Author Dossier 12: Steev Gillies

A4 contributor Steev Gillies ruminates on life at the end of the world. Conclusion: humor is essential and so is being the fiercest cannibal on the ruined streets of Pittsburgh.

Steev was born in Brazil but mostly grew up in the town in Alabama that has Space Camp. Artifice 4 contains his first published fiction, although his writing has appeared in The AV Club and the American Journal of Orthopedics. Also, The Believer once published an essay calling his great-great-great grandfather “quite possibly the greatest failure that ever lived.” So there’s that.

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1. Preferred type of apocalypse (plague, nuclear holocaust, ice age, etc.):  

I grew up figuring it would be nuclear. I guess I’d want to be proven right?

2. Preferred post-apocalyptic city: 

Well, I live in Pittsburgh and tend to agree with the majority of Hollywood location scouts.

Author Dossier 11: Joslyn Persh

On this wintery Friday we have for you Joslyn Persh, a contributor of Artifice 4, as she presents to you a few post-apocalyptic preferences.

Joslyn tells everyone that she lives in Baltimore, MD and sometimes that’s true. She’s a recent graduate of New College of Florida, where she learned the following: 1. King Saul’s daughter is worth 100 foreskins, 2. Defining the prose poem is only mostly impossible, and 3. There are people who believe that fiber is some sort of conspiracy. She will be attending CalArts in the fall with every intention of earning an MFA in creative writing. She also has a nonacademic life, which includes a boy who animates and a cat that might be embarrassed of her. Joslyn is rarely sure of anything.

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1. Preferred type of apocalypse: 

Ice age. I like scarves.

2. Preferred post-apocalyptic city: 

I’d prefer Baltimore, but I could deal with whichever city has a decent looters to loot ratio.

Author Dossier 10: Dan Brady

Please welcome Dan Brady to the final wrap-up weeks of the Artifice Author Dossiers. He is the poetry editor of Barrelhouse.  His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Big Lucks, BlazeVox, Circumference, Dark Sky Magazine, Gargoyle, IsReads, Shampoo, and ARTIFICE 4.

We agree that most things during the apocalypse should be “kind of swanky and decrepit at the same time”…

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1. Preferred type of apocalypse: 

Earth swallowed by our Sun as it balloons into its Red Giant stage. At least we’d know it was coming.

2. Preferred post-apocalyptic city: 

I’d probably stay in DC. There are will be plenty of hidden bunkers, fortified buildings, and surplus military equipment to keep me going for a while.

The Round-up

A veritable lovefest dedicated to our talented contributors.

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Richard Chiem’s short is featured on Small Doggies. Also, more recently, find his words on Metazen. He is the editor of this literary journal which celebrated its first print issue last August.

Turn the virtual pages of Birding by Kat Dixon for FREE here, but also please consider buying the excellent chapbook– if you haven’t yet. Look for her new book of poems Temporary Yes on February 21st.

Listen to this recording of “The Earth is What Happens”, presented by Jen Besemer and Tim Armentrout at the 6th annual Chicago calling event, Long Now and Then, at Myopic Books. Jen also has a new video poem to share.

Caroline Crew has three poems up on >kill author 15 and two on the Killer Vinyl 4.

Confessions [of a Variety] by Trisha Low is available as an echapbook on Gauss PDF. Download it!

Find two poems by Rebecca Elliot on Diagram. Be them new or old, they’re still exceptional.

Remember to get your copy of How the Days of Love and Diptheria (Nephew/Mudluscious Press) by Robert Koss, it will hold you over until The Alligators of Abraham is released in 2012.

Mark your calendars: Colin Palombi’s band Velvetron has a gig at Chicago’s Nightingale Theater on Friday, Novemeber 4th.

Glen Shaheen’s book Predatory has gotten some stellar reviews. Check it out. And check out that beautiful cover art…

(Don’t worry all you other talented contribs, more features to come!)

Author Dossier 9: Kat Dixon

As always, we are excited to share with you the thoughts and feelings of our wise contributors– especially on the gruesome topic of mass human extinction!

This week we are featuring Kat Dixon, who can be found in Artifice 4. She is also the author of the poem-book TEMPORARY YES (Artistically Declined Press 2012) and several chapbooks. She can be found blinking here.

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1. Preferred type of apocalypse (plague, nuclear holocaust, ice age, etc.): 

I hold no stock in apocalypse. I live in a city with one of the highest densities of Jews in the country, so I am legally obligated to whisper during this conversation.

2. Preferred post-apocalyptic city: 

Any in Florida because they have the most funeral homes.