Robert James Russell

My flash story (read: short short story) “Garrison Keillor in Vietnam” is up at LITSNACK…right here!

Enjoy.

Yes, that is a picture of Marilyn Monroe reading James Joyce’s Ulysses. I have no idea if she actually read it, or is just posing, but regardless, it’s pretty cool.

That being said, today is the annual commemoration of Joyce’s aforementioned classic work, and to celebrate, I’m taking part in the Ulysses Meets Twitter project, which aims to re-construct the massive tome as a series of 96 “bursts” written by volunteers. I am one of those volunteers (I have section #74), and you can follow along with the fun here.

By Shepard Fairey for Mondo. And if you haven’t seen They Live, shame on you.

Via SlashFilm.

I like comics, I like to laugh, and I especially like witty, pop-culture references. Therefore, I absolutely LOVE the newest spread of five web comics by Kate Beaton (on her site: Hark! A Vagrant!). Fun. Ny. Stuff.

To prove it, here’s one of them now:

Check out the rest here, and make sure you peruse the rest of the site too. Comic gold.

So, you (that’s a general You) may or may not be aware (I’m guessing not) that I studied American modernism for my Master’s degree (particularly the works of William Faulkner). During that time I also dove headfirst into the works of James Joyce, especially his mega-tome Ulysses. Because of this, I’ve always wanted to take part in Bloomsday in some capacity, an annual commemoration of Joyce and Ulysses, but until now haven’t been able to. UNTIL NOW, I said! WEE!

I’m excited to be part of the @11ysses Experiment. What is it, you may ask? Basically, the brainchild of “Stephen of Baltimore”, the idea is to Tweet the entirety of the gargantuan novel in 96 segments by a cast of many (myself included), creating “Bloomsday Bursts” of the text rewritten to fit the criteria of Twitter. Got it?

The idea is to bring the prolific work into the modern age, and, personally, I think this is a wonderful way to celebrate the novel while also

And don’t think this is just some random fun (yes, this is what us literary-types do for fun). This has garnered a lot of attention, having been mentioned by The New York Times and Salon, among others.

If you have Twitter, follow @11ysses and enjoy the fun on June 16th. For more information, check out the official site here.

Literary fun! Go team!

Beautiful Things That Happen to Ugly People is a wonderfully fantastic, genre-bending “book” by Sarah E. Melville.

The official blurb:

Beautiful Things that Happen to Ugly People attempts to piece together the mysterious life of Paulie, the author’s alter ego, a man seeming to live in all times and no time at all, a faceless composite of our most human of souls. The fragments of his life glimmer in like memories through poetry and prose, photos and paintings, images that recall first kisses and wayward dreams, with treasured letters from friends and lovers, collected over the years. It is literature wrapped around art and art wrapped around literature, a modern illuminated manuscript, the pages like dots for the reader to connect with their own lines.

Featuring 146 full colour pages, 36 pieces of poetry and prose, and 13 letters written to Paulie by members of the Year Zerø Writers group and its community.

It’s hard to review Beautiful Things, since it is less of a book and more a work of art, but you need to know first that it is (per its namesake) quite beautiful, and truthfully…it’s an experience. It’s captivating to see how Miss Melville and her cohort tackle the mystery that is Paulie, ultimately creating a beautifully juxtaposed landscape of words and images, giving a true sense of self to someone who doesn’t actually exist.  And for this reason alone, for this novel approach in regards to creating and crafting character and story—doing so by utilizing much more than just the written word—Beautiful Things succeeds violently well.

You can purchase a copy for $19 via Miss Melville’s PayPal, detail of which can be found here, and I urge anyone looking for something new in the world of books to check this out. It will stay with you for days after you finish it.

I’m co-writing a monthly column called “The First Year” at Portal del Sol (“an online journal dedicated to the art of literary magazines and the writers, readers, and editors who craft and sustain them”) about the trials and tribulations (and joys) of starting a literary journal.

My first post is up now (here), so make sure you check it out.  Please.