Ephemera Newsletter Iss Feb.1
(Creativity and Motivation Weekly)
Welcome to the Ephemera Newsletter, Vinir! (Icelandic for “friends”)
Thank you to all who submitted to poetry in December for our February issues and especially to our finalist, Ashley Williamson, who will be the poet for the month of February! You can review her poems altogether once they publish as well as her artist statement and bio on this dedicated post on our substack page. We thank you for checking out Ashley’s work.
On to our standard content matters: Won’t you please check out last week’s issue if you missed it.
And here are some reminders:
Call For Submissions: Submissions are in for the February issues. We look forward to reading! We are open for April now. Feb 29 is the deadline. If you are a paid subscriber to Ephemera, you can submit to poetry @ Ephemera for free as a membership perk! (We email you a secret link at the end of the month). Free subscribers and anyone else can submit, too, with the reading fee and can submit up to 10 poems. Paying the reading fee will grant you 1-month paid access to Ephemera’s full letter. Learn more or:
In Brief…this week’s features:
Thoughts on The Avalanches and their semi-controversial mashup album “Since I Left You.”
Thoughts on Hillary Pecis and her mid-career success via brightly colored still life paintings.
February’s poet, Ashley Williamson and her first of four poems, “Blue Ochre”
New Feature: Literary Films where we select an interesting movie we’ve seen that dramatizes the life of a writer or writers or artists, particularly we’re interested in biopics, and apropos genre selections.
This month: Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
Our weekly lists:
3 magazines with open calls
3 awards/prizes
3 recent job listings for editors and writers.
**No sponsor this issue: Sponsor our letter! Reach out to info@Litbreaker.com to advertise with us.**
More ephemera: check out an Interesante selection, A.I. and overproduction; Book Recs, bonus content, and our mini-essays to start!
Backtracking…here’s a random cover of “Light My Fire” by a Japanese keyboardist: Here. (We keep finding interesting covers!)
Support us on Bookshop - See our past book recs and others. A highly curated list.
Last Week’s Issue.
Merci. Danke. Kiitos. 고마워 Go-ma-wo. Cảm ơn. Xiè xiè.
Ephemera
Dear Readers,
We’ve been out in the world. A sea change from how reclusive life had become. Fearful though we were, a tad apprehensive, we ventured to Kansas City as editors, and as people. We were tentative. Stayed in open spaces. Perused quieter tables at the book fair. Our internal voices still quiet. Murmurs from the crowds still a bit too loud. Despite our caution, we happily interacted with fellow writers and editors, listened to readings and panels, listened to gripes and brags, rants and raves, and, also, just existed in and amongst a friendly milieu en masse for the first time in a while. Bravo to anyone who went to AWP, who put themselves out there. And we certainly understand those folks who couldn’t bring themselves to attend. It was a toss up. Nevertheless, we wish those holdouts enriching local interactions. We’d forgotten how galvanizing it can be visiting with folks who love what you love, who are endeavoring in one way or another, writing or serving or businessing or inventing. There are some cool new projects out there, which we’ll likely cover in an Interesante section some time coming up soon. The heart and innovation in the literary and arts-intersecting worlds fills our hearts and inspires us.
“I like to think of painting as an endurance activity. Each painting in itself is a series of small movements that add up to a finished piece. And the continuation of the practice in painting is a journey with ebbs and flows and growth between paintings and shows. I relate this to endurance running, where the efforts of the thousands of miles that are put in before a race are summed up.”
