Saint Louis Projects

2012-02-07T20:50:00.001-08:00

2012-02-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

SLP and JKP to Attend the AWP Conference and Bookfair
Fundraising event to held at Thurman's on Feb. 22nd

Dearest friends,

At the end of this month, CJ (JKP founder), Colleen McKee (SLP author, Bad Shoe contributor, panel moderator), and Erin (JKP/SLP managing editor) will be traveling to Chicago to attend the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) Annual Conference and Bookfair. The AWP has accepted our panel discussion on small press marketing strategies and whether the traditional bookstore remains relevant. We also will sell our handmade chapbooks and distribute information about our press and literature in St. Louis (we'll be talking about many of you and (hopefully) selling your works!). The AWP event is the largest literary conference in North America, affording us a fantastic opportunity to network with other small presses and draw national attention to our local press. For more information about why we are traveling to this conference and what we will be doing there, see the image below.

Although we have kept prices for the trip to a minimum by traveling by bus and staying in a hostel, the registration fees for this conference are pretty outrageous if you're not backed by a university. We'd also like to help subsidize Colleen's plane ticket from California to Chicago. So we're throwing a fundraiser on Wednesday, February 22nd at Thurman's Grill and Provisions (4069 Shenandoah; details forthcoming) at 8 pm to help us along.

So, we're throwing a little party to raise funds. We will have several performances, a raffle, and book sale. I'll continually update this page with information as we gather more prizes, performers, and money-raisers.

There will be no cover charge, but we will pass a donation bucket for the performances.

Also, please let me know if you'd like to help in anyway. We love doing what we do, but unfortunately, the labor of love doesn't buy bus tickets.

Thus far:

RAFFLE ITEMS (tickets will be $1 each or 7 for $5):

***Framed photography by Katie Clancy
***(2) framed photos by Bob Reuter
***1-hour tarot reading gift certificate from Julia Gordon Bramer
***Artwork by Sean Arnold
***Mangia Italiano gift certificates
***Bad Shoe book package
***SLP book package
***Untamed Ink book package (journal, 10 issues)
***Pamela Garvey chapbook
***Photography by Alison Carrick
***1991 hand-bound Diane Di Prima chapbook, "Seminary Poems", one of 2,000 ***Signed Lawrence Ferlinghetti handbill w/ 9-11 political poem ***Handmade bilingual book Nacion Nomeda by Ruben Medina, published by Rosalita Cartonera -- one of 75
***Local Harvest Cafe and Grocery gift certificates

PERFORMANCES:

Caribbean dance demonstration by Maria T. Balogh
Poetry readings by: Sean Arnold, Maria T. Balogh, Erin Wiles
Fiction reading by Pamela Garvey

Thanks for your support. We hope to see you there.

2012-01-30T14:00:00.000-08:00

Bad Shoe Vol. 3, Iss. 1 Call for Submissions
and added guidelines!

It's once again time to submit your written works to Bad Shoe, the finest rakehell magazine to ever dig its claws into the banks of the ole Mississip'. Deadline is February 24th. We ask that you send 2-5 pieces (poetry, flash/short fiction) as MSWord or OpenOffice document attachment to submissions@saintlouisprojects.org. Please include your name and BAD SHOE in the doc heading.

Please forward this entreaty to any of your interested female writerly friends. Tell yer friends, yer neighbors, and yer cats.

And gentlemen, please note that we will be accepting submissions from both ladies and gents for our NEXT issue. Although the deadline will be sometime around May, feel free to get a jump on things and send us your pieces.

2012-01-12T12:21:00.000-08:00

A PartialList of Things I Have Done For Money, by Colleen McKee

2nd Edition Release & Signing

We are pleased to release the secondedition of Colleen McKee's witty and poignant chapbook A PartialList of Things I Have Done For Money. After successfully sellingout of the first, limited edition of the book—and moving toOakland, CA—McKee returns to St. Louis for a reading andbook-signing at Foam Coffee and Beer (3359 South Jefferson Avenue).On January 19^th from 7-9 PM, Colleen and a few guestperformers will gather to celebrate the new edition with words andlibations. Please join us to support local writers and publishers.

