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ightning
s P A R K L E
& b L I N K
3.0
eOCg]
`)g
as performed on
Nov 7 11
@
Chez Poulet
2011 Quiet Lightning
ISBN 978-1-105-17835-1
art by McKenzie Coonce
mckenziecoonce.wordpress.com
curated by Quiet Lightning
edited by Evan Karp
evankarp.com
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Contents
SIDE Q
Nora Toomey
De-vice 7
A Conversation w/Patti 9
The Waitress Puts on Something Heavy 10
SB Stokes
from Gone from the Boat, Far from the Ocean 11
Susanna Solomon
Sheriffs Calls 13
Siamak Vossoughi
Nine Innings 17
Keely Hyslop
Anne Bonny Advises 23
from Things I Say to Pirates on Nights When I Miss You
Lindy Hough
The Wake of the Wave 27
from Wild Horses, Wild Dreams
L.J. Moore
from suburban gothic: a grimoire 29
Steven Gray
Fire on the Beach 37
3.0
McKenzie Coonce
Vines (left) front cover
Vines (right) back cover
SIDE L
Leigh Lucas
Alphabet Soup 39
Christin Rice
Rollercoaster Dogma 42
Sarah Agnes O.
February w/Emma&Adam (fingers) 46
Good Manners, w/Pluck and Luck 48
Frank Weisberg
from Your God Has Nipples 50
Sam Benjamin
from American Gangbang: A Love Story 54
Cassandra Dallett
Of Bushes and Wood 58
Lauren Eggert-Crowe + Lisa Ciccarello
Untitled 60
info + guide to other readings 62
7
sPARKLE & bLINK
De-vice
noun
32
L.J. Moore
Youaintmygrandson,kid.Sowhoareyou?hesaidas
hesmoked.
Ibummedonefromhim.MynamesJames.Iwas
readingtheTimesandsawthatyoudmovedintotown.
Charles perked up. They had an article about me
movinghereinTheNewYorkTimes?
No,Isaid.TheTimesHeraldRecord.
Oh. Charles took a deep breath, almost a sigh.
Well,hesaid,whatdoyouwant?
YourGodHasNipples.Ilovedit.
Charles slammed his hand down onto the table.
HOT DAMN! This is what Ive been waiting for: a good
talk.Shit,kid,youwantanywine?Imadeitmyself.
Ilookedaround.Yougotanycleancups?
Clean cups? Jesus, kid, you came to see me. You
knewwhatyouweregettinginto.Whatkindofquestion
isthat?
Hewasright.Igotupandgotmyselfadirtycup.It
took some searching to find one that was still good to
use.Mostofthemhaddeadmothsstucktothebottoms
ofthem.Theresthadash.ButIfoundaniceonebythe
johnandpouredmyselfadrink.
Let me guess: you want to be a writer, dont
you?
Yeah.Thatsright.
And you came to talk to me about being a
writer?
I nodded. His wine was strong. But it had a good
taste.
They used to pay me for this. You got forty-five
minutes to ask me questions. Then I have to watch the
news. I never miss the news. The world thinks its
passed me by. But Im keeping my eye on it plenty.
Society today: women dont know how to dress, men
dont know how to fight, and every other kids an
asthmatic.Itsaweakworldwerelivingin.
51
sPARKLE & bLINK
Charles looked out of his window, into the
distance.Icouldreadhismindthen.Hewascursingthe
clouds.
Anyway, he said coming to his senses. You
arent going to try to read me any of the crap youve
beenwriting,areyou?
No.
Good.Hitme.
I panicked and went with the obvious. Whats
youradviceforyoungwriters?
Charlesfacegotallbunchedup.Helookedlikehe
was in horrible pain. There are no young writers.
Thatsaterriblequestion.Howoldareyou?
Eighteen.
Eighteen! Kid, Im seventy-four. What can I learn
fromyou?Whatcouldyoupossiblyhavetosay?People
wanttoreadaboutthreethings:love,death,andmoney.
Youre eighteen. Ive been fucking longer than youve
been breathing. Longer than even your fathers been
suckingwind.AndIvefuckedthemall.Everywhere.On
everything. Ive been married and divorced three times
over. You got nothing to tell me I dont already know
aboutwomen.
Hepausedtosmoke.
EverydaybabiesarebeingbornandImreading
thepapertoseewhichoneofmyfriendsdied.AndIget
excitedeverytimeoneofthemdoes.Doyouknowwhy?
Because it means I can get out of the home. Thats my
social life now: funerals. My old life is gone. What are
yougoingtotellmeaboutlossanddyingIdontalready
know?Nothing.IminahomeforChristssake.
And shit, kid, Ive been poor, rich, poor, and rich
again. Spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on
whores and unappreciative children. What are you
goingtotellmeaboutmoney?Whatareyougoingtotell
meaboutanything?Hesmoked.Well?
NothingIguess.
Thats right. Stick to nothing for a while. Thats
whatyouknow.Waittwentymoreyears.Thenyoupick
52
Frank Weisberg
up a pen. Until then, keep your mouth shut. Dont
patronize people. First you live. Then you write. Then
youdie.
Whatsyouradviceforoldwritersthen?
Die young, Charles said. And then he laughed.
His laugh was more of a wheeze, like starting an old
lawn mower. He wheezed himself into a fit, coughing
and spitting everywhere before he gathered himself.
Thenhelitupanothercigarette.
Itookahitofmywine.YourGodHasNipples,the
title.Whatdoesitmean?
Charles smoked. You ever seen Michelangelos
Sistine Chapel? I dont mean in person. But a picture?
Youknowwhatitlookslike,dontyou?
Sure.Moreorless.
Well, Old Mikey painted God into there. Hes the
onewiththebeardreachingouttotouchthatnakedguy
next to him. Mike doesnt show them, but you can
clearlyseethatunderneaththeblousehesgoton,Gods
gothimselfapairofnipples.Doyouknowwhywemen
havenipples?
Ishookmyheadandhitmywine.
Menhavenipplesbecauseeveryonestartsoutas
a girl in the womb. No one has a dick for weeks. Maybe
evenmonths.Sousguys:me,you,Tom,Dick,Harry,the
wholegang,allstartedoutwithnipplesandapussy.But
then our pussy grew into a dick. We kept the nipples
though.
So you see: every man has nipples because he
was at one time a female. And right up there in Mikeys
painting hes got a God with nipples, which means that
theGodsittingupthereonthatchurchsceiling,revered
and depended on by the world, once had a pussy. My
Godneverhadapussy,kid.Hesallcock.
Ilaughedandbummedanothercigarette.Iwasin
my glory. Charles was who I wanted him to be. When
you talked to regular people you got nothing out of
them:Nicedaytoday.Myfavoritecolorisgreen.Idlove
53
sPARKLE & bLINK
toseeEurope.IfyouaddeditallupIdwastedweeksof
mylifetalkingabouttheweather.
Yousurecantalk,Isaid.
Talk.Fuck.Drink.Idoitall,kid.
54
Sam Benjamin
American Gangbang: A Love Story
58
Cassandra Dallett
Of Bushes and Wood
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