Smoking With Ben Loory by Beth Thomas SmOke Me! by Paula Iannuzzi via Creative Commons license Tell us about how this story started, and why you chose a gorilla, as opposed to some other animal. This story started the same way every story I write starts: with a line that just kinda comes out of nowhere. The process of writing for me is the process of following that first line and seeing where it goes and where it ends. So I have no idea why "I" chose a gorilla; I don't really feel responsible for it. I will say, though, that I admire gorillas; they are frightening and powerful and foreign but they also have a kind of magnificence and a pride and dignity to them that chimpanzees, say, don't. I really hate chimpanzees, I think they're awful, nasty creatures. Whenever I see one of those things about how someone's pet chimp ate their face off, all I can think is, well, yeah, what'd you expect? Those things are horrible. But gorillas are nice. I would like to be one. I mean, if I had a choice between non-humans. At the end, we see the impact of the art on the viewer, as the woman begins to take the shape of a gorilla. Whose responsibility is it to make that connection? The artist's or the viewer's? You mean the connection in reading the story? Or the connection in the real world? If you're asking if I think artists have a duty to think about how their work will affect people, then yes, I think absolutely they do. I mean obviously not in a legal sense-- that would be a nightmare, especially in this country-- but ethically, if you're not thinking about what you're doing, then you shouldn't be inflicting it on other people, is my opinion. I mean, just on the most basic level: garbage in, garbage out, you know? Most people are barely holding on by a thread; miss a bus and they lose their shit, you really want to be fucking with their heads without really thinking what you're doing? (This from a guy who loves Richard Laymon and Georges Bataille, by the way. So don't expect any kind of consistency.) Can we make a similar association here between writing and the reader? What have you read lately that has made such an impression on you? I like to point everyone to Nathalie Sarraute's Portrait of a Man Unknown whenever I can. It's out of print, of course, like everything that's good, but you can find it pretty easily on abebooks or whatever. If you can't find it, or don't want to, her earlier book Tropisms is just as good, maybe better, and is much shorter and clearer. But I read Portrait first, so that's the one I come back to. It made the world a new place, though I'd never do it justice if I tried to explain how. "Now and then, when I have been seated next to them at the theatre, without looking at them, while they listened motionless and as though turned to stone beside me, I have sensed the trail left across the entire audience in the wake of the images emanating from the stage or from the screen, images that settle on them like steel filings on a magnetic surface; I longed to rise, to intervene and check these images in their flight, to turn them aside; but they flowed with an irresistible force, straight from the screen onto the women; they clung to them; and I felt the women close beside me, in the darkness of the hall, motionless, silent and voracious, spinning these images into an object destined for their own use." My favorite paragraph, and sorta fitting in this context, I suddenly notice. Do you think someone close to you would see you in all of your stories, as the narrator sees the neighbor in all of his art? Oh, yes, absolutely… in fact there are some people-- like my sister-- who I tend not to show my stories to, because they immediately see right through them and start giving me real-world advice. I'll be like yeah, you know, I'm not really looking for help, it's just a story. And she's like, Yes, but I'm talking about your life. But then, on the other hand, there are other people who don't seem to see me in them at all. There's actually a therapist I know who once told me that my stories didn't seem to reveal anything about me! But maybe she was just insane. I mean, she was definitely insane. Have you ever noticed that therapists are always insane? I have noticed this but my sample size is small. You specifically requested the work of artist Justin Chen to accompany your story. How did you become familiar with Justin's work? Justin illustrated my story "The Sea Monster" when it appeared in Annalemma a few months ago, and I really loved what he did. He has a way of cutting right to the heart of the story without taking away any of its mystery. His illustrations make me see my stories in a new way, like from a complementary angle, or something. I just think he has a really interesting mind. And I like the way he draws, too! You hear me, Justin?? Thank you both. Read Gorillas. Issue Twenty-Nine (September 29, 2010): Bearded by Patrick Allen Carberry «» Hip by Kim Chinquee «» Our Littlest Brother by Dan Crawley «» LAX by Michael Czyzniejewski «» Bathroom Jesus by Kelli Ford «» Boy With Cherries by Adam Golaski «» Dancer by Peter Grandbois «» Aeroplane by Alex Haber «» Feral by Joe Kapitan «» Gorillas by Ben Loory «» Model #3 by Annam Manthiram «» Working Halloween for Christmas Money by John Minichillo «» Claire by Nick Ripatrazone «» Guard by James Robison «» Sixteen by Laura Tanenbaum «» These Three Things That Noah Doesn't by J.A. Tyler «» Snake Walk by Ajay Vishwanathan «» Dive by Dawn West «» Bedtime in Thorpe Village, Leicestershire, England by Sue Williams «» Thank You, I'm Sorry by Caroline Zilk «» Interviews: Patrick Allen Carberry «» Kim Chinquee «» Dan Crawley «» Michael Czyzniejewski «» Kelli Ford «» Adam Golaski «» Peter Grandbois «» Alex Haber «» Joe Kapitan «» Ben Loory «» Annam Manthiram «» John Minichillo «» Nick Ripatrazone «» James Robison «» Laura Tanenbaum «» J.A. Tyler «» Ajay Vishwanathan «» Dawn West «» Sue Williams «» Caroline Zilk «» Cover Art "Sara Serengeti" by Marty D. Ison «» Letter From the Editor Interested in subscribing to SmokeLong's weekly newsletter? Click here. An email should be created. Send it as is, and you'll be subscribed. If the link does not work for you, send an email to imailsrv@smokelong.com with Subscribe slq-info in the body of the email (no subject is necessary). 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