Zach Issenberg
@ZIssenberg
Writer of Miami! https://zacharyissenberg.squarespace.com/
I've a ton of new followers recently, so I'd like to say: Hello! I'm a writer, editor, and educator who believes that experimental literature can be as fun as it's demanding. If you're ever looking for book recs -or even my own work- check out my website! shorturl.at/uQgpX
And done! The first full draft of my new project is complete. I sought to write a mirror of last year's noir, contrasting that blackened story of grief with a journey into warmth. The result is a happy body horror about piracy and yearning in the Caribbean. Now back to reading!
Only a few thousand words in, but I've finally found the groove for a new writing project! The moment I finished my novella last year, I knew it needed a sibling in stark contrast. Now comes the fun part, figuring out how to play contrasts while keeping the mirror still.
Kit Schluter's translation of Copi's The Queen's Ball was easily one of the best books I've read this decade! But my friend who gifted me my copy said he was infinitely more excited for Schluter's translation of City of Rats. I'm grabbing this day one. Are you?
mark your calendars
The best books I've read this year... so far!
best books read so far this year
I think recent attention toward Beckett/Bernhard in U.S. English fiction is fun to delineate! But I feel that the answer is simple: the "German" sentence-structure allows one to replicate the manic pacing of contemporary language, within the guardrails of clear grammatical order.
I would love to read a smart high-up critical take on why "the Bernhardian" is such a popular voice to adopt for a certain strand of contemporary American writer, why the late 2010s into now is the appropriate moment for THAT particular thing to feel right and powerful
What wonderful friends you'll make talking about books! After years of chatting together online, @DbDjamel visited me and my uni's archives for Southern fiction. Each morning, Djamel researched Flannery O'Connor; each evening, we researched Atlanta cuisine. Until next time!
De retour d'Amérique.
A question for the bookworms! Does anyone have a book that just didn't click for whatever reason, but once it did - after a few tries - it rapidly became one of your favorites? Here are some of mine! I think it's worthwhile to ask ourselves when and how the right art finds us.
Remember to hydrate and rest this summer! Even during a busy season of work and writing, I always take the time to read something new at my family home.
I have more fiction publishing at the end of next month! A chapter from my Miami novel, PETRICHOR, is debuting in @MinorLits. I hope you're ready for something fast, brutal, and melancholic. Until then, be sure to follow this great literary mag! They support punks like me.
July looking good @MinorLits ... @alvinlu @stephensunderla @att_daisy @bruptencounter @ZIssenberg +++
If you're looking for a cozy game to play indoors during this brutal summer, why not check out Look Outside! It's an RPG about staying inside your apartment complex while an eldritch calamity destroys the world. I found the game hilarious, horrifying, and surprisingly tender.
Work and life have been quite busy, but I've still found time to read quite a bit! Here are the best new reads for me so far this year.
May the memory of Brian Wilson remain a blessing! My brother and I were among those internet scavengers and samplers who sought a restoration of SMiLE. His concept album gave us a curiosity for our many cultures and histories. History has passed us on. youtu.be/S22a1CITgj0?si…
This is tough, but fun! 20s: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 30s: Stagecoach 40s: To Be Or Not To Be 50s: Miracle in Milan 60s: Splendor in the Grass 70s: The Mirror 80s: Brazil 90s: Days of Being Wild 00s: Shrek 2 10s: An Elephant Sitting Still 20s: The Zone of Interest
20s: The Passion of Joan of Arc 30s: M 40s: Late Spring 50s: Pather Panchali 60s: Andrei Rublev 70s: Edvard Munch 80s: Where Is the Friend’s House? 90s: A Brighter Summer Day 00s: Morvern Callar 10s: The Kid with a Bike 20s: The Zone of Interest
How fun it is to read and share writing with friends around the world! Last year, I wrote a small novel that mixed the forms of gothic horror, noir, romance, and the memoir to explore metaphors of grief. It's exciting to share work with people I trust, who enjoy it in turn.
Honestly, friendship has a lot of advantages but a major one definitely is being able to read your friends' writings first. I just finished reading @ZIssenberg's new little project "Estuary Nights" and it's one of my best reads of the year. A poetic noir of heartbreak and loss.
And if you like the terrifying, hilarious horrors that I recommend, I have great news: you can read an excerpt of my Miami novel, PETRICHOR, in @MinorLits at the end of this July! I am that next southern gothic writer you're looking for; be ready for some fun.
Earlier this week, one of my students asked for the styles of Florida fiction, so I made them this little list, which I thought you might like too! South Florida fiction feels necessarily maximal, because we are a polyglot community of queer contradictions, terror that giggles.
Earlier this week, one of my students asked for the styles of Florida fiction, so I made them this little list, which I thought you might like too! South Florida fiction feels necessarily maximal, because we are a polyglot community of queer contradictions, terror that giggles.
It's time! One of the most fun, delirious histories to be published this year is in print. And it looks fantastic! If you're looking for a playful, expansive book written by a witty, brutal contemporary, check out Dan's debut!
Copies are here! Let me know if you want to review or interview or just stare at each other like long-lost friends for a major publication
This is your seasonal reminder to read Counternarratives by John Keene, one of the best fictions of the new millennium! A loving compendium of styles from the new world, challenged and reflected upon with the modulation of a master at home in several languages.
these plus Rilke’s Malte book is what I’ve been on lately