Making Morning Poems

2011-11-28T20:54:00.001-08:00

Making the Book: Morning Poems by Justin Kinkel-Schuster

This Thursday, Saint Louis Projects and JKPublishing will be releasing the first book of poetry by STL musician Justin Kinkel-Schuster. We're having a release party at Off-Broadway, featuring 2 of our favorite bands: Alley Ghost and The Skekses. We've also got some of the best performers around reading between sets. Alongside Justin's inaugural performance as a poet, Brett Underwood will be ranting and raving, and local poetry guru Ann Haubrich will recite works from Bob Reuter's upcoming memoirs. We'll see you at 8 pm.

Here's some behind-the-scenes snapshots of how our team created this finely-crafted chapbook.

Each book will feature a unique set of end-sheets carefully cropped from books salvaged from a local thrift store. Architectural schematics, beautiful old photographs from textbooks on American geography and fauna, and diagrams of the mysteries and wonders of science compliment the book's content quite aptly.

Project editor Ellen Herget uses her trusty huntin' knife and a pattern made from a club crackers box to individually chop each endsheet.

It ain't easy when you gotta have 200.

Artist Danielle Spradley carved this gorgeous block print for the cover, and then printed each sheet by hand. This is one of her first test prints on white paper.

Publisher CJ Smith then printed the insides of the book on our many sets of trusty refillable inkjets. He collated the works by hand, arranged them between the end-sheets and cover, and placed 3 steel rivets on each margin to bind the book. The result is rustic, elegant, simple. We know we have done our job when the description of the book's physicality matches the quality of the writing therein. Please join us and grab a copy. Each book is unique, and each page has been touched by our hands.

Morning Poems Release Party

2011-11-10T11:53:00.001-08:00

Theodore Frontman to Release First Book of Poetry

The Saint Louis Projects is set to release the first collection of poetry by Theodore's Justin Kinkel-Schuster with a rock show at Off-Broadway (3509 Lemp Avenue). On the evening of Thursday, December 1st, sets from popular local acts The Skekses and Alley Ghost will buttress readings from Kinkel-Schuster's new book Morning Poems.

A refreshingly raw and modern work, Morning Poems captures the beauty and sorrow of an impoverished southern childhood: blackberry bushes and sharp bricks; kind women with missing teeth; the complicated workings of flawed family relationships. Editor Ellen Herget praises its lyrical, conversational style, noting that “each piece is delicately laid out with precision, and the heartsick honesty of the stories only serves to make their emotional content more exquisite.”

Elegantly bound with simple steel rivets, the handmade book boasts a screen-printed cover by Danielle Spradley of Dubble Dutch Editions. Morning Poems will be on sale for the first time at a special release price of $9. Special guest star Ann Haubrich will also be reading the works of musician and photographer Bob Reuter, whose collection of short stories is forthcoming from SLP (a division of JKPublishing). Cover charge for the show is $7. Doors are at 7:30, starts at 8.

an excerpt from

Bottle Dancer

Talk shit, get hit
is what her wallet reads
(she bought it at the Hustler club
which is where she works
she started out as a cocktail waitress
but you know how it is)
I notice it as she takes it from her purse
to pay for the 3 framboise beers she’s buying
for herself and the liter can of High Life she
insists on buying for me
she tells me I am a cheap date
and I agree
Cash is king and she’s got it figured out

As we walk toward the door
the rack of porno mags catches her eye
and we stop to exchange wits and test
each other’s experience and predilections
I wait for her
and she opens with something about
one of the cover models’ tits being too big
much tamer than I’m expecting and
a relief, if I’m being honest
I tell her that when it comes to sex
I’m pretty normal, no weird shit for me
thank you very much
just regular old fucking, but good
and I sense she’s relieved, too
or maybe disappointed

In the car on the way to her place
she tells me her last boyfriend
got her pregnant and left her
but it was alright because she ended up miscarrying
and anyway he was a heroin addict

I am just about ready to head home alone
but what the hell
she already knows
I am a cheap date
and we are almost there

Bad Shoe Issue 7 Release Party

2011-10-25T10:55:00.000-07:00

Bad Shoe Release Party to be held on Day of the Dead at the Archive

The women behind Bad Shoe literary magazine plan to raise hell on Tuesday, November 1^st. In honor of the release of the seventh issue of Bad Shoe (Vol. 2, Iss. 3), publishing imprint the Saint Louis Projects is throwing a party in the backyard of The Archive Bookstore (3215 Cherokee Street) from 7 to 11 pm.

Featuring readings from many of the issue's contributing authors, Bad Shoe is also hosting the Hobosexuals, local acoustic noisemakers. The editors are infinitely pleased to feature a short act from fire-breather Nova Beau Monde, a performer, writer, and member of St. Louis' only all-female fire troupe, Venus in Flames.

