person by sam pink was out in 2010 from lazy fascist press. it is a novel with chapters that are only a few pages. the cover art is by sam pinkoccurrences in person include sleeping in a sleeping bag, eating a sandwich, and buying a pencil
the writing is first-person and has a combination of deadpan and more conversational lines, including exclamation points
the feelings expressed by the speaker vary a lot between negative and positive and are usually pretty extreme, so they feel playful and funny
It's cold and I hate everyone I can see.
All of my strength is required to hate this many people but I manage and
I am proud of my effort.
I expect the same of everyone else.
and
She looks at the tv and she says, "I will agree that he is a cute old-man."
I lean over the edge of the bed and reach to the floor.
"See," I say. "He is absolutely adorable and he is tremendous."
there are repeated phrases and occurrences throughout the book, such as "It feels like practice" and having words scroll through the speaker's headhole
The word "bad" scrolls across my headhole in neon letters and I see myself saluting it.
Goddamn.
and
I like reading alone in my room on the floor waiting to go to sleep.
It's the closest thing that makes me think the word "perfection" and have the word "perfection" flash through my headhole
in neon letters.
there are chapters that are repeated in different versions, which adds to the playful and laid-back feeling for me
i read most of person on the subway, and i felt happy. the writing felt like sam pink was writing whatever he wanted, not restricted by ideas of consistency or what should be in a novel
whenever i am around sam pink at readings or something, i have fun and enjoy his character. when i saw sam pink read at ear eater (audio of the reading), it was the funniest reading i have been to
read an excerpt from person and visit sam pink's blog
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