—Hilary Precis, from Artspace.com
Here is a periodic reminder. Cacaw. Croak. Ahem… Find yourself a couple of readers. Find yourself an editor friend or another writer willing to be mutualistic. Find yourself a writing, editing, publishing world conversational partner. These things are lovely, oh so much. They are life breathing. Remind us of our often closely guarded, sometimes repressed writing dreams and ambitions. Rejuvenating! Helpful, for sure. We hope you’ll reach out to your peers and acquaintances and even professional contacts, discretely, well-vetted, and respectful, but reach, certainly. Remember to be brave. Even if who you know does not fit in with what you write. Blast it all, the writing mind, the comradery, the sisterhood and brotherhood, these are blessings. We wish them on all of you, dear readers. A healthy outside self can be the difference between pushing on and giving up, between seeking publication and writing in secret, between attempting a second or third book and falling silent, between growing as an artist and being and becoming mired. It’s so nice when people are friendly and generous. Remember to comport yourself as you’d hope to encounter from the others. We’re a community. A dynamic and intelligent and fierce and fathoming and odd crew. Eclectic as ever there was. But we can be championing and championed both for one another. Let’s aim for proactive, beneficent, and responsible guildship. Hugs and handshakes and backslaps and applause.
þakklæti!
(Gratitude)
Poetry by Ashley Williamson
Music: The Avalanches
For sixteen years, the Avalanches debut mash-up album had to suffice as their core artistic output. Released in Australia in 2000, and worldwide in 2001, Since I Left You, the album, has been revered and sometimes close to reviled, though, now, after a few more albums, much time elapsed in the music world, that which drew the ire of critics seems at worst passé but likely closer to moot; The Avalanches have proved themselves as creators and musicians of a sort, the listening world has weighed in decisively in favor of one of the most exquisitely borrowed albums ever made, and amongst reviewers and the like the album holds a top-album-ever-in-genre reputation. It’s not precisely known, but the album deploys anywhere from 900 to 3,500 discrete samples. Certainly, it’s well agreed upon that it’s thousands. This is remarkable. Seamstresses these producers are. Of the finest caliber, to the point where the threads are barely perceived—all you get is the pleasant, cool, robust at times, energetic and ranging satisfaction of the music, perhaps evidenced best in the most well-known track of the same name as the album.
The Avalanches walk the line of too many borrowed parts. The sheer mass of the amalgamation could easily threaten to implode. Or, all those parts and their originators could easily threaten to sue…. Such were the pressures and ecstasies for the Australian producing duo, Robbie Chater and Tony Di Blasi, who were struck with some serious physical ailments and other limiting issues after and around the time of their album debut. They formed in 1997 in Melbourne, Australia, and have featured at times a cast of different instrumentalists and contributors. The pair each play keyboard and contribute other elements as well, bass and vocals, to their odd brand of music-making which consists of using samples. The genre name attached to this style of music-making is as piratey in sound as it is practice: plunderphonics. In that aptly named genre, this album is considered by many to be the greatest of all time, which stacks with other similar critical accolades such as being named in best of the decade top ten lists, best of Australia all-time top ten, and others. Since I Left You is widely regarded as iconic, seminal, and a masterpiece. But what is it exactly?
“…we were collecting so many street sounds and ambient sounds from different movies or different sources. … And so, you're leaving the studio and you're walking down the street and you're just like oh my god listen to that. The world just sounds like our music and the music sounds like the world”
—The Avalanches, from Thecurrent.org
We’re not sure how best to characterize it, but some interesting monikers have been thrown out there, such as Dadaist and Mash-up music. We’ll keep insisting on our invented term exquisite borrow-ist. Listen carefully and you’ll see it lives up to its reputation, particularly as you pick apart each intrusion of a vocal, runs of notes, riffs, drums or lack thereof (audio samples seem to fill in for rhythm) and more while you recall that these are nearly all samples. And the samples range from around the world and across time. Take for instance the primary chorus of our sample song, “Since I Left You,” which comes from a band called The Main Attraction and their song “Everyday,” which is actually about meeting someone, whereas The Avalanches’ version is about a breakup. That’s a clever repurposing, for sure, and fits in with the concept of defamiliarizing something known to help make it both creatively new as well as well received. And yet, that sample is one of the most prominent and largest in terms of length and occurrence. Others are noise samples or a word a blip. The album is a complex collage of other bits of work that looks like something totally different and is impossible to see for its pieces unless you zoom in absurdly.
