Pondering Shannon Peil throws some rapid-fire
with questions in Parker's direction for this
Parker installment of The Youth is Write Series
with questions in Parker's direction for this
Parker installment of The Youth is Write Series
Parker Tettleton's writing has appeared in DOGZPLOT, > kill author, elimae & Mud Luscious, among other places. His chapbook SAME OPPOSITE is available from Thunderclap Press. He was recently twice nominated for The Pushcart Prize. Find links to more of his work here. Parker was born in 1987.
Shannon Peil: When you start a piece, do you know where it's going to end?
Parker Tettleton: If it's a prose/short poem that pops into my head, they usually stay intact once
transferred onto paper/my laptop. Otherwise, I have to grind a bit.
SP: Do you force yourself to write when you aren't producing anything good?
PT: I'd rather do other things, like drink beer - so, no.
SP: Do you have anyone to bounce ideas off of or proofread for you before
submissions?
PT: I have a few I like to share things with, but I leave ideas & proofreading to
myself, usually.
SP: Have you ever been embarrassed by any pieces you've had published after the
fact?
PT: No. I prefer seeing progress. If the piece is presented the way I intended it at
the time, that's all I ask.
Parker Tettleton: If it's a prose/short poem that pops into my head, they usually stay intact once
transferred onto paper/my laptop. Otherwise, I have to grind a bit.
SP: Do you force yourself to write when you aren't producing anything good?
PT: I'd rather do other things, like drink beer - so, no.
SP: Do you have anyone to bounce ideas off of or proofread for you before
submissions?
PT: I have a few I like to share things with, but I leave ideas & proofreading to
myself, usually.
SP: Have you ever been embarrassed by any pieces you've had published after the
fact?
PT: No. I prefer seeing progress. If the piece is presented the way I intended it at
the time, that's all I ask.
SP: Do you prefer beer or snow?
PT: Beer is my preferred way to snow.
SP: If you built a robot, what would its main function be?
PT: Tickling my fancy.
SP: What makes you think 'holy fuck I have to write this down?'
PT: Every few days I find myself writing many things down. I believe it's an
unintentional mood more than anything else.
SP: When was the last time you cried?
PT: Before I answered any questions.
PT: Beer is my preferred way to snow.
SP: If you built a robot, what would its main function be?
PT: Tickling my fancy.
SP: What makes you think 'holy fuck I have to write this down?'
PT: Every few days I find myself writing many things down. I believe it's an
unintentional mood more than anything else.
SP: When was the last time you cried?
PT: Before I answered any questions.
SP: Do you have a day job? Does it incorporate any skills that make you a writer? Do you plan on writing for a living?
PT: I'm happy to say I'm a part of YesYes, a new literary press founded by KMA Sullivan. I'm helping with the blog, which incorporates all I can give it. I believe I will always write & I'm not fond of planning.
SP: Do you have any poetry from when you were a teenager? Is it awful? Can we see it?
PT: I finished my first several collections, five I think, before I turned
twenty. I'll reference my earlier statement concerning progress, & show anything for living expenses.
PT: I'm happy to say I'm a part of YesYes, a new literary press founded by KMA Sullivan. I'm helping with the blog, which incorporates all I can give it. I believe I will always write & I'm not fond of planning.
SP: Do you have any poetry from when you were a teenager? Is it awful? Can we see it?
PT: I finished my first several collections, five I think, before I turned
twenty. I'll reference my earlier statement concerning progress, & show anything for living expenses.
SP: What's the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?
PT: Things I hardly remember. I shit myself in elementary school.
SP: What are your biggest current influences in literature?
PT: Form-wise I've been taken for quite some time by prose poetry & very short
fiction. As far as names go, I am remiss to not mention many, but will say the
first that almost always comes to mind: Kim Chinquee.
SP: I know we're both Tao Lin fans. What do you think about people in their
twenties, like ourselves, having multiple novels out and available in major
bookstores, being reviewed by the new york times, etc?
