SmokeLong Quarterly

“I am young and mighty and red with all the blood my heart will send to my face.” Love it. Love this character. Who is she? (And is she available?)

Janet, my favorite 23-year-old circa 1992. Available via Voyagers-like time-travel device, yet emotionally distant. No device for that.

Four, five years from now, where do we find her and Bobby?

Bobby is divorced, medicated, in Indiana someplace. Janet is in New Zealand studying Art Deco.

“Ten months and two years together and this occurs to me now.” Joyce (my Aunt Joyce) called such moments epiphanies. What would you call them?

Is there a name for the intersection of a figure eight? Intersection of a figure eight, I guess. I feel like we see something new everytime we come back around.

“Bobby Goes To Washington.” Who would you cast for the movie version?

Campbell Scott. We’re talking ’92 here.

Word is you work as a librarian. Besides being the object of many a schoolboy fantasy and rockin’ with the Dewey Decimal system, how does the library hinder/help your writing?

Hinder: M-F 8-5 not conducive to fits of binge writing. Raging schoolboy fanclub pesty in the summer months.

Help: Librarians are the quirkiest people I’ve ever met. Also, the library is a constant reminder that beautiful works don’t disappear. I help make them last a while longer.