“Since I Left You,” the track is a great track. It’s uplifting while being about a break up. It deploys a cornucopia of sound and production tricks. It’s nearly entirely borrowed. To “get away with it” it basically invents a genre. There’s an important lesson. Get away with what you’re doing, not by cheating or conniving or anything like that, but with more invention. Adorn your copying or sampling or homage in so much nuance that the project is all but new. Too, we’re inspired by the breadth of The Avalanches interests in their medium. They clearly love music. Love your literature. Love more and yet more writers. Loving the work, maybe it seems obvious and too easy to say, but loving the process of work and the art itself seems to be key. Perhaps if you love, you’ll respect what you borrow, what you homage or quote by definition. In any case, we bid you take a listen to the whole album. If nothing else, it’s something to marvel at.
Interesting article on the circumstance of the album as well as looking back 20 years later.
Original song from The Main Attraction
Writers Submit: 3 Magazines
An online journal that is looking for creative writing in every genre. The longstanding journal has published work for decades and is a great place for writers with a wide range of outlooks, ideas, and orientations. DEADLINE MARCH 31
A print and online magazine that is, perhaps, the oldest English language publication. They are looking for fiction and nonfiction and also publish poetry throughout the year. A home to some of the most well known writers. DEADLINE ROLLING
A print publication that awards $200 to the best poem or flash fiction piece submitted for the edition. The publisher also has a number of publication opportunities and is now in their 17th edition. DEADLINE ROLLING
Weekly Artist: Hillary Pecis
After being out in the world for a week, these Hillary Precis domestic still lifes are hitting the spot. It’s funny how an artist can deliver sentiment so easily in a way that’s not readily explicable. Certainly, it’s the color and light effects, but what particularly about them? What is the ‘how’ of her juxtapositions and integrations of hue and linework, geometries and saturation, angles of view and, likely, less apparent techniques? Maybe she accesses the heart of domesticity through important objects, the things and thinginess of contemporary living—things have long been important, we acknowledge—and their relationship to the angle of the onlooker. Her works do not appear to be rooms staged for a viewer set at the distance of the walls. The POV is usually from someone intimately located within the space. While still, we would swear to a motion like potential energy in these paintings. The dog is about to be lifted into a lap. Those books (in painting example two) whisked into hands, a body hurried and huffed into that cozy chair. That dinner (in painting three) is ongoing and any one of those condiments or bottles might presently be of use. Life is rich, vibrant, light is warm, comforting, pleasure is simply and easily had in this work.
Precis began exhibiting in her 40’s, which is a relative rarity these days, though not unheard of. Writers love to hear of mid-life successes, and we’re no different. Born in 1979 in Fullerton, California, Precis grew up near the Oregon border. She received both a BA and MA in fine art. She’s been painting for a while, very interested in Henri Matisse—an influence that’s fairly apparent in her present work, perhaps in the coloration, but, too, myriad contemporary female painters—while juggling a family and, in the beginning, working a full-time job. In 2019, she had a bit of a breakthrough and has since began exhibiting in several galleries. She’s also had solo shows starting in 2020 at Rockefeller Center, New York; London, Beijing, Los Angeles; and San Francisco, alongside many group shows, one of which was at the National Gallery. In addition to focusing on her art, she is an avid runner.
