Smoking With Henry S. Kivett by Beth Thomas Smoking With by Ashley Iguanta What is a "fuck face"? It's a face one makes while fucking and/or being fucked. Was the lack of names something you did purposefully, or did it just happen? What happens when we give or deny a character a name? This is something I do occasionally. In this case, I don't remember making the decision; it just happened. I'm usually more deliberate than that, but it felt unavoidable in this piece. I hate to make blanket statements about naming characters, so much depends on context, but I do think an absence of names can create a sense of unmediated connection between the reader and the subjects. Pronouns don't carry the baggage or create the barriers that names can. Why do they break up? Does either one ever know what is going on with the other? At the risk of spoiling reader interpretations... Something along the lines of never being satisfied with the selves they were presenting each other with and/or never presenting themselves to the other in a genuine manner. It's complicated. Even in real life, who ever completely understands what goes wrong? What happens to these people? Is there hope for them? For him? For her? Again, at the risk of spoiling reader interpretations... They're young, they'll likely figure themselves out, but not in time to save their relationship. What have you read recently that you loved? Currently reading "The Mezzanine" by Nicholson Baker. Such mundane details are so intimately and lovingly described. It's deeply engaging. Not only do I feel like I know the narrator, I feel a bit like I am the narrator. I'm in his head, anyway. Or maybe he's in mine. Read Mutual. Issue Thirty-Three (October 2, 2011): Egg Toss, August 1989 by Meagan Cass «» Dinner Parties Where Place Cards Leave No Choice in Seating by Chella Courington «» Sovetskoye Shampanskoye by Berit Ellingsen «» They Live in Black and White by Danica Green «» Watermelon Seeds by Micah Dean Hicks «» Gwendolyn by Robert Hinderliter «» Sleepless #7 by Joe Kapitan «» Mutual by Henry S. Kivett «» Wolf Cry by Sara Lippmann «» Jamila by Carmel Reid Mawle «» When I Lose Track of the Children, 5 & 7, Near the Magazine Section at Costco by Christopher Merkner «» Finally by John Minichillo «» I'm a Woman For Sure by Kate Nesheim «» Exposure by Katy Resch «» The Road to the Casino Del Sol by Mather Schneider «» Never Never by Amber Sparks «» The Language of Hairzilla by Chris L. Terry «» Interviews: Meagan Cass «» Chella Courington «» Berit Ellingsen «» Danica Green «» Micah Dean Hicks «» Robert Hinderliter «» Joe Kapitan «» Henry S. Kivett «» Sara Lippmann «» Carmel Reid Mawle «» Christopher Merkner «» John Minichillo «» Kate Nesheim «» Katy Resch «» Mather Schneider «» Amber Sparks «» Chris L. Terry «» Cover Art "Sparta, NJ" by David Ohlerking «» 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). You'll receive updates detailing the release of new issues, new reading periods, contests, etc. We do not make our mail list available to anyone else.