Behind The Blurb part 3 of 3 Matt Hart

Our final blurb for Gravity & Spectacle was from the first person we asked: Matt Hart

Like Rosemarie's blurb, this was also too big to fit on the back of our book cover, so here is the full unedited version:

Who’s weirder than all of us? And why does it always feel like our “alienation is being filmed before a live studio audience”? If you’ve ever asked those questions, or if you’ve ever had a cactus for a head with eyes all over it, blinking wildly in the sun—or, if you’ve ever wondered why you can’t stop going to punk rock shows, even though everyone else thinks you’re too old for punk rock shows, so you stand in the back feeling odd or invisible or both of them at once—well, the photographs and poems in Gravity and Spectacle are a biography, a field guide, a hymnal, and battle plan of, and for, the rest of your life. Yeah, you might just be that strange. I know I am, and as a result this book is somehow a great comfort to me, even as it complicates and celebrates my bewilderment. It reminds me just how bizarre (in the best ways) being alive right NOW really is—a reminder to attend to it with ferocity and joy, but most importantly with imagination and empathy by any means necessary. 

~ Matt Hart, author of Everything Breaking/for Good and editor-in-chief of Forklift, Ohio: A Journal of Poetry, Cooking, & Light Industrial Safety

We first met Matt Hart when he came to town on a Southwest tour with another memorable poet named Jeff Sirkin in 2016. I hosted a poetry reading for them at an art gallery in Phoenix and we were able to hang out before and after the event for food, drinks and stories. Jia and I were only 1 year into this project, but we showed him some of our early photographs and he didn't laugh or scoff. In fact, he encouraged us, which was extremely important at that stage of development.

Matt is a powerhouse writer. His two recent books are no fluke or exception, so check out Everything Breaking/For Good from YesYes Books and The Obliterations from Ledge Mule Press.

As the editor-in-chief for Forklift, Ohio: A Journal of Poetry, Cooking, & Light Industrial Safety, he published some of the most impressive and innovative issues in indie-lit. Which is why we had to have him on our Punk Rock Presses panel at the AWP conference in Portland.

Matt has also played and toured with various bands over the years. Here's a song from his current band Nevernew that's worth heavy rotation:

 

But most importantly, Matt is the best Mentor / Hero / Friend that you could hope to find.

   

Copies of Gravity & Spectacle can be ordered from Tolsun Books, Small Press Distribution, and even Amazon.

Or if you'd like to get a signed copy from me, just send $20 (free shipping)
through PayPal https://www.paypal.me/ShawnteOrion
or Venmo https://venmo.com/ShawnteOrion

Secret Low-Key Virtual Book Launch for GRAVITY & SPECTACLE

Our book launch was canceled, so I'll just make a quiet little blogpost announcement:

It began with an impulse purchase of an art mask sculpture from artist JJ Horner's yard sale, before going through five or six years of collaboration work with photographer Jia Oak Baker. Now Gravity & Spectacle has been published as a gorgeously square book of poems and photographs by Tolsun Books.

This project was supposed to come out about two years ago, but we kept pushing back the deadline because it just wasn't good enough. We finally got to a point where we were proud enough to publish it right when the pandemic hit.

"Jia Oak Baker's stunning photographs of a discarded punk-rock-skateboard-video-prop-mask, and Shawnte Orion's sardonic, pop culture-infused poetry make the strange world of Gravity & Spectacle. It is a slanted ode to Phoenix and its surrounding deserts, both gorgeous and absurd, stoic and wry, gravitational and spectacular, a "love letter to the fireplace" of a hometown seen through the lens and the pens of two of its inhabitants."

We had to upgrade and pay extra for high quality gloss pages so they could handle all the photographs. We were still nervous and hoping everything would look right, because we couldn't order a preview copy first... but the Tolsun team (special thanks to David Pischke) did an amazing job with the layout and design. Jia and I were so excited to see that this book came out better than we could have imagined. We can't wait to bring it to readings in some of our favorite cities whenever we are allowed.

But in the meantime, you can order a copy from Tolsun Books, Small Press Distribution, and even Amazon.

Or if you'd like to get a signed copy from me, just send $20 (free shipping)
through PayPal https://www.paypal.me/ShawnteOrion
or Venmo https://venmo.com/ShawnteOrion

I'll make more posts about the background (including the J.J. Horner art), blurbs (infinite thanks to Rosemarie Dombrowski, Sean Bonnette, and Matt Hart), and sidestories of the book in the coming days.

If you need a sneak peek, take a look at these sample poems and photographs that were showcased by A Dozen Nothing in February at https://adozennothing.com/2020/02/01/shawnte-orion-jia-oak-baker-february-2020/