Nova Beau Monde

The issue features the artwork of Miss Delia Rainey, one half of 2-twin band Dubb Nubb.

People, by Delia Rainey

Contributors include: Julia Gordon-Bramer, Stefene Russell, Anna Ross, Jennifer Tappenden, Kelli Allen, Maria T. Balogh, Amanda Mincher, Becca Wilson, Alison Carrick, Jill Bieker, Katerina Canyon, Linda Novak, Tess Thompson, Allison Becker, Mary Ruth Donnelly, and Dena Molen.

Here's a small taste of what this issue has to offer:

Three Writers I Dated and Why It Didn’t Work
by Allison Becker

I

I’ve only said, “I love you” to
relatives, several foods,
numerous dogs and Nick.
Last spring he did something bad
with a table saw.
Nick said, “How can I love you when
I hate myself?”
II
Conor and I went to a concert.
A man in a cape threw
glowsticks at us and we
left with bruises and other
people’s sweat. Conor owned
a typewriter, a record player,
and a Macbook Pro. Never ate meat.
I admitted one night I never
read Howl, “I’m saving it for
harder times.”
The next day he wrote,
“12:16 pm yur super cool but i cant
SRY”
and I laughed because
he never used the typewriter
III
David invited me to his room.
He boiled beets for dinner,
“They make your piss pink,”
he said and led me to the
bathroom. “I didn’t flush so
I could show you.”
We stood over the toilet
bowl, pale pink, still.
A minute passed.
I admitted I expected it to be
pinker.
“You’re nuts, Allison, my piss
is incredibly pink!
Do you know how many
beets I ate?”

Come celebrate Dias de los Meurtos with the ladies who keep St. Louis literature alive.

SLP-Designed Business Cards

2011-10-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

Get Your Business Card, Advertisement, or Web Banner Design from SLP

For the bargain-basement design price of $20-60 a package, an SLP designer will collaborate with you to produce a suite of images to promote your small business, decorate your personal web page, or advertise for your feline acrobat troupe. Pric
e is negotiable. Design packages may include:

*business card
*logo
*web page banner (can be used on Blogger, Etsy, Tumblr, etc.)
*branding/advertising copy
*booklet/event program
*poster
*print or digital invitation

A small suite of images similar to the following would run about $25:

SLP has created advertisements for local theater events, poetry readings, and late-night entertainment events.

Blue Rose Theatre Collective Poster, 2010

Advert/business card for local band The Skekses, 2011
(makes use of public domain artwork)

"Postcard-style" party invitation front, 2011

"Postcard-style" party invitation back, 2011

"Open Studio" Digital and Print advertisement for Budding Images, 2011

Benefit poetry reading advertisement, 2009
(features original artwork by Sean Arnold)

Late-night entertainment advertising for restaurant Mangia Italiano, 2011

We have many more examples and, as you can see, are quite versatile and eclectic in style. For more information, e-mail erin@saintlouisprojects.org.

A new chapbook by Colleen McKee

2011-08-18T12:00:00.000-07:00

Colleen McKee's newest chapbook, A Partial List of Things I Have Done for Money, to be released this Wednesday

Please join us for the release of A Partial List of Things I Have Done for Money, the newest chapbook by Colleen McKee. The party will take place at The Archive bookstore at 3215 Cherokee Street, this Wednesday, August 24th, from 7-9 pm.

Featuring the photographs of John Walker Eckles, Bob Reuter, and Alison Carrick, this deluxe first-run edition of Colleen's poetry is encased in a hot-pink and silver hand-stitched envelope with nickle and string closure. The poetry delves into Colleen's world of anthropomorphic cockroaches and thrift-store intrigue, with heartbreaking characterizations of her loved ones and finely crafted descriptions of her adopted hometown.

The release party will feature a book-signing by Colleen, readings by herself, Bob Reuter, and Nicky Rainey, along with music by Bob Reuter. Light refreshment and beverages will be available for purchase.

As a preview, please enjoy this photograph by Bob Reuter, and a poem by Colleen.

JUNIATA STREET

Today I walked past your old apartment, the one
with the rickety windows, the one with the door
that knocked in the wind. I remember the wrinkled
poster of the Ramones, the ramblings of drunks
scrawled on your walls. The mail piled up
on the gritty stairs.

