“YO WRAP IT UP, B” – Guillermo Diaz, ‘Chappelle’s Show’
A reminder that before Gen Z was born, Dave Chappelle was the creator of the greatest sketch comedy show in history, and we were sad that he was gone, instead of angry that he won’t shut up.
Anyway, trans rights are human rights.
So, I’ll make this quick. I am not a person who thinks about awards, nor am I person who seeks out awards. Still—I am a writer, and therefore at least a portion of my personality is “cave-dwelling goon desperate for validation.”
Two crazy things happened this year: my short story, “He Is The River Monster,” got selected by Aimee Bender (just my favorite writer, no big deal) as a finalist for a Fractured Lit contest. I remember the exact moment my dear friend Chloe N. Clark texted me with the news. What a rush! Like finding a fiver on the ground. Nothing life-changing, but worth a phone picture.
(“He Is The River Monster” has since been rejected a bunch and is still unpublished, lit mag editors, lmk if you want a fairy tale about a river monster)
Second thing: my poem, “warm February watching nature documentaries,” published in Moist Poetry Journal, was nominated for a Best Of The Net award yesterday. Many thank yous and shoutouts to the homie Han Vanderhart, whose book you should read, podcast you should listen to, press you should support, and journal you should read.
An awards nomination is not the same high as a publication acceptance. My focus remains on the art—I want to be read, I want to be published, and I want the stuff I put out to be good, even worthy.
That said, validation does feel pretty good. So here’s everything I published this year.
“warm February watching nature documentaries” in Moist Poetry Journal
“human pastoral brick” “marriage sonnet 3” “KAYAKING IN THE GRAND TETONS” in The Rumen
“The City Installed Red Light Cameras” in Wrong Turn
That’s it so far—I have another poetry publication coming, had a short story publication fall through, and still have couple albums coming out later. The year is not done, after all.
In the meantime, maybe you’d like to read Vine?
Thank you for tolerating a self-indulgent post. Next week, we’re talking about drummers. See y’all in Georgia.
Sorry you got an email,
Chris