get an email this morning from an escort management company ordering me to remove 'libelous' content from an old post that spot-lit a particular escort/porn star or face legal action. That was fun. ** Steevee, Look forward to reading the interview! Everyone, Steevee recently interviewed the cool, admirable filmmaker Richard Linklater, and here's where you can read their tete-a-tete. ** Kier, Hi, Kierster! Wow, that sort of sounds like that weird British (?) slang term for ass: 'keester'. I don't even know how you spell it, and the resemblance is obviously completely coincidental and irrational. Cool about you being able to stay in touch. A stationary computer, wow. They're getting to be like typewriters. If you want to know precisely, the escorts post will appear here on the 15th. Everything else posted while you're away should be okay. Unless I freak out and go wild or something. I'll try to remember to alert you if I do. Mm, donuts and coffee with Kier in Norway watching 'Twin Peaks' rarities sounds kind of like the best thing in the entire world. Did you end up creating something? Exciting! Yesterday I just worked on random stuff, I think. Stuff I'm behind on, mostly. Nothing too cool happened or anything. Really, I can't come up with a single highlight. Today should be nice though. How was yours? ** Sypha, Hi, James. I get them from about five sites whose raison d'être is to help masters and slaves find and interest/seduce each other. ** Aaron Mirkin, Hi, Aaron. I attend and am heavily involved in all the rehearsals, yeah. Zac is the film's director and has the final say on everything but it's a very collaborative project. I'm involved in at minimum an advisory capacity on every detail about the film. And, yes, we tend to heavily revise the text/dialogue in rehearsals based on how the text works in their faces and mouths and what we realize their strengths are, so I'm obviously very involved in that. Well, the film is ever less explicitly sexual. When there is sex, it's explicit, but we've been making the actual sex acts less important than originally planned, partly because it turns out to be much more interesting that way, and partly because we're more interested to work with fascinating performers than with people who are willing to have explicit sex on film, so we work in a detailed way with who we've cast and try to find a place where they're comfortable and we're satisfied with what they're willing to do. But directing explicit sex is definitely tough, or it has been. I guess if it were a porn film and the guys were hired only because they were hot and sexually uninhibited, it would be very, very different. 'Locust Star' by Neurosis, yeah, I get that. Kind of a perfect consolidation or something. Huh. ** Torn porter, Hi! Oh, gee, no reason to feel selfish or disconnected. There are a million ways to be a commenter here, all of them A-okay. Oh, shit, that CD I sent you. I forgot all about that. Yeah, it was sent ages and ages ago, and, as far as I can tell, it wasn't returned. I'll check to see if there are unopened packages somewhere, but I think it never got back here. Shit. Are you coming back to Paris? I think I still have a CD I can give you. Wow, things related to me seem like they were bastions of bad luck yesterday. I'm sorry on behalf of my things' bad vibes. I'm good. Are you generally digging being there? What's up with your film? ** Keaton, Andrew McCarthy ... oh, Andrew McCarthy, the John Hughes guy. Is he still around? Does he play people's dads like Judge Reinhold? I should go see Motorhead. I'll try. There are slaves all over the place, it's true. In the United States even. If I printed their locales, you'd be amazed. There's probably one living next door to you. Bon early weekend to you! ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. You're propping the Lemster, eh? Understandable. Everyone, do you want to watch/hear Moorhead's Lemmy Kilmister give relationship advice? Well, thanks to _B_A, you can. Here and here. ** Kyler, Hi, K. Awesomeness about all your good luck (and theirs!) placing your tome on such stellar shelves! Oh, David White, yes, right. He's very cool. That thing he made based on my thing is really nice. ** Misanthrope, There's always room for jello. Oh, you think? I think not. I think most definitively not. ** Joshua nilles, Hi, Joshua! It's really great to see you! And massive congrats on finishing your novel! Killer! I'll go get it post-haste! Thank you! And enjoy the aftermath, man. Everyone, the really, really good writer and d.l. Joshua Nilles has just finished the novel he's been working on for ages called 'in luna bore coda', and I'm completely sure it's fantastic, and you can go get it and then read it for free. Seriously, for free! You should do that. And all you have to do is click this. Seriously! Great, man. Enjoy the so deserved peace and quiet. ** Rewritedept, Hi. My day was uneventful, but it wasn't long and boring, so I guess I win, ha ha. Yes, Zac is very happily back. I will wish him happy b'day from you today. His birthday was very recently. Later, bud. ** Plein Soleil, Hi, welcome to this place. Well, you'd have to find the master/slave social media sites. Then you would have to join them. Then you could search for the slaves you've liked under their profile names. And if they're still there and available for owning, you could write to them and do your best to make them believe that you're the one and only dominant for them. I guess that's how you would do it. Thanks again. ** Okay. Go celebrate Thomas's book's birth, thank you. Remember tomorrow starts the weekend-long writers workshop here, so locate your thinking caps and get them ready to wear. See you tomorrow.