Ben Tanzer's blog

It is rare that I find Nick Ostdick of RAGAD, Jason Behrends of "what to wear during an orange alert" and Jason Pettus from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography in one room. All are charming, full-on raconteurs, and lovers of independent everything.

I decided to ask them to join me for the launch of the newest venture from TBWCYL, Inc. and "This Blog Will Change Your Life" - "This Podcast Will Change Your Life."

We gathered around a table at the Book Cellar and launched into thirty-odd minutes of literary and blogging love. Names/topics dropped included Joe Meno, The Foundation Trilogy, McSweeney's, Punk Planet, Thieves Jargon, THE2NDHAND, and of course Elizabeth Crane, among others.

The release reading for RAGAD # 3 is upon us. This Saturday join a whole host of fine readers for performances in celebration of our third installment. Readers include SPENCER DEW, BEN TANZER (author of the new novel Lucky Man), PETER ANDERSON, AND JOSH STEVENS. Editor NICK OSTDICK will read and host. Much fun, to be sure.

SATURDAY (yes, this Saturday), JULY 14, 7:00 PM
MOJOE'S HOTHOUSE
2849 W BELMONT AVE
CHICAGO, IL
FREE

I recently joined the writing staff of Wonka Vision magazine and have been given the chance to help them expand upon their bi-monthly music news section by writing 1000 words on the things that I thought they were missing (especially in light of Punk Planet and Clamor closing their doors) and that I find interesting - DIY culture, progressive politics, and independent artists of all stripes - film, zines, etc.

So, if you any thoughts or ideas here you think I should take a look at, please let me know. I don't know what this will look like or what will get in there, but if this is of interest to you, let's see what shakes out. And if you are open to my giving you a shout again in a couple of months let me know. If not, that's cool too, though ideas in general are/will always be welcome.

Guess what?

June 28th @ 7:30pm

The Fixx Reading Series (with your host, Amy Guth, author of Three Fallen Women)

4th Thursday of every month, FREE!

The Fixx Coffee Bar
3053 N Sheffield Ave.

This month:
(alphabetical so nobody punches me in the nose)

Eric Spitznagel, author of Fast Forward: Confessions of a Porn Screenwriter

Megan Stielstra, Director of Story Development for the Serendipity Theatre Collective's monthly 2nd Story Readings Series

Ben Tanzer, author of Lucky Man

Is this going to be an awesome night, or what? All of these fine folks will have books and other finery available for you to purchase, so c'mon out, bring your peeps, grab a beverage and a comfy seat and settle in. How very fun!

My publisher Steve Lafler and I recently had the chance to sit down and talk about writing novels. Our conversation went something like this:

Steve Lafler: Ben, in your debut novel Lucky Man, you take a unique approach—the story is told from the point of view of four friends. Gabe, Jake, Louie and Sammy each get a crack at the narrative from their own point of view. In part four of the book, Sammy’s version of the story brings a crescendo and a sort of denouement to the book. I’d like to know what inspired you to structure Lucky Man this way?

Ben Tanzer: Steve, I was thinking about how friends of a certain age or circumstance can become so close that their thoughts and experiences begin to merge, like they have one brain, and I really wanted to run with that. I also wanted the characters to be somewhat distinctive though and so they not only get to tell the same story from their perspective, but the novel is divided into four sections, with each section highlighting one of the characters and their struggles. I always knew the fourth section would be focused on Sammy and so I crafted his story to come to some bit of closure at the same time as the overall story. What I would like to know is what inspired you to tackle your new graphic novel in partnership with someone else? I could see where that might be an experience that’s both more creative and more frustrating.

Steve Lafler is the creator of Dog Boy comics, the BugHouse series of graphic novels, and now 40 Hour Man which he co-created with writer Stephen Beaupre. Further, 40 Hour Man was released by Lafler's new imprint Manx Media - http://www.manxmedia.com/ - which he created after working for several years with Top Shelf. I caught up with Lafler as he prepares to move on to new adventures and new digs in Mexico with his family, and here is what he had to say.

Let's start by talking about the Dog Boy comics - what do people need to know about these comics and what do they say about you?

I started drawing Dog Boy stories about a year out of college. After doing a daily strip for my college paper at UMass, I’d been messing around with the comic book format, looking to bring myself up to speed with it. As soon as I got a handle on comic pages vs. comic strips, I sat down and Dog Boy just happened, the material flowed like honey. I was working with an automatic writing/surrealist technique at the time, and Dog Boy sprang from my psyche mirroring the concerns of a young man making his way in the world: The search for meaning, for transcendent truth was primary. And of course, so was being broke, drinking beer, dropping acid and trying to get laid. Dog Boy back issues are available from Cosmic Monkey Comics at http://www.cosmicmonkeycomics.com/. I will do a collection someday, who knows when. Joe Sacco wrote an introduction for me, which will be in there.

Check out Manx Media's invasion of The Press Club in Portland, OR (2621 SE Clinton Street) next Tuesday, April 17th at 7:30pm. There will be juggling, RSS feeds, pinwheels, sitars, thinking outside the box, clowns, a live performance by Foreigner, visioning and futuring, and readings by Ben Tanzer and Steve Lafler from the novel Lucky Man and graphic novel 40 Hour Man respectively.

It started off innocently enough. I was leaving for work last Thursday morning and there they were all the way down on the other end of the hall. Waiting. Watching everything. And hovering maybe six feet off the ground. There were two mylar balloons just floating there and it wasn't clear what they were up to. One had a big, yellow, smiley face with a faux tie-dye background. There were no words. It was clearly mocking me. The other said "Welcome" and had all sorts of flowers and bugs in the background. Welcome to what? They didn't say anything as I came down the hall. They just sat there.

When I got home from work they were still there. Hovering. Watching. Saying nothing. Why hadn't someone claimed them by now? Why hadn't they moved on? Were they here to see me? And if so, why? I slept somewhat restlessly that night, but how couldn't I, I knew they were out there and I knew they had appeared with some purpose in mind. But again, what was it, and when would I learn it?

Check out Manx Media's takeover of Quimby's (1854 West North Avenue - Chicago) next Wednesday, March 7th at 8:00pm - http://quimbys.com/events.php?m=03&y=2007. There will be interpretive dance, claymation, PowerPoint presentations, origami, puppetry, dog training, blood donation, political debate, tightrope walkers, yodeling, agenda setting, and readings by Ben Tanzer and Steve Lafler from the novel Lucky Man and graphic novel 40 Hour Man respectively.

Yes, its true, Lucky Man is being released in one month. And yes, its also true that Lucky Man's Amazon ranking has dropped to 392,000. And no, no one has done a review yet. But the book has left the printers and we have booked our first reading - Internationalist Books in Chapel Hill on March 20th - which we hope to do in conjunction with our good friends at 20dissidents - http://www.20dissidents.com/. So, something is afoot. There is movement. And hope. Can you feel it? I knew you could. Now, come on, join the ride, and the first step is easy - check us out at www.manxmedia.com/luckyman.htm