PT: What can be said? It's great. Regardless of someone's feelings towards Tao Lin
&/or his work, his success speaks for itself. I've read Richard Yates twice. I
remember enjoying Shoplifting For American Apparel & Cognitive-Behavioral
Therapy. Yay Tao.
PT: Things I hardly remember. I shit myself in elementary school.
SP: What are your biggest current influences in literature?
PT: Form-wise I've been taken for quite some time by prose poetry & very short
fiction. As far as names go, I am remiss to not mention many, but will say the
first that almost always comes to mind: Kim Chinquee.
SP: I know we're both Tao Lin fans. What do you think about people in their
twenties, like ourselves, having multiple novels out and available in major
bookstores, being reviewed by the new york times, etc?
PT: What can be said? It's great. Regardless of someone's feelings towards Tao Lin
&/or his work, his success speaks for itself. I've read Richard Yates twice. I
remember enjoying Shoplifting For American Apparel & Cognitive-Behavioral
Therapy. Yay Tao.
SP: When you read Tao, do you ever start having 'Tao Lin' thoughts? Tragic, vague,
existentially crushing 'quoted' thoughts?
PT: Nah.
SP: What is the best underground magazine right now? What is special about it?
PT: The best I've kept to myself. Or I'm not sure what constitutes underground. Are
elimae, New York Tyrant, Mud Luscious, etc. underground? I feel fortunate to
have work in many places, & there are even more where I'd feel equally fortunate
to appear.
SP: Do you have any friends that write? How do you balance social networking as both
a person and as a writer?
PT: I don't make grand distinctions between those I know in person & those I do not,
so I consider myself to have many friends who write. The internet is my
sustained addiction. I feel I'm always a writer as a person, & suppose that
surfaces often in social situations.
existentially crushing 'quoted' thoughts?
PT: Nah.
SP: What is the best underground magazine right now? What is special about it?
PT: The best I've kept to myself. Or I'm not sure what constitutes underground. Are
elimae, New York Tyrant, Mud Luscious, etc. underground? I feel fortunate to
have work in many places, & there are even more where I'd feel equally fortunate
to appear.
SP: Do you have any friends that write? How do you balance social networking as both
a person and as a writer?
PT: I don't make grand distinctions between those I know in person & those I do not,
so I consider myself to have many friends who write. The internet is my
sustained addiction. I feel I'm always a writer as a person, & suppose that
surfaces often in social situations.
SP: What do you think about internet publishing and the direction in which contemporary literature
is heading?
PT: I believe I will always want to hold books. That said, I'm in favor
of internet publishing in large part due to the accessibility it provides. There
are far too many quality online journals & publishers I likely wouldn't read as
consistently as I do if they were all in print & came with a price tag. I'm not
one for endings. The possibilities for contemporary literature please me. I
don't need to know where everything goes; I'd just like to be a part of it.
SP: What do you want to do with your life?
PT: I want my screenwriting buddy to finish his script & have the tree house I've
been promised built. I want to write as long as I wish to. I want to learn how
not to do a number of things. Others, I want to keep doing.
Check out Parker's Blog
Purchase Parker's Chapbook
Check out Parker at Yes Yes Books
Fix it Broken's The Youth is Write Series continues next Friday (Feb. 18th), when Frank Hinton will be interviewed by Mike Young.
is heading?
PT: I believe I will always want to hold books. That said, I'm in favor
of internet publishing in large part due to the accessibility it provides. There
are far too many quality online journals & publishers I likely wouldn't read as
consistently as I do if they were all in print & came with a price tag. I'm not
one for endings. The possibilities for contemporary literature please me. I
don't need to know where everything goes; I'd just like to be a part of it.
SP: What do you want to do with your life?
PT: I want my screenwriting buddy to finish his script & have the tree house I've
been promised built. I want to write as long as I wish to. I want to learn how
not to do a number of things. Others, I want to keep doing.
Check out Parker's Blog
Purchase Parker's Chapbook
Check out Parker at Yes Yes Books
Fix it Broken's The Youth is Write Series continues next Friday (Feb. 18th), when Frank Hinton will be interviewed by Mike Young.
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