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"In the grand tradition of poet's fiction, [this] is a collection of nine phantasmagorical stories by ... poet and City Lights editor Garrett Caples"--
List of contents
CONTENTS
The Thereminist
Step Foot
Hector Nice
None Nuns
The Sneeze
The Lemon
Vyvyan Sourman
A.V.O.M.W.E.P.
Pac-Man Fever
About the author
Garrett Caples is the author of
Proses: Incomparable Parables! Fabulous Fables! Cruel Tales! (Wave Books 2024),
Lovers of Today (Wave Books, 2021),
Power Ballads (Wave Books, 2016),
Complications (2007), and
The Garrett Caples Reader (1999), a collection of outtakes,
The Rise & Fall of Johnny Volume (2020), and a bilingual selection,
Noches Apátridas (Unstated Nights, 2019). He’s also written a book of essays,
Retrievals (2014), and a pamphlet,
Quintessence of the Minor (2010). He’s the editor of Philip Lamantia’s
Preserving Fire: Selected Prose (2018). He is an editor at City Lights Books, where he curates the Spotlight Poetry Series. He has a PhD in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and lives in San Francisco.
Summary
In the grand tradition of poet’s fiction, Proses: Incomparable Parables! Fabulous Fables! Cruel Tales! is a collection of nine phantasmagorical stories by beloved poet and City Lights editor, Garrett Caples.
Resolutely turning its back on the ethos of traditional narrative, Proses draws on Marcel Schwob, magical realism, and speculative fiction for inspiration, projecting worlds dominated by dream logic and impossible (and often hilarious) dimensions. Spectral nuns, xenobots, explosive phraseology, and even Ringo Starr are just some of the unexpected dilemmas confronting the various protagonists of Proses. Poets such as Andrew Joron, Kit Schluter, and Claude Grind of Verdoux Books, make cameo appearances—including, at times, Caples himself! While each story is a standalone, the collection amounts to an intricate whole, as themes, objects, and even characters recur, encouraging readers to enjoy the book sequentially. Regardless of how it is enjoyed, Proses is at once a satire of the world of contemporary poetry and publishing and a celebration of that world's fantastic and infinite imagination.
Foreword
- Digital galley and print review copy mailings to major book reviews, literary journals, and library buyers' guides.
- Author interview pitches
- Social media campaign
- Outreach to independent booksellers.
- Outreach to poetry and related literary organizations.
- Publicity and promotion in conjunction with the author events.
- Display at conferences and bookfairs
- Co-op available
