First Year : an mlp anthology

by Mud Luscious Press (Editor), P.H. Madore, Colin Bassett

an anthology of everything we have printed in our four-by-four chapbooks beginning in 2008 & going through to the end of 2009 & featuring the writing of ken baumann, shane jones, jimmy chen, brandi wells, blake butler, nick antosca, sam pink, james chapman, colin bassett, michael kimball, jac jemc, kim chinquee, kim parko, norman lock, randall brown, brian evenson, michael stewart, peter markus, ken sparling, aaron burch, david ohle, matthew savoca, p. h. madore, johannes göransson, charles lennox, ryan call, elizabeth ellen, molly gaudry, kevin wilson, mary hamilton, craig davis, kendra grant malone, lavie tidhar, lily hoang, mark baumer, ben tanzer, krammer abrahams, joshua cohen, eugene lim, c. l. bledsoe, joanna ruocco, josh maday, & michael martone as they first appeared in mud luscious print & here collected all together

298 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Robert]

This collection of very short and strange stories has wonderful production value. The book itself is beautiful. The stories inside though are a mixed bag of weird treats. They are not going to be for everyone. The stories I found myself liking were those with a more traditional feel ... though even calling them traditional doesn't quite do them justice. I really enjoyed the stories by Shane Jones, Nick Antosca, Michael Kimball, Kim Chinquee, Aaron Burch, and David Ohle.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Livin' the dream.

[Joe Milazzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

If indie publishing is to the naughties what indie rock was to the nineties, this collection very well may end up being the equivalent of a NUGGETS or one of those SWITCHED ON Stereolab compilations. The comparisons don't end there; these writings, all quite short, are like 7-inches, not just in that they were originally made available in limited quantities and in a format teetering and plunging over, if not for the gravitational force exerted by nostalgia, the brink of obsolescence (not vinyl, but print.) Because the the best pieces -- let's call them the A-sides -- really are concentrated, tasty bursts of imagination or pique or longing or whimsy or X-for-X's-sake indulgence. Though many of the writers would probably bristle at the adjective, "pop" in the best sense of the term, then. Completely aware of themselves as structures, of their connections to established discourses, of the formulae of catharsis. (No, really, I can't go into it here.) The B-sides... well, they're "interesting."

[Trey Harris]

ok, I didn't unanimously think every chap in the anthology was a "5 star" work, but there are so many that it's to be expected of any one person. Whatever little I thought was lacking there, though, is made up for by just how awesome the book is. Can't explain it really, it's just a smart size and shape, nearly pocket sized, and a little thicker because of it. Fun to hold in your hand. Filled with awesome writing.

[Ben]

Luscious. It changed my life.

[valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonder full.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

i don't have this book but i have the tiny books that it is made of. a lot of really cool awesome super-dandy stuff here, folks.