The steak dinners you fixed,
the soft white sheets.
The whiskey bottle
always at your elbow.
The time you almost died.
The time you did.

Now, in your yard, children complain
about raking the leaves
that fall
and fall at their feet.

O Fool Lyric Booklets

2011-08-17T13:00:00.000-07:00

Handmade Lyric Booklets for Local Band O Fool
Photos of a new, nifty SLP creation

Last month we made our first batch of lyric books for local gypsy-punk band O Fool. The idea was to accompany and compliment the release of their limited-edition first cassette, walk off a cliff, out from Manic Static. The artwork for the cassette cover is pretty neat:

I got together with frontman and poet Mathieu Paul to design a quarter sheet booklet with original artwork and lyrics, hand-stitched binding, and neat bright red faux-crocodile-skin cover.

Brett Marren created original illustrations for the project.

The neatest aspect of this mini-project is perhaps the finishing touch. Mat's girlfriend Mel had the idea of putting ribbons and flowers under a wax seal around each book. The purchaser must break the seal to read it, or leave it unread to maintain the look of the original product.

I wish I had a better picture of the finished product, as each of these are individually gorgeous. No two copies are alike.

The faux-red-leather edition has sold out, as we limited the print run to 29 copies. We're gonna get together next month, however, to craft the second edition in an equally tacky, quirky, and creative fashion.

Riverfront Times Contest

2011-07-29T10:57:00.000-07:00

Enter the RFT's Limerick Contest for Bad Shoe prizes

Follow the link below to read about and enter a limerick contest sponsored by the Riverfront Times Music Blog. You could win free entrance to the release party on August 3rd and a stack of books from SLP and JKP.

RFT's Bad Shoe Limerick Contest

Upcoming SLP Events

2011-07-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

This August will be a busy one for the Saint Louis Projects. We have a lot of projects coming to completion and a couple to start as well, not to mention a lot of events around town. Here's a rundown of where you can expect to see us in the next month.

Bad Shoe Release Party at El Lenador's STAG NITE (Aug. 3rd)

We have an awesome party planned for the release of the 6th Issue of Bad Shoe (Vol. 2 Iss. 2). We're taking over Johnny Vega$' Stag Nite, a long-running South City musical institution. In that vein, we are featuring wonderfully talented musicians to play after the poetry reading.

For about the past year, Stag Nite has occurred at El Lenador (3124 Cherokee Street). $5 affords you the opportunity to purchase $1 Stag, heckle Johnny Vega$, hear some amazing poetry from the area's finest women writers, and jam out to O Fool, Beth Bombara, and a super secret AWESOME mystery band (yes, we have booked them; this isn't a feint).

The newest issue of Bad Shoe will be available for a pretty hefty discount. Expect to save $4-5 off of bookstore prices. This issue features the divine artwork of Casey Miller, chief latte artist and owner of Cherokee Street's Mud House (her work just gets radder on paper). Not to mention that you will own a copy of the musings of ALL the following local literary rock stars:

Anna Ross, Stefene Russell, Maria T. Balogh, Julia Gordon-Bramer, Dawn Dupler, Elly Herget, Jennifer Tappenden, Katherine Mead, Christy Callahan, Erin Wiles, & Kelli Allen

Also expect a special spoken word/guitar collaboration between Wiles and local musician Tommy Halloran. El Lenador opens at 8; poetry reading at 9; music after 10 pm. Awesomeness all night long.

Erin Wiles to read at Firecracker Press and Chance Operations (Aug. 6 & Aug. 22)

The Firecracker Press is a gorgeously-run letterpress printing outfit on Cherokee Street. SLP is quite jealous of the luscious textures and old-school vibe of their work, but is also really happy to be sending their editor over to participate in their 2011 Summer Reading Series on Saturday, August 6th . At 2 pm, Erin Wiles, along with Mary Ruth Donnelly, will each perform a 20 minute set. During that time, the Firecracker geniuses will be printing handset broadsides of an excerpt of both ladies' work. The broadsides are ravishing and the conceit is quite clever. $5 gets you a reading and a print.

Chance Operations is a year-old reading that took Get Born's one-Monday-a-month spot at Duff's Restaurant (392 N. Euclid Ave.) in the CWE. Wiles read at the inaugural event last year and returns this Monday, August 22nd as a featured reader, along with 2 other yet-to-be-announced poets. The reading kicks off at 8 pm and will cost you a measly $3.

