Brand Scott Gorrell's During My Nervous Breakdown I Want To Have A Biographer Present

Those in the literary community have learned that, like music, a lot of an artists work can be found for free online. There have been arguments as to the level of commitment that brings out in the reader. Brand Scott Gorrell of Muumuu House, is a poet who is unafraid to take a leap where many of us shy away. He is at the forefront of free online publications. He doesn't shy away from the heat in which he may recieve and ultimately is writer using technology to create new angels in literature. This is blaitently evident in the title of his newest work titled During My Nervous Breakdown I Want a Biographer Present. Who would have the guts to make that the title of their book? Not many. But it works.

Mr. Gorrell’s poetry gives you a lot of details which sometimes will garner a reaction similar to “Why do I care about this?” but beyond these questions rests a subtle psychology and occasionally reminds us not to overlook what surrounds us. A great example of this comes in the poem Alienated Afraid of Furniture in Bedroom. (Courtesy of Lamination Colony)

Alienated Afraid of Furniture in Bedroom

i am on the bed and everything feels wrong

i have gotten into an argument with the bed and in a fit of rage i have bludgeoned it with my fists

i am laying in the dry bathtub with my jeans on

the shampoo and conditioner are quiet and they don't move an inch

not an inch for anything

i feel accommodated and like a face that stretches until it becomes

something

i want to kill the shampoo and conditioner

i want to squeeze their insides on my face

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Glen Binger and I had the chance to speak with Brandon about his latest work, online publications and his insights into the writing process.

What do you consider 'During My Nervous Breakdown I Want to have a Biographer Present' to be about?

A 24-year old male in Seattle, Washington exploring a specific range of emotions while he works as a copywriter in an office environment, develops relationships over the internet, walks on the sidewalk, involuntarily wakes at 4 AM and can't get back to sleep, fantasizes about things like love, sex, death, 'the apocalypse', and aliens, and other situations.

Your poems often have a distinct attitude. Is this an attitude that reflects your own personal emotions or an attitude that is developed for the purpose of your poetry?

I think the attitude in the poems I have written reflect how I wanted the poem to 'feel' when they're read, as if the 'attitude of the poem' was another tool I could use to influence how the poem is perceived. A lot of the time I don't feel the way that my poems 'feel'. Some of the time I do.

How long does it take you to create a poem? How long have you been working onDuring My Nervous Breakdown I Want to have a Biographer Present?

It takes between 15 minutes and 3 months for me to create a poem. I worked on DURING MY NERVOUS BREAKDOWN for 8 or 9 months.

A lot of your work has been published online. How valid do you feel online publications have become with the diminishing emphasis on print publications?

It seems, in the sense that you ask, that the validity of any publication is measured by how much 'literary street cred' (a general consensus of 'respect', typically attained through certain powerful actions or behaviors, such as publishing the most unique, highly relevant literature on a regular basis or publishing the newest literature by the 'up and coming' writers with the most 'reach' (i.e NOON)) it has, how much 'literary street cred' its editor has, how much 'literary street cred', generally, the contributors have, how 'good' the publication looks, the publication's 'reach', and whether or not it's associated with a university or non-profit. It also seems to me that the 'mainstream', for the most part, associates 'literature' with 'books/print', rather than 'e-books' or websites.

How did you actually get to know Tao? How did that help with getting your poetry book published?

Two years ago, maybe, I found Tao’s blog. A couple weeks later, I had a very short thing published at 3:AM Magazine. I emailed Tao saying that I got the thing published. Then I think we started emailing each other and eventually Gmail chatting and 'became friends.' Our friendship probably helped get my poetry book published because, I think, Tao prefers to publish his friends.

Have you ever written a title and thought “that is too long” and shorten it?

I can't remember ever doing that.

Often writers feel as though they get more feedback through online publications as opposed to print, how do you feel this influences your work? Do you feel you get to know your readers on a different level than most because of your online availability?

Feedback on the internet is generally negative, lately, and sometimes it upsets me. I think it influences my 'work' in such a way that I get more critical of it, because I start feeling, when I'm writing, that I don't want to give people 'shit to talk shit on' anymore. Concurrently, I sometimes know that certain things will piss certain people off (i.e. NERVOUS ASSFACE, or the short story contest I held on my blog), and feel okay about it, because I generally assume that that type of attention (intense negative shit talking) helps to further define and reinforce myinternet/literary persona, provides 'angles' for journalists, influences people to think about me at a higher frequency than they had before, and increases my 'reach'. Whethernegaitve feedback upsets me or not is usually situational; if I'm happy and feeling validated by success or attention I'm getting on the internet or in physical realty, or feeling, maybe, 'zen' about things, I usually don't care. If I feel depressed, or see other people 'doing better' than me, there's a higher chance I'll feel upset by negative feedback. I generally feel good about receiving positive feedback.

I feel that I know my readers on the same level as other writers that use the internet the way I use it. I don't know how my relationship with my readers compares with writers that don't use the internet the way I do.

What was your favorite part about the book publishing process?

Creating and editing THE BRANDON BOOK CRISIS.

If you could change anything about the publishing process, what would it be?

I wouldn't change anything about Muumuu House's book publishing process.

How is the book tour? What's the wildest or most interesting thing that has happened so far?

The book tour is good. I'm almost finished. I felt very interested in almost every person I met inSan Francisco; my interest level was higher than it had been 'in years', in terms of people, I think. These people included, but are not limited to, Mike Young, Chelsea Martin, some ofChelsea's friends, Reynard Siefert, Jimmy Chen, 'Emily Hendrix', her friends, Clayton Banes, JoshKlienberg, and some other people.

What are your future plans on furthering your writing career?

I'm not sure right now. My novella, MY HAIR WILL DEFEAT YOU, was rejected by Melville House. I feel like there's a 70% chance I'll 'end up' editing that some more, then trying to get it published elsewhere.

What is the first thing that comes to mind when I say the word 'blog'?

Jeffrey Brown's drawing of a line in my book