It’s official, I received my first legit publishing agreement last week from The Great American Poetry Show:
Excuse the deathly ill eye-bags, it's been a rough week, and focus on the CONTRACT.
See, this is a big deal. This was two years in the making for this ONE piece, a poem titled “Voyeur.” You may remember from previous posts that I’d been rejected over and over by TGAPS. In fact, I’d sent them over 40 pieces for consideration before they took this one. In fact even though they’d ACCEPTED “Voyeur” editor Larry Ziman was going to REJECT it anyway. (Read the short story here, in which Larry called me while I was in Birmingham seeing Amanda Palmer.) In fact, the other two editors STILL rejected the poem, but apparently Larry has the final say.
I tell you, it’s amazing what perseverance and, frankly, talent, can get you. After initialing in the appropriate places, writing my “short-bio” (which is always harder than it sounds) and sending proof copies of the poem off to West Hollywood, CA I can actually breathe a little bit. It’s also a prime example of the publishing world and the time lines on which it operates. Everyone always asks me “well when will you see it? why can’t you buy it now? well when will you know?” and it just isn’t that easy. From the time “Voyeur” was a “possibility” for Volume 2 of TGAPS until I received the publishing agreement in my hands over a year had passed. The publishing world isn’t quick and easy, by any means, whether you’re an amateur or a professional.
You have to sign with blue ink.
I’m glad they settled on “Voyeur” though. That poem has a special place in my heart as it’s one of my finest pieces of narrative poetry, in my opinion. “Narrative poetry,” as the name suggests, has a plot. It isn’t necessarily a graphic description of any one thing. It’s also a style that one of my biggest mentors, Ai, is impeccable at. She taught me how to be a better narrative writer and in fact, when I turned “Voyeur” in for workshop my senior year of college she moved it to the top of the stack. While the rest of the class couldn’t see the “artistic value” of a girl watching her boyfriend fuck another girl, Ai knew what I was trying to do with the poem and mood of the reader. It was a turning point in the class because suddenly people became a little more daring, a little more open to ideas. This is never a bad thing.
I might or might not have temporarily passed out.
Speaking of Ai, I’ll give you some breaking news: she was the first person to receive an official copy of my first chapbook, The Rough Chronicles of Bipolar Romance, last week. The opportunity arose and it seemed only appropriate.
Yes M. Orphans, my chapbook is finished and back from the printers, sitting in boxes and waiting for your eyes to devour them. They will be sold through Modern Orphan Designs, which I’ve closed temporarily until I re-launch sometime in the next couple of months. I will tell you this however, I’ve finished all the limited-edition “Modern Orphan” t-shirts and a few custom “compound” shirts, which have been hand sewn, burned, cut up, pinned and will buff up your science points. I have also made charms using recipes from the voodoo lady I was named after, and a few very, very limited Modern Orphan necklaces. In addition to all THAT I’ve finished a few one-of-a-kind mixed media art pieces using a few fan favorite poems as inspiration. Not many people know that I originally attended college on a full art scholarship that I gave up to pursue an English degree.
And if that wasn’t enough en route to my house as I type is a set of blending oils for a limited run of my special, secret oil scents you’ll fucking LOVE. (If you don’t remember, I posted a while ago about the line of oils I had years ago called Lascivious XIII – I blended them in my kitchen and sold them from my bedroom.) If you don’t know the word “lascivious” means ‘inclined to lustfullness” and “arousing sexual desire.” The olfactory system is often overlooked in terms of libido but trust me, if you smell good enough to eat, someone will want to eat you. I specialize in dessert scents and sugary musk.
Despite being deathly ill (two trips to urgent care in less than two weeks, a rapid weight-loss and perma-bags under my eyes) I’m trying to keep this thing going. I couldn’t do it without Ms. Marie. That needs said. She’s my right hand woman, web designer, bust builder, care taker and food maker. Love, love.
Hold tight Orphans–Lots of awesome coming your way courtesy of the owner of this goddamn-motherfucking-orphanage.
