I AM KNOCKING SO LOUD AND YET YOU WON'T EVEN OPEN THE SHADES

…I have two new stories up; "There" at 52/250 A Year of Flash, and "Tin" at The Literary Burlesque. Both are also here under "Words In Print."

…I think I have always felt like an outsider, like a person hiding in the shadows under wide rimmed trees, scraping bark off until it cuts under my fingernails and bleeds, then being ashamed for hurting myself in such a pathetic way. I am shy and a showman. I am a white male and a black woman. I am warm bath water and soap scum mottled on the surface like some kind of grotesque lily pad. I am not one thing other than a person peering inside the display window, having a look, envious about how well lit and adorned the interior has been made. If I could break the glass without offending the owner, I would. I just want to be inside where the beauty lives.

…I see a lot of posts from strong women about what it's like to be a strong woman in a "man's world." is it really such a man's world? this writing world of ours? doesn't seem so. doesn't seem so at all. (go ahead and throw your rotten tomatoes, raise your middle fingers, toss your blades, because, yes, I do have a penis, and yes, I did just say that.) most of the writers I know and like are female. and honestly, I don't make any distinctions. my mind doesn't go, "oh, hey, that author's a woman," or "that dude's a dude, so be sure to read some of his stuff." I'm sure there still exist some prejudices and glass ceiling-type impediments around for women, but it seems like great writing will peel your skin no matter who's written it, whatever the gender or ethnicity. I often read incredible work by people that I personally don't even like. yet the quality of their work is undeniable. you can't say, "I don't like dennis rodman because he's such a dick, so therefore I think he sucks as a basketball player." he doesn't (didn't) suck as bballer. on the contrary, he was one of the best rebounders that ever played. and yes, he was also a prima donna dick. a good story is a good story. a great poem is a great poem. is someone really shelving outstanding works by females? no, I don't think so.

I get supporting other writers. my problem is I see too many clubs/groups/clicks/elitism. there's this tight little publishing house or there's this gaggle of people that only hang together. you have to sort of be invited here or there, need to know the password, have to have someone in that group bless you before you can enter. it's like "mean girls." it's silly and juvenile but, people, it is real. it is. and I don't like it.

so let's just talk about writing and not attach a label of origin to the writer. I always pictured xTX as asian with piercings, so I was surprised to find when I met her that she was not that at all. but who cares? who cares if she's a man? can't her writing be enough? she could be a llama with sever birth defects and I'd still be a fan.

okay, enough ranting. I just read some things that set me off. I'll be better in a few minutes.

Here are some things I like on a friday:

"Without the lyric, the narrative won't lift us to heaven and without the narrative the lyric won't grow the pair of wings required to lift us to heaven." Kyle Minor

The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else.
- Umberto Eco

Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles.
- Frank Lloyd Wright