Olivia Gatwood is a poet whom you’ve likely seen on the internet. Her spoken word videos, including “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” and “Ode to My Bitch Face,” have accumulated over 3 million views. As a queer, emerging poet myself, I’ve appreciated the issues she’s explored in her work.
Read MoreOn her new Sturgill Simpson-produced LP, Deluxe Hotel Room, Lucette explores all types of love and the relationships that come with it. I recently spoke with the Canadian-born musician about her hometown of Edmonton, writing serious songs, and how making the new album gave her the courage to open up to others.
Read MoreIn 2018 at AWP in Tampa, Florida, I asked Teague von Bohlen why people from the Midwest are so tall and he laughed—surprised by my height, I think. I’m short. So short my parents used to joke that something must’ve been in the water in our Boston suburb. Then Teague said, “I think it’s all the corn” and mentioned a book he was working on about the Midwest, one that would pair flash fiction with photographs. I knew immediately I wanted to read it.
Read MoreThe Way Down Wanderers have the trait I love most about my fellow Midwesterners: they refuse to be categorized. Give their sophomore album illusions one listen and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. I recently chatted with one of the band’s two main songwriters, Collin Krause, about their new LP, the great Midwest, and what it means to take risks in your music.
Read MoreThe Tenderness Project is full of writing, music, images with different textures, different rhythms, from different kinds of people, all in the name of tenderness. It feels something like an altar. Though a lot of folks in creative communities have one of Ross Gay’s collections on their shelves or have heard Shayla Lawson belt out Frank Ocean songs between her poems, not many are aware of the collaborative curatorial work they’re doing online. The near-obscurity of The Tenderness Project has created an intimacy amongst the contributors that we hope to invite you into here. There’s room. More than enough, because “we are each other.”
Read MoreIn a 2016 interview with The Guardian, author Mary Gaitskill said “Literature is not a realm for politeness.” That statement holds true for all artistic mediums. New Orleans-based singer-songwriter Carsie Blanton is no exception. An artist with six albums under her belt, all released with a pay-what-you-want, doesn’t sustain a career for fifteen years by being polite. She has made the albums she’s wanted to make, the way she wants to make them, with no interference from the powers that be. I recently chatted with Carsie about everything under the sun including her new album Buck Up, creating a sexy card game from scratch, and how she manages to balance so many projects at once.
Read MoreJames Charlesworth and I were first introduced by my husband who repeatedly mentioned a writer friend I should meet. I was skeptical. You’ve probably had a similar experience.
Read MoreI am in awe of the impact Ivelisse Rodriguez’s short-story collection Love War Stories had on me as a reader. Ivelisse got me laughing and crying and spitting mad. She also had me wanting to study her text for clues, connections, and themes like it was a university seminar.
Read MoreIn 2012, before I knew I wanted to pursue writing seriously, I came across Kathy Fish’s work online and quickly purchased her flash fiction collection Wild Life. The book was full of a kind of writing I had never read—quietly powerful, intuitive, and so beautifully brief.
Read MoreFrances Cone is the indie-pop outfit helmed by Christina Cone and Andrew Doherty. With the release of Late Riser, this Nashville-based band is set to make their mark on the world. I recently chatted with Christina about everything under the sun, including what she looks for in a song, the differences between live performances and studio recordings, and the pressure of being pushed into something you’re simply not ready for yet.
Read MoreI was introduced to Claire Schwartz in February through a mutual friend in Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a national organization committed to ending U.S. support of Israeli apartheid. What started as an email introduction and the possibility of an intimate reading together at our mutual friend’s home evolved into a JVP-sponsored poetry benefit for the imprisoned Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour’s legal fund.
Read More“No one has a choice. The whole idea of choice, it’s just a Western myth designed to make people uncertain, prevent anyone from taking responsibility. It makes people not know who they are. But I know who I am.”
Read MoreRichmond, VA’s Mekong Xpress are a prime example of what I consider the “RVA Sound.” If you’ve been paying attention to the many, many great acts coming out of that corner of our world, you’ll know exactly what I mean upon first listen of their debut LP Common Knowledge. And if you don’t, you’re in for a treat. I recently sat down with bassist/guitarist/singer/all-around-great-guy Todd Herrington to discuss his band’s new album, how his hometown continues to inspire him, and the wonderful world of stop motion animation.
Read MoreKristin Garth and Elisabeth Horan are authors of the collaborative poetry chapbook Pensacola Girls, written in response to the death of Dericka Lindsay, a nine-year-old who died after an adult cousin, who weighed 325 pounds, sat on her as a form of punishment. When the family realized that Dericka was unconscious, they called 911.
Read MoreIn his new novel Ivy Vs. Dogg: With a Cast of Thousands!, Brian Leung invites readers into the town of Mudlick, where a judgmental committee cannot seem to keep out of anyone’s business, and where two teenagers are about to change the status quo.
Read MoreTatiana Ryckman is the author of the novella, I Don't Think of You (Until I Do) (Future Tense Books), and two chapbooks of prose. She is the Editor of Awst Press and has been a writer in residence at Yaddo, Arthub, and 100W. Her work has appeared in Tin House, Lithub, Paper Darts, Barrelhouse, Split Lip, and other publications.
Read MoreWill Marsh, recording under the name Gold Connections, has firmly planted his foot in the world of indie music with the release of his fantastic debut album Popular Fiction, out now via Egghunt Records. I recently had the opportunity to chat with Will about how the songs changed over the course of nearly a decade, the Charlottesville music scene, and the bottomless well of inspiration that is Bob Dylan.
Read MoreChloe N. Clark is a writer, co-editor-in chief at literary magazine Cotton Xenomorph, and a professor. Clark teaches college composition with a focus on rhetorical arguments. She lectures on Monster Theory, Genre, Speculative Writing, and Fan Studies.
Read MoreTabitha Blankenbiller is the kind of writer who can cook up an essay that’s equal parts delicious self-reflection and nutritious nourishment for understanding broader life experiences. Her work has been published in a variety of venues, including The Rumpus, Alternating Current, Barrelhouse, Luna Luna Magazine, Catapult, and here in Split Lip Magazine.
Read MoreWhen I got to know Lee Conell, I was in my third year of failing to finish Infinite Jest. Over beers and pizza, we talked about the cult of DFW, the temptation to love the idea of loving a book more than the book itself. In her own writing, Lee’s enthusiasm for language, laughter, and moments of grace and beauty comes through with refreshing authenticity.
Read More
