The Bedside Guide to... No Tell Motel, much like its online counterpart, NoTellMotel.org, will change the way you think about poetry. Recently I had the pleasure of chatting with co-editor Reb Livingston by IM:
Lauren Cerand: I know that it seems shallow to judge a book by its cover, but I love yours! It drew me in, and the book was as sexy, provocative, emotive and immediate as visually promised. But I know you've mentioned getting some static about the overtly sexy image. Care to discuss that, and how you came up with the original concept?
Reb Livingston: Sure, the cover was designed by Robin Vuchnich Salerno. We asked for something sexy and a little girlie (to continue with the direction of the online magazine, No Tell Motel) -- and that's what Robin came up with. I liked the design, but for an evening got cold feet after I showed it to my sister and she said it make her think "dead hooker" -- so I showed it to 10 others, mostly contributors to the anthology, and everyone else was very positive and nobody else saw dead hooker (thank god) so Molly and I went with it. The truth is, I judge books by their covers and have been drawn countless times to books that I wanted to own on just how they look. So the design was very important.
Lauren: Definitely! And what has the response been to The Bedside Guide... so far? I imagine it's expanded the audience for the online work quite a bit...
Reb: Actually I'm not sure if it expanded our audience much or not -- I kind of think it's the other way around -- I think the magazine (which is pretty well known among online poetry publications) brings attention to the anthology. So far the response has been pretty terrific, I'm still waiting for some more reviews to come through, I know of two that should appear in the next month and am hopeful more will follow.
Lauren: In addition to your fabulously fun and yet deeply meaningful poetry, you also participate in lots of cool events like Lolita & Gilda's Burlesque Poetry Hour, which you co-host in Washington, D.C. and write a regular column for our mutual friend Wendi Kaufman's blog, The Happy Booker. Both the DC literary scene and the general poetry scene can seem like a mystery to outsiders -- what would you say is most misunderstood about both?
Reb: Hmm, it's still pretty misunderstood by me too! DC is odd in a lot ways, it's this weird tri-state thing and different aesthetic groups, often working completely separately from each other and a lot of nose turning at those of us who live in the 'burbs. I'm one of those suburban folks and I make no apologies for that. The poetry scene in DC is small, but active. Some of the scene revolves around the universities, but definitely not all of it. My co-curator "Lolita" -- aka Carly Sachs teaches at George Washington University. I have no university affiliation. The Burlesque Poetry Hour brings in a wide mix of local and out-of-town readers. I'm not sure what is the outside perception of the DC scene. I don't necessarily feel compelled to offer any kind of defense.
Lauren: I know what you mean -- I grew up in suburban Maryland.
Reb: Ah, then you understand the scorn.
Lauren: It's not really scorn... it's just this pretty typical American phenomenon where there's a vibrant downtown where lots of things are happening but some of the more interesting people are scattered among the suburbs. It's urban, but not overly so, and about so much more than politics, although that is the main game in town.
Reb: There are always at least two lawyers in the audience at any given Burlesque Poetry Hour.
Lauren: I don't doubt it! I understand you're coming to New York soon for a literary event related to the book... do you have the details finalized yet?
Reb: Yes, some of the NY-based Bedside Guide contributors will be reading at The Frequency Series at the Four Faced Liar, 165 West 4th Street, New York, NY on April 22, 2006 - 2 p.m.
Lauren: Very cool. I will be sure to put it in my calendar. And finally, Lux Lotus readers are a sexy, stylish, cosmopolitan bunch. When they pick up a copy of The Bedside Guide... what poem do you recommend they head for first?
Reb: Well, the first poem "To the Man beside Me at the Reading" by Laurel Snyder is pretty hot -- and that's why I put it first. Other poems "Rough Trade" by Charles Jensen, "A Museum of Making Do" by Karl Parker, "Simpatico" by Ravi Shankar and "In Response to Pussy" by Carly Sachs (not nearly as dirty as it sounds!)
Lauren: Dirty is fine for this crowd. Well thanks for your time, Reb! I look forward to meeting you in person later this month and encourage everyone to check out The Bedside Guide to... No Tell Motel.
Reb: Yes, thank you very much. See you in a couple weeks. And thank you for helping spread the word.
Lauren: My pleasure.
