Tag: Keith Lesmeister

My CutBank Interview with Keith Lesmeister

Denton LovingLeave a comment

Thanks to Barry Maxwell and CutBank Literary Magazine for allowing me to interview my friend Keith Lesmeister about his new collection of stories, We Could’ve Been Happy Here (published by Midwest Gothic Press). Lesmeister lives and works in rural northeast Iowa, and all 12 of these stories explore the contemporary Midwest in some way. Here’s an excerpt from the interview.

DL: I wanted to ask you about the stories all being set in Iowa, which is your home state. The idea of the Mid-West is apparent in a lot of your work, especially in regards to how you create a sense of place to inform and impact your characters. Do you find it easy or difficult to write about this region that you call home?

KL: Very difficult because I’m from here, which means I take a lot for granted. I’ve had to readjust how I interpret my surroundings, thinking of myself like a tourist when I drive around, trying to take it all in. And despite the stereotypes, several parts of Iowa are quite beautiful. That’s been a big surprise for me as I’ve written this collection—how much I truly love the landscape around here.

It’s funny for this to come as a surprise to Lesmeister because when you’re reading his work, it’s pretty obvious how much to loves the place he’s writing about.

There’s also more in the interview about his love of basketball, and there’s some talk about how difficult it can be to herd cattle. Please read the entire piece at CutBank Online: http://www.cutbankonline.org/cutbank-blog/2017/9/cutbank-interviews-keith-lesmeister.

Lesmeister’s fiction and nonfiction have been widely published, and We Could’ve Been Happy Here has received praise from writers such as Benjamin Percy and David Gates. Bret Anthony Johnston said, “These are brutal stories—brutally good, brutally urgent, brutally hopeful.”

Most importantly, be sure to buy the book.  You won’t be sorry.

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Life as a Shorty

Denton LovingLeave a comment

Many thanks to Keith Lesmeister for featuring my story, “How the Mammoth’s Blood Flows” on this blog, “Life as a Shorty.”  There’s a short interview there also where Keith asked some questions about the story and my writing process.  “Life as a Shorty” is a great forum that Keith publishes online everyweek to talk about short fiction.  I hope you’ll follow his blog to be part of the discussion.

https://keithlesmeister.com/2017/01/life-as-a-shorty-how-the-mammoths-blood-flows-by-denton-loving-published-in-prime-number-magazine/

Recommended Reading 1/16/2017

Denton LovingLeave a comment

I just finished reading Lincoln Michel‘s collection, Upright Beasts.  One of my favorite stories is “Things Left Outside,” which also appears online at Weird Fiction Review: http://weirdfictionreview.com/2015/10/things-left-outside/.

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An essay of Walter Robinson’s that was originally published in The Sun has now been picked up by Reader’s Digest, and you can read the whole piece here: http://www.rd.com/health/conditions/doctor-becomes-the-patient/. (Check out Walter’s new website for more of his work: https://wmrobinson.com/.)

Corina Zappia has a new piece, My Sandwich Is Going to Eat Me, at The Stranger: http://www.thestranger.com/food-and-drink/2017/01/03/24758265/my-sandwich-is-going-to-eat-me.

Kate Jayroe has an essay online at JMWW: https://jmwwblog.wordpress.com/2017/01/09/essay-parts-by-kate-jayroe/.

Keith Lesmeister interviewed Susan Pagani on his blog (Life as a Shorty) about her story, The Fledgling, in The Rappahannock Review: https://keithlesmeister.com/blog/.

Finally, I was excited to read Lynne Sharon Schwartz’s thoughts about the English poet Stevie Smith in this review: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/looking-for-parents-and-cover-all-the-poems-of-stevie-smith/#! I didn’t know much about Smith’s poetry before reading this piece, and Lynne Sharon Schwartz continues to be so smart.  I admire her more all of the time.

Recommended Reading 1/4/2017

Denton LovingLeave a comment

As the new year is starting, I wanted to share some of the great stories, poems and essays that I’ve been reading lately.  I hope you enjoy these as much as I have.

Darnell Arnoult’s essay, When I Started to Cry, is online at Blackbird: http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/v15n2/nonfiction/arnoult-d/started_page.shtml.

Becky Bond, who is always hilarious, writes about the anxiety that comes with filling out forms: http://www.beckybondwrites.com/ffa-form-filling-anxiety.

Agatha French, the new staff writer in books at the Los Angeles Times, recently interviewed Stephanie Danler about her bestseller, Sweetbitter: http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-danler-sweetbitter-20160916-snap-story.html.  She also interviewed Jill Soloway and Eileen Myles about creativity, “queer art,” and the end of their relationship: http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-soloway-myles-20161031-story.html?utm_source=Books&utm_campaign=5465d277fe-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2016_10_26&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ee9d7b9236-5465d277fe-79848189.

Megan Galbraith’s wonderful essay, Learning to Mother Myself, was published in The Manifest Station: http://themanifeststation.net/2016/11/22/learning-to-mother-myself/.

Keith Lesmeister’s forthcoming collection, We Could Have Been Happy Here, is included in Memorious’s list of most anticipated books of 2017: https://memoriousmag.wordpress.com/2016/12/28/barrett-bowlins-anticipated-books-of-2017/.

Linda Michel-Cassidy interviewed Gonzalo Torne for The Rumpus: http://therumpus.net/2016/11/the-rumpus-interview-with-gonzalo-torne/.

Shawna Kay Rodenberg has written an important article about education, coal and poverty in Eastern Kentucky for Salon: http://www.salon.com/2016/12/31/sheltering-in-place-for-students-in-donald-trump-loving-coal-country-school-choice-isnt-a-solution/.

Susan Pagani’s story, The Fledgling, is in the new issue of The Rappahannock Review: http://www.rappahannockreview.com/susan-pagani-the-fledgling-f/.

Cassie Pruyn wrote a brilliant essay for VIDA that you should read and share: http://www.vidaweb.org/report-from-the-field-speaking-into-silences/.

Corina Zappia is a frequent contributor to The Stranger’s Food & Drink section. Recently, she wrote “Mackerel, You Sexy Bastard: In Defense of Sardines, Herring, and other Maligned Fishy Fish,” http://www.thestranger.com/food-and-drink/2016/10/26/24645304/mackerel-you-sexy-bastard and “Washington Is Getting so Cheesy,” http://www.thestranger.com/food-and-drink/2016/09/09/24551761/washington-is-getting-so-cheesy.