P.S. Current music: Marilyn Manson – Arma-goddamn-motherfuckin-geddon
Dinner and a drink.
“I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip.” – Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho
The arts have been all but abandoned. Society as a whole does not care anymore, despite small pockets of resistance in major cities. [I like to call them outposts.] Music is discardable, it isn’t meant to move you to that near-orgasmic point of no return. There are more poets than good poetry. A few foggy, out of focus snaps post-basement party: PHOTOGRAPHER. Auto-tuning, a dye job and some sampling: MUSICIAN. Or worse yet “I have a pen, some paper and a small understanding of language.” In other words: POET.
It’s discouraging. Poets were once respected. Hell they were hired by nobility to be live-in scribes. Why? Because they knew that they would die but their legacy didn’t have to. They’d pay thousands of dollars for painted portraits because those are the things we look at today, in the year 2009. Our history was handed down through song. Now, in the heat of the 2000’s, when everything can be recorded on a cell phone these things are rapidly decreasing. Like the lost art of wine appreciation, dressing up, brandy after dinner and ascots–art has been reduced to something of the past. I’ve met people who have no idea who Shakespeare is, or what he was “famous” for. Gum-popping boys and girls who’ve never known [and quite possibly don't care to know] The Great Gatsby, The Bell Jar or The Scarlet Letter. Scroll through their iPod shuffle and you’ll see no mention of musical revolutionaries like Bowie or Black Sabbath. The beauty of Leibovitz or Warhol. This is the Information Age. Use it. Abuse it.
But. People. Just. Don’t. Care.
There was a time when artists were considered the top of the food chain, capturing an entire culture in song or on canvas. Poets were envied for their ability to do what most cannot–carve an emotion from written word. Throughout history many of the first things banned during wars and times of crisis were books and paintings. Censorship in the arts is no secret–and there’s good reason. Because we immortalize and demonize, observe and report; in short we are scribes of the universe, no matter our medium. Now we are left to fend for ourselves in an ever-increasingly jaded society. We are not respected but mocked, not admired but ignored.
But to any of you listening, I promise, we’re bringing that sweet magic back to life. One word at a time. This is my mission, my statement of intent. And I intend, oh yes, I intend.
Now all of you have a name. One large blanket to huddle under when the rain comes, because, I assure you, it will come. To art makers and art appreciators–a home, where you once had none in this steel-encased society, this gimme gimmie mantra ringing in our ears.
We aren’t nameless anymore.
We are modern orphans.
Through art we all can be immortal. We haven’t forgotten that–they have.
What is a MODERN ORPHAN?: Sexy, edgy, poetic, sleazy, used, abused and overdosed–loves live shows, late nights and DIY. We support independent art abandoned by society. We are slaves to excess and the exploration of human vices and capability.
Motto: No regrets, only excess.
Mission: To bring back the Byron :: Poets are once again rock stars.
What started my old perfume line, Lascivious XIII. They've been packed away for years and after much digging have been found.
From the mail bag:
Q: “How do you make your own Angel by Thierry Mugler?”
A: Its very, very difficult to make the scent match perfectly–its so fucking complex. Since everything I do is basically so D.I.Y. it hurts, I used to try and duplicate my own version of Angel oil before I could afford my own. Oil stays on your skin much, much longer than perfume. The alcohol in perfume evaporates quickly so your scent doesn’t last throughout the day. (FYI: As a little tip, buy perfumes labeled eau de parfum rather than eau de toilette as the former is made with a higher concentration of scented oil and will last much longer. “Angel” is an eau de parfum, as are most designer labels.)
For a bit of narcissism/background:
I used to make and bottle my own line of scented oils way back in college under the name Lascivious XIII, which focused on dessert themed scents. I’d sell them for $8 a piece from my Angelfire website (yes, ANGELFIRE) which was less than enough to break even. I “did it for the art” which means I had to give it up after about a year because I was broke between buying the scented oils, blending oils, label supplies, paints and paper for the special edition bottles, the bottling supplies and not to mention the time it took to blend a single scent.
