This being the first full year that I've done a newsletter, I'm doing a quick recap of 2021 in links and images. Between writing and drawing and publishing, I did a lot of stuff this year! You may have seen some of this, but chances are you haven’t seen all of it. Check it out!
Here we go:
I had two poems in the April issue of Anti-Heroin Chic.
My MF DOOM security-envelope collage (above) was featured in Shadows of Tomorrow: DRO CUP’s DARK SIDE OF THE DOOM Pink Floyd/DOOM Mash-up & Visual Album (MF DOOM Tribute) on The Witzard.
I had a poem called "San Diego" in the inaugural issue of Sledghammer Lit.
And an excerpt from my next book for punctum books, Escape Philosophy: Journeys Beyond the Human Body (see below), is available on the Malarkey Books site.
I have a short story called “Hayseed, Inc.” in Cinnabar Moth’s anthology, A Cold Christmas and the Darkest of Winters.
I also did a “Quick 9” interview with Fevers of the Mind.
Todd L. Burns did an interview with me for his Music Journalism Insider newsletter.
I had three (3!) books come out this year:
Abandoned Accounts -- my first collection of poems from Close to the Bone's First Cut Poetry Series. Here's a bit about how this one came to be.
Fender the Fall -- my first science-fiction novella from Alien Buddha Press. Some background on that one here.
Follow for Now, Vol. 2: More Interviews with Friends and Heroes -- my second anthology of interviews from punctum books. More on that one in this newsletter.
I have an edited collection coming early next year from Strange Attractor Press called Boogie Down Predictions: Hip-Hop, Time, and Afrofuturism. It's available for preorder. There are more details about it, including the table of contents in this newsletter. The list of contributors is out of control!
I have yet another one coming out next summer from punctum books called Escape Philosophy: Journeys Beyond the Human Body. More on that one soon!
This one is not something I did, but my friend and collaborator Timothy Saccenti sent me these pictures of my book Dead Precedents with the hands he made for Run the Jewels' third record, RTJ3,
and Follow for Now with the hands from RTJ4!
I've been working with my old friends Patrick Barber and Craig Gates on a new zine called discontents. We're just about finished with the first issue, which includes pieces by Cynthia Connolly, Greg Pratt, Peter Relic, Andy Jenkins, Spike Jonze, and a cover design by Tae Won Yu. I just made a batch of T-shirts for the release featuring artwork by me and Craig Gates.
Aside from all the writing, I did several drawings and logo designs. Some are on signs, stickers, and skateboards, as with the Reset Mercantile logo above that Justin April and I did for the new skate shop in Dothan, Alabama.
I made and photographed this object for the cover of my book-in-progress, The Medium Picture. I also did a photo-essay of sorts about its making.
And finally, I drew a picture for this year's Skatelite Christmas card, celebrating 30 years of Hoffman Bikes!
Happy New Year!
As ever, here is my annual New Year’s poem:
A Prayer for a New Year
More stretch, less tense.
More field, less fence.
More bliss, less worry.
More thank you, less sorry.
More nice, less mean.
More page, less screen.
More reading, less clicking.
More healing, less picking.
More writing, less typing.
More liking, less hyping.
More honey, less hive.
More pedal, less drive.
More wind, less window.
More in action, less in-tow.
More yess, less maybes.
More orgasms, less babies.
More hair, less cuts.
More ands, less buts.
More map, less menu.
More home, less venue.
More art, less work.
More heart, less hurt.
More meaning, less words.
More individuals, less herds.
More verbs, less nouns.
More funny, less clowns.
More dessert, less diet.
More noise, less quiet.
More courage, less fear.
More day, less year.
More now, less past.
More next, less last.
Thank you for reading, responding, supporting, and sharing my words and work. Doing this newsletter almost every week has been another major project this year, and your attention is appreciated. If you know someone who might be into it, spread the word!
Here's to a peaceful and productive 2022!
Hope you're well,
-royc.
http://roychristopher.com