Stay tuned in the next few days for another posting about recently completed/soon-to-be-finished 100% RAD handmade books by SLP!

One last little goody for you. For the first time ever, Bad Shoe's featured artist has also designed a cover for the magazine. Here's Casey Miller's take:

SPACFest This Weekend

2011-05-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

Shaw Performing Arts & Crafts Festival This Friday and Saturday

Philip Gounis performing at the release party for his newest chapbook, Upgrading the Allusion

You should come see us this weekend (May 21st and 22nd) from 11 am to 3 pm at the Shaw neighborhood SPACFest. We will have a booth set up with our current catalog for sale (look for the most the 3 most recent editions of Bad Shoe, the new chapbook by Philip Gounis--Upgrading the Allusion, and handmade journals and crafted artbooks. There will also be a lot of favorites from the past few years on the table, from Michael Castro's The Bush Years to Ellen Herget's Thus Far, from Sean Arnold's Open Window series to the second edition of my own first chapbook, I & Apocalypse.

All of the above mentioned authors along with a slew of others will be reading in Saint Louis Projects and JKPublishing's performance space at the corner of Thurman and Shenandoah (Shaw Community Garden, across from Thurman Grill). This is a great opportunity to catch some live poetry in a relaxed, pressure-free, outdoor setting. So if you've never been to a poetry reading before, now's your chance. If you don't like it, you can scoot off to see a blues band, a drum circle, or a dance troupe. I'll post a complete list of performers and their scheduled dates/times in the next day or two.

Bad Shoe Issue 5 Preview

2011-03-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

Art & Words Appearing in the Next Issue of Bad Shoe

We're hoping to see you at the Archive tomorrow night (3/15; 7 pm; see previous post for details) for the release party celebrating the newest Bad Shoe. Here's a small sampling of the wealth to be found inside issue 5.

Faith
Brett Lars Underwood

She saw a dog puppet licking the branch outside her window
She had 17 girly, vodka drinks and a bottle of wine
Painted naked in acrylic all night long
Later that afternoon the dog puppet
dissolved into pain

Betsy
Bob Reuter

Mirror Trees
Christy Callahan

When spring came that year, my fifteenth year,
the Magnolia tree sighed and grunted,
and feigning interest would only produce
russet-colored brittle buds
and as they bloomed, then died,
my mom cried a horrible cry,
the sound tires make as they try to dig
their claws in to wet pavement.
Dad hid in the garage, twisting metal
and swallowing scotch.
When fall came that year, my fifteenth year,
the pine tree coughed and spat
needles across our roof,
clogging our gutters and tingeing it green.
My dad cried a horrible cry,
the sound a brake pad makes with its final grind
on the rotor before death.
Mom hid in the greenhouse,
planting Brazilian Verbena
and sneaking Pall Malls.
When winter came that year, my fifteenth year,
mom moved us to Manassas
where Magnolia trees never disappoint
and dad lingered in the garage,
awaiting the pine tree’s next move.

The World is a Pinprick
Erin Wiles

Until next time.

NEW Bad Shoe To Be Released on the Ides of March

2011-03-09T12:00:00.001-08:00

Bad Shoe Issue 5 Release Party

On March 15th (the Ides of March), St. Louis lit mag Bad Shoe releases its 5th issue, hosted by the Archive bookstore at 3215 Cherokee Street.

This is a special issue of the lit mag, which is the only periodical publication for emerging and eminent lady writers and artists in St. Louis. For the first time, the editors are publishing male perspectives on femininity.

Male writers and artists appearing in this issue are Chance Operations' Tony Renner, JK Publishing author Phil Gounis, local favorite curmudgeon Brett Underwood, Joe Sulier of Get Born, KDHX's Bob Reuter, and many more. This issue features the work of several women, some of them new to Bad Shoe, such as Kelli Allen and Christy Callahan.

Readers at the upcoming event:

Kelli Allen

Byron Lee

Brett Underwood

Matt Freeman

Tony Renner

Christy Callahan

Aaron Ruiz

Jake Cohen

Bob Reuter

Erin Nihiser

Nicky Rainey

Mary Phillips

Christoper Alex Chable

Matt Freeman and the Skekses will provide musical entertainment. Doors are at 7, reading starts at 8. The Cherokee Peach will sell snacks, wine, beer, and handmade sodas, and the Archive will also be open for book sales. Bad Shoe Issue 5 will be available at the special release price of $8.

