Coil editor Leah Angstman rounds up the best literary pieces from the indie Internet for you to read this weekend.
There’s a lot of stuff on the Internet to read. Here, let me help you wade through the crap to get to the good stuff. This recurring column features stories, reviews, poems, interviews, essays, and literary whatnot that you might have missed, and you can come back every weekend for new great reads.
“The biggest inspiration was conversations I had with the writers. I asked them to think about what sport means to them, or who they feel they are in that space.” | NATALIE DIAZ talks about the poetry of bodies, the limits of language, decolonization of sports, and what it means to be an athlete in “Not Just a Game” at Bookforum.
“There is at least one monster on every team.” | NICHOLAS RUSSEL writes about monsters, competition, sports, and being motivated by anger in “They Smile When They Chew,” at The Rumpus.
“Take the African dung beetle.” | ROBERT JAMES RUSSELL uncovers the history and magic in dung beetles in “We Know So Little: 009 — African Dung Beetle (Scarabaeus satyrus)” at Pidgeonholes.
“You were a hipster Lyz fan. ‘Oh, you like Lyz? Name five of her worst tweets.’” | LYZ LENZ is interviewed by MIKE SAKASEGAWA about God Land, belonging, false nostalgia, and the ways marginalized people are expected to share their pain in “Episode 98” of Keep the Channel Open. [Full written transcript for the hearing-impaired.]
“The thing about being the murdered girlfriend is you set the plot in motion.” | CATHY ULRICH shares an excerpt of her new story collection, Ghosts of You, and the crux of the whole book in “Being the Murdered Girlfriend” at Okay Donkey.
“Before doing GTL, the guys call up to Snooki. Does she need anything while they’re out?” | TARA LEMMA has a brief flash about Jersey Shore, warm fuzzies, and cattle prods, “Jersey Shore, but if Snooki Was Giant,” up at Hobart.
“Never open a book with the weather.” | DWYER MURPHY is “Celebrating ELMORE LEONARD’s ‘Rules for Writing,’” over at Crime Reads. [I will leave this here for you if it helps the emerging writers, but only with the caveat that I have broken all of these rules and will continue doing so if a story requires it.]
“Early sobriety was ruthless. I transcribed it in order to survive it.” | LESLIE JAMISON talks about her obsession with archiving and arranging in “Archive Lush” at The Sewanee Review.
“There’s something about a baby-gate left unhinged.” | TOMMY DEAN has a wallop of a 100-word microfiction, “Because Some Doors Never Open,” at 100-Word Story.
“You could say I’m obsessive about Florida. ” | KRISTEN ARNETT talks about what it’s really like to love, work, and struggle in the Sunshine State in “Florida Women Are No Joke. I Should Know” at The New York Times.