“…especially in paintings of interiors there is a sort of portraiture that takes place in what people choose to put on display. I love the idea that those objects either define who they are or who they aspire to be”
―Hilary Precis, in Culturedmag.com
The work grants items in the foreground and background an equivalency of focus while still providing depth. However, the depth of vision is reduced due to the focus of many of her indoor scenes, the contained nature of these so-called domestic still lifes. Precis’ work is representational, not realist, and in that distinction likely lies some of the beauty, some of the mood and feeling. While working full time, and raising children, Precis’ canvases were smaller, her style and brush strokes attuned to that space, to her time. Now that she has converted to painting full time, her canvases and vision has expanded, same with her technique, her luxuriating in color and geometry and light. We can take this lesson to heart, the one of time and commitment informing our writing. Maybe it’s short poems, short stories, flash essays for now and until we have space. Too, we’re so impressed with Precis’ ambition and commitment to her art, and her self-maintenance. Balance and will. We can have these in our lives, and maybe a change of focus, a faith in process and routine, maybe we can practice a life like this. Most of us must. And there’s beauty and honor in that dedication, which, Precis’ art ensures us, can make it into our work and sometimes beyond when the conditions are right, when we’ve stumbled upon an angle, a patina, a voice or style that complements our selves and speaks to others.
Interesante: On A.I. from The New Republic
From: newrepublic.com
— (5 min read/8 min study)
“I think there’s another threat A.I. poses to the arts, and to everything, that’s been under-discussed. Let’s call it the pipeline problem. A.I. fans argue ... “A.I. could help you write 100 books in a year!” ... My question is always: Will A.I. produce 100 times as many readers?”
An interesting take from The New Republic on A.I.’s potential affect on writers, both in the book space as well as for TV and Film. We’ve seen discussions like this before. But the pipeline conundrum, at least in so far as it’s been encapsulated uniquely as such and reasonably well in this article, is important to re-consider, including how we’ll respond as writers and editors, particularly since it has already come into play with the glut of sci-fi submissions last year that shut down some mags temporarily as they sorted through the absurd amount of A.I.-generated stories. Can the writing world sustain even more content? The article doesn’t delve too deeply into this second order question. Yet, we ought to consider it. We’re currently experiencing an inundation of work, an expansion in the number of folks who want to write and who actively do. Yet, as the article mentions, not a corresponding demand for all the words. Maybe we’ll see A.I. summary tools that speed “read” stories for people so they can consume more. That seems a bit dubious and raises new questions about what it means to read something. We’re worrying, but thinking as well. We can see the increase in work turning readers back to gatekeepers and curators. Also, barriers to submit being ubiquitously erected across the writing world. What are your thoughts?
Prizes/Awards/Stipends Winter ‘24
U. of Wisconsin Poetry/Fiction Fellowship provides $40,000, healthcare, & a 1-course teaching assignment. Must have an MFA or PHD in Creative Writing & have not published more than one full-length book. $40k. $50 fee. DEADLINE MARCH 1
Editor's Choice Awards by Persea Books awards $2,000 & publication to a book of poetry to a self-identifying woman who has one or more published poetry books. They also offer other opportunities. $2k + pub. $30 fee. DEADLINE MARCH 15
Wild Women Story Contest awards $1,000 & publication to a work of F, NF, or poetry that tells a story featuring a woman protagonist with “the Wild Woman spirit.” Published by Tulip Tree review. $1k + pub. $20 fee. DEADLINE MARCH 8
Bookstore: Guides, Gifts & Classics
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Complete Stories of Dorothy Parker:
Last Week: Healing Power of Plants!
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~~~Bless~~~
(Goodbye)
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**Select Job Postings**
FUD: CW/Editor. PT. 1-3 Yrs exp. ~$20+/hr (negotiable). Remote.
Acad of Am. Poets: Dev & Membership Mgr. FT. BA+ 5+ yrs exp. $60k. NYC.
Feminist Press: Sr Ed. FT. BA+ 5+ yrs exp in publishing. ~$60k+. NYC.
Art and Cinema: Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
Director: Alan Rudolph
Writers: Alan Rudolph, Randy Sue Coburn
Actors: Jennifer Jason Lee, Campbell Scott, Matthew Broderick
“Dorothy Parker remembers the heyday of the Algonquin Round Table, a circle of friends whose barbed wit, like hers, was fueled by alcohol and flirted with despair.” —From IMDB
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