***

Bad Shoe, a recent winner of a St. Louis Kick-Ass Award (curated by 52nd City), is the flagship publication of the Saint Louis Projects. SLP, an imprint of JKPublishing, provides St. Louis writers with a means to conceptualize a publishing project and actualize their vision by participating in editing, design, and promotion of their work.

Other SLP notable projects include chapbooks by Michael Castro and Sean Arnold, and an upcoming chapbook by Phil Gounis. SLP director Erin Wiles, along with Bad Shoe co-editor Elly Herget, have often been featured on KDHX's Literature for the Halibut.

The Saint Louis Projects is proud to a part of the continuing development of St. Louis literary culture.

***

NEW Saint Louis Projects Facebook

2011-02-03T10:56:00.000-08:00

Like us on Facebook!

Search for "Saint Louis Projects" under the Authors category. You'll find Bad Shoe there as well!

Phil Gounis Chapbook in the Works!

2010-12-16T17:31:00.001-08:00

Phil Gounis Chapbook in the Works!

I am super excited to announce that Saint Louis Projects and JKPublishing will be releasing the newest chapbook from longtime poetry guru and culture enthusiast Phil Gounis. Titled Upgrading the Allusions, this book will probably hit the shelves in late January 2011.

Speaking of shelves, Left Bank Books has agreed to carry Bad Shoe! We are bringing them issues tomorrow, so do a little local Christmas shopping and bestow some awesome ladies' lit upon your loved ones. If this goes well, hopefully other SLP and JKP titles will appear there soon. Also, many thanks to Vintage Vinyl for having carried Bad Shoe for the past several months.

Getting back to Phil, here is a preview of the work that will appear in his forthcoming chapbooks. Several other poems are on his website:

http://philipgounis.com/

Jonah

all that screaming bombastic splatter & gaiety
at the municipal swimming pool
the afternoon before Independence Day
him outside the fence
just observing not partaking
in all the fun & frivolity
hoping to come upon at least one
magnanimous,gargantuan mouth
that can swallow whole
to take him all the way down
into the depths of the all time
aquatic delight

and then that tingling realization
that the owner of that lugubrious expanse
just might be you

We are super excited about this opportunity. Stay tuned!

Ellen and Erin read "A Kick Ass Poem" (Mature content)

2010-12-09T17:53:00.000-08:00

Written by Ellen Herget and Erin Wiles, performed at the 2010 Kick-Ass Awards in St. Louis, MO.

Better not bring yo' kids. Please enjoy.

Bad Shoe Issue 4 Release this Tuesday!

2010-11-29T14:20:00.001-08:00

Come celebrate the release of Bad Shoe #4!

Authors include Erin Goss, Anna Ross, Julia Gordon-Bramer, Colleen McKee, and many more. Artwork for this issue is by Mary Phillips. Her work is fantastic; here's a little preview:

Our authors will read their selections from the book, and local band The Jump Starts will close out the evening with some good ole rock-n-roll.

Foam (@ Cherokee and Jefferson) is hosting us, which means coffee, beer, pizza and snacks at the bar!

We'll see you at 7 PM, on Tuesday, December 7th.

Saint Louis Kick Ass Awards This Sunday!

2010-11-04T15:07:00.000-07:00

Please join us this Sunday at the Kick Ass Awards to celebrate Bad Shoe and the other 2010 winners. This is our first award and Ellen and I are quite pleased that it is profane. We can't wait to get our horse-ass-karate-guy trophy. Joe's Cafe is an amazing place: the scenery alone will be worth the trip!

Sunday, November 7, 7:00 p.m.
Joe’s Cafe, 6014 Kingsbury, 63112
Free, BYO, limited seating, doors at 6:00 p.m.

About the Kick Ass Awards:

The Kick Ass Awards was begun in January of 2004, in Austin, TX, and was founded by writer Spike Gillespie. It was adapted for St. Louis that fall by Thomas Crone and Stefene Russell. In the next two years, KAA winners Andrea Avery, Brandyn Jones and Ann Haubrich have joined the core group of organizers for the event, which is held in interesting St. Louis venues every fall/early winter. Between 2005-08, the effort was part of the late culture and literature magazine 52nd City.