(The lesson here kids is “doing it for the art” sounds awesome, but the reality is you’re probably going to regret it. If you want to keep making art, find ways to fund it. Don’t be afraid to charge your audience a reasonable amount for your product, in my opinion.)
Anyway, Angel is a musky, delicious and complex perfume–groundbreaking in terms of gourmand scents. Since it’s launch in 1992 women the world over have rejoiced at the notion that you don’t have to smell like a fucking bouquet of flowers. Personally I’ve been wearing it for over 6 years.
To replicate takes the following scented oils: (Bottom notes) – dark chocolate, caramel, patchouli, vanilla. (Middle notes) – passion fruit, peach and/or apricot. (Top notes) – bergamot and mandarin. (I used to buy these from a seller on eBay named abippert and the prices were unbeatable.) I used to blend with grape seed oil since it was lighter and absorbed easier than avocado or almond oil. These can usually be found at Bath and Body Works. As far as the ratios go, its trial and error. Sucks I know, but I never wrote down a concrete formula. My organization then, like it is now, was less than stellar. Obviously you want to build from the base up and go easy on the top notes.
For me, making huge batches of oil from the floor of my walk in closet (no lie, my ex-boyfriend at the time used to call me a dwarf) I hurt more batches than I helped. Its difficult to finally find the right ratio and then blow up the measurements. It sounds like it should be simple, but some of the heavier notes, such as patchouli, can’t be raised from 2 to 4 because then they just start overpowering the entire batch. Once that happens you’re basically fucked as no amount of dilution will save something like that or not that I’ve found anyway.
If you manage to scare up something similar to Angel, siphon it into any of a variety of roll on bottles (I bought them for fairly cheap from a seller on eBay named seattlle_4) and you’re good to go.
found these in an old backpack. remnants of days long past.
For even more information that you didn’t ask for:
I used to make little oil limited edition packages in which I’d decorate the bottles by hand and pair it with a matching piece of jewelry. For example I had a small line based on the My Ruin side project called The LVRS, which was scented like dark chocolate covered cherries. I’d pair that with a black wire ring decorated with black beads, garnets and pink quartz. There was also a line I called Agent Orange which smelled like ginger, dark chocolate and tangerine. Those rings were black, gold and cats eye. Etc. Etc. The rings I made were inspired by My Ruin lead singer Tairrie B[M] and her rock candy rings. The necklaces were handmade rosaries and chokers using old war and religious medallions I’d find at thrift stores and catholic shops.
Q: The world is vast and wide. Why do we put on our robes at the sound of a bell?
A: Buddhism is too mild mannered for me. In short: because you get paid to do so.
Q: Ever consider G[&]D t-shirts? Stickers? Spoken word downloads? Podcasts?
A: Yes and yes. I’m considering making a shitload of stickers and sending them out for free with the stipulation they’re put in a public place. Maybe send in a picture and I’ll make a special section dedicated to pictures. (Does this sound good to anyone? Yes? No? Let me know.)
As far as t-shirts, funny enough the [m.o.d.] link on the right is for my modern.orphan.designs. page which I haven’t had a bit of time to launch, though many of the prototypes have been made. At the moment I’ve given many of them away as gifts to test their wearability and market. I’ve been making and deconstructing my own clothing since high school.
As for spoken word I haven’t the gadgets yet to record myself and stick it on the intranets. If there’s a demand for it then I’m all in. The more content the better. It’s all up to the audience.
(If you have a question you’d like to ask, or a comment you’d like to make feel free to email me at julie [at] devilgossip [dot] com! Conversely, I have a background in journalism and interviewing so if you’re an artist (musician, painter, photographer, boutique owner, poet ect. ect.) and would like me to consider you for an interview to appear on this site, shoot me an email (subject: INTERVIEW REQUEST) with your name/website/examples of your work/info. (I research all requests carefully, that way if I do decide to pick you up for an interview I know what I’m attaching my name to. Similar influences and/or a clear agenda help.) I’ve recently interviewed New York based singer/songwriter Jessica Allyn in an article to be posted soon.)
