August & September
With two new books out there (see below) and a few more in various stages of the publishing process, I've been feeling buried, writing and editing different things every day. In the meantime, I found a few fun things I wanted to share.
First, my friend and collaborator Tim Saccenti sent me these pictures the other night. The first is Dead Precedents with the hands from the cover of Run the Jewels' third album, RTJ3, which Tim shot.
The second is Follow for Now with the hands from the cover of RTJ4.
Tim and them made these! They are physical objects. Here's the story behind the hands straight from Tim and El-P on The Verge. I am honored to have my work even tangentially related to theirs.
Tim is a visionary photographer, videographer, and designer, and I've been fortunate enough to use some of his work in Dead Precedents and the forthcoming collection, Boogie Down Predictions: Hip-Hop, Time, and Afrofuturism. More on the latter soon.
Fifteen Questions Interview:
I did a fairly lengthy interview with Fifteen Questions this week. Here’s an excerpt:
There are many descriptions of the ideal state of mind for being creative. What is it like for you? What supports this ideal state of mind and what are distractions? Are there strategies to enter into this state more easily?
It probably sounds corny but feeling positive, like the work is worthwhile. There’s also that spark of inspiration that’s usually an exciting mix of both confidence and fear: the feeling that you’re fully capable of doing something mixed with the possibility that you might fail. It has to feel possible while also feeling risky.
Distractions abound. I suffer the same ones as anyone: social media, hunger, laundry. Turn off the ones you can, and deal with the rest as needed.
Doing the work every day is imperative. Sure, inspiration hits at odd and inopportune times, but working every day is the only way to get things done.
Fevers of the Mind “Quick 9” Interview:
I also did a Fevers of the Mind “Quick 9” interview recently. Here’s an excerpt:
I never did well on writing assignments in school. In spite of my placement in advanced classes, I scored poorly throughout high school on writing-related projects. I made C’s in both English 101 and 102 in college, but in my second-to-last semester of undergrad, one of my instructors complimented my writing. We had done several in-class essays in her Abnormal Psychology class, and one day she pulled me aside and told me what a good writer I was. This came as a surprise, given my previous track record and the fact that I’d been an Art major for the first three years of college. Regardless, it stuck with me. I took a class on writing for social science research the next semester, and though I barely made a B, I felt more at home researching and writing than I ever had trying to do traditional art. I give the credit for my newfound confidence to my Abnormal Psychology teacher.
ICYMI:
Many thanks to everyone who’s copped a copy of either of my new books. Both of these are steps in new directions in publishing for me, one into poetry and the other into fiction. Both have been scary and exciting. Your support means everything.
In case you missed them, here’s a bit about each:
Professor Steve Jones of the University of Illinois-Chicago with his copy of Fender the Fall.
Fender the Fall, a sci-fi novella from Alien Buddha Press:
The poet Scott Cumming writes in his Goodreads review, “Short choppy chapters and sections coupled with an innovative design make for an original reading experience in what could be dubbed Back to the Future meets Primer, but funnier and less confusing than the latter.”
I put together a soundtrack for the book as I was writing it. There’s more about the book here and a look at the pages inside.
If you’re already sold, the paperback is here, but it’s also now available in a less-cool Kindle version.
My friend Rachel Carter reading Abandoned Accounts.
Abandoned Accounts, a collection of poems from Close to the Bone:
My friend and fellow First Cut poet HLR wrote this nice review of Abandoned Accounts on her Treacle Heart website. Here’s an excerpt:
Roy Christopher is clearly comfortable with traditional forms and he bends these ‘rules’ to tell his story in the best way possible; the poems are terse and impactful in their simplicity, and Christopher has evidently mastered the art of rhyme. In some poems, the rhymes are watertight, building pace and maintaining rhythm, punching exactly where they ought to, and other poems have looser rhyme schemes, where Christopher plays freely with language and meter while still maintaining an utterly convincing voice. None of these verses are careless: every poem says exactly what it needs to, without relying on flowery language or incomprehensible metaphor or frivolous formatting or random risk-taking. Christopher is a true wordsmith, and as a reader, I was totally absorbed by his voice.
Many thanks to HLR for the kind words.
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop:
Coming up next are the interview anthology, Follow for Now, Vol. 2 from punctum books and the edited collection Boogie Down Predictions: Hip-Hop, Time, and Afrofuturism from Strange Attractor Press.
More on those soon!
Hope you’re well,
-royc.
http://roychristopher.com