While it’s not an official not-for-profit entity, it is a completely grassroots, self-funded effort. All winners are determined by an ad hoc series of discussions during the latter portion of each year, with winners determined as individuals, businesses, organizations and projects that contribute to the health and vitality of the St. Louis region, especially the City of St. Louis. We have also aimed to recognize those who’ve gone without public notice for their work; in some cases, we’ve identified those who’ve gone on to much-greater, continued acclaim in the area, at early stage in their existence or residence in St. Louis. Each year, at least one Mystery Award is given out to a member of the audience, selected that night.

Current Projects

2010-09-24T21:52:00.001-07:00

Heya folks,

I hope you've (you? or you over there? any of you?) noticed that the website has gotten a bit of a makeover in recent days. Expect more updates! All-new! With actual information! One of my eternal resolutions is to keep the website current. In the past, I've spent more time thinking about this than actually doing it. Thanks to CJ for implementing all the changes.

And now for actual news!

BAD SHOE: I know it seems (it certainly does to us!) like Ellen and I just put out an issue of Bad Shoe. Well we did. However, our production schedule has been slightly behind, and we're going to try to release the magazine at the beginning or middle of a season like responsible folks, rather than at the very last day of the season like the lazy procrastinators that we are. Soooo if you please, we are once again seeking submissions, this time for our year-anniversary issue. A year? you say. My, how time flies! TELL US ABOUT IT!!

This will be a single issue featuring the delightful artwork of Mary Philips. Our last issue was so freaking fantastic, we can't wait to see the stuff you ladies have been writing lately. So show us, please, pretty please? And send your words this way.(submissions@saintlouisprojects.org, include "Bad Shoe" in subject line).

REDBRICK OMNIBUS: I am also collecting submissions for Redbrick Omnibus, an anthology of art and writing about Saint Louis. I am editing this (perhaps yearly) journal with Nicole Rainey, a supreme wordstress and zine maven. The idea of the collection is to celebrate St. Louis for all its assets and aspects, but not blindly or in bias. While this would not be a good place for your "Fuck St. Louis" rant, nor would it be ideal for trite odes. We are looking for the complex and the gritty, that which captures the ironic trash-ful beauty of this landscape. There are no length or format requirements, only that it be reproducible in a smallish 2D format.

We are also looking for an art editor to help us with the project. You will receive a token monetary stipend but mostly will just fulfill your innate desire to do something beautiful for this city. Your responsibilities would be pretty straightforward: help collect visual representations of the above mission statement for the collection.

If you are interested in either contributing or editing please e-mail with the subject heading "Redbrick Omnibus":
submissions@saintlouisprojects.org.

LITERATURE FOR THE HALIBUT: And finally, I am very pleased to be speaking about poetry, reading my own or favorite poems, and answering questions about local publishing once again on KDHX's Literature for the Halibut this November 15th, this time with host Anne Haubrich, whom I admire greatly. Ellen Herget will be joining me for a portion of the show. It is always great fun and wonderful chance to interact with the STL literary community.

See ya then, thanks for reading. Later gators.

The New SLP Blog!

2010-09-12T21:52:00.000-07:00

As some of you may (or maybe not!) have noticed, saintlouisprojects.org gets updated rather infrequently. This is mostly due to me being a complete moron when it comes to web design and therefore saddling CJ with much of the work (and providing him little to no information to do such updating). Ergo, here is the new, easily-update-able source for the most current information about SLP, the Bad Shoe women's lit magazine, our newest publications, and links to special lit-events in greater St. Louis.

I'll try to keep up.

What's next on our plate?

Issue 4 of Bad Shoe, our one-year-anniversary-issue, will be released hopefully by the end of October. So please, ladies, send your writing to submissions@saintlouisprojects.org. We are also looking for featured female artists for upcoming issues, so please submit a brief portfolio if you are interested in being the visual focal point of a lovely verbal panorama.

I am also working on putting together a fun book of comics and musings by the lovely Miss Rose Bland (see above), featured artist in Bad Shoe Issue 1. This book has been a long-time-coming, and I am sure it will be one of our most successful chapbooks to date.

Finally, I am working on an opus with Nicky Rainey. We are looking for submissions to Redbrick Omnibus, an anthology of works in praise/defiance/hatred of our fair St. Louis. We are accepting art, prose, poetry, essays... anything reproducible in small paper format! Entries for this as well should be sent to submissions@saintlouisprojects.org.

Also, if anyone out there has an idea for a printed work, be it poetry chapbook, art-book, anthology, etc., pass it along to me at poor.metaphor@gmail.com. We'll see what we can do to make your print-wet-dream a hand-bound, crispy-new-paper reality.

Until then.