This weekend is the Chicago Book Expo in Uptown. Anobium will be participating in the pop-up bookfair portion of the expo, which is being held in the abandoned Borders building on Lawrence and Broadway. Putting these old skeletons to good use.
We will be selling copies of Anobium: Volume 1 and Sebastian’s Relativity for $10 each, or you can buy one copy of both OR two copies of one for $15! We don’t usually offer discounts, so if you come to the expo, your brain will thank you.
We look forward to seeing you! We’ll be there all day Saturday (10am - 6pm) and all day Sunday (12pm - 6pm). No rest for the wicked.
Today is a good day for Anobium.
Whenever we do contests, we’re offline for a while, because we want everyone to see the contest. The contest is over now, so that’s that. The winner of the $100 Amazon Card is Ms. Ramsey Kingston from the good ol’ U dot S dot of A dot.
And not to downplay the importance of her win, the biggest news of all is that today marks the OFFICIAL RELEASE OF SEBASTIAN’S RELATIVITY BY JONATHAN GREENHAUSE! (As you can see in the pictures above.)
A month ago we launched a $500 Kickstarter campaign to help cover the costs of printing and shipping. Within the first week of the campaign, we met our goal, and as of the campaign close today at 5:02 pm, we ended up raising a total of $1,531. Not only does this offset the cost of printing, but it will help fund the release of Anobium: Volume 2. We’re in good shape.
We only printed 100 copies of Sebastian’s Relativity, and after the campaign, we only have 35 copies left. Go to our PRODUCTS link to order a copy through us. The cost is $10 (plus $2 for shipping) via the U dot S dot P dot S dot.
You will also notice some changes to the right-side navigation. It’s subtle, but noticeable. You’ll figure it out. You’re smart.
- A
With 37 backers, we’ve raised $1,055 for our Sebastian’s Relativity Campaign.
This means, only 63 copies of Sebastian’s Relativity remain! Go here to pre-order yours now! You only have twenty more days. $10 earns you a copy (w/ FREE shipping) and your name on our website. Be famous. Read a good book.
(PS: We’re going to do a contest later this week… stay tuned.)
Today, Anobium takes time to ask a few questions of Jonathan Greenhause, author of our first chapbook release, Sebastian’s Relativity.
We met Jonathan in cyberspace. Communicated by equal parts Morse and telepathy (it really does work).
Q: Place of birth, place of residence, occupation, weight on Mars.
A: I was born in Summit, New Jersey, but spent my whole childhood in Westfield, followed by 4 years at Oberlin College, 4 years in Argentina, & the last 10 years in Jersey City, where I reside with my incredible wife. I’ve got a job (as a Spanish interpreter) that I absolutely love & which allows me to work on my poetry when I’m at home.
If I’m lucky enough to make it to Mars, I’d weigh only 27 lbs.
Q: Describe your patronymic.
A: My legal surname’s Friedman, but there are a lot of us Friedmans, & there are quite a few Jonathan Friedman poets out there. Early on, I decided it would be best for all of us if I shed my patronymic & took on my matronymic. That’s how Greenhause materialized. It’s got a nice ring to it: It’s evocative; It paints a picture in your mind (of a green house, probably); & it’s a constant reminder of my maternal grandfather, who was one of my best friends.
Q: How many years have you been writing creatively/seriously? When did you realize it was something you enjoyed doing?
A: When I was in 4th grade, I read my stories to the class every Friday, & I remember how fascinated the other kids looked. Incidentally, I had no clue about copyright laws, most of my stories centering around characters like the Flintstones, Garfield, Charlie Brown, & Dangermouse. I also included myself as one of the main characters, & it all took place back in “The Time of Dinosaurs”, which was the title of my primary-school saga.
I subsequently went through periods where I wanted to be a journalist, a novelist, or a short-story writer, but I wound up gravitating towards poetry.
Q: Who are some of your favorite authors? Filmmakers? Creative types?
A: Albert Camus, Wisława Szymborska, Ayi Kwei Armah, Toni Morrison, Elizabeth Bishop, Walt Whitman, Herman Hesse, Julio Cortázar, Derek Walcott, & Gabriel García Márquez.
I love the films of Ingmar Bergman, the Coen brothers, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Terry Gilliam & Woody Allen.
As for other creative types, the list is boundless & would include visual artists, musicians, scientists, architects, & comedians.
Q: Tell us about Sebastian’s Relativity. What is it about? What sort of person would Sebastian be if you were to bump into him in person?
A: Sebastian’s Relativity is an alternate universe where our standard physics & typical relationships no longer apply. The idea came out of nowhere while writing a poem which would become “When Sebastian Met His Fathers”. I’d written series of poems before, but never centering on one specific character like these did. I felt compelled to write more & more about Sebastian, & then about his Siamese sisters, his ten fathers, his dancing cockroaches, his girlfriend Samantha, his girlfriend Angelique, his plastic dog Fido, & his need to write poetry & share it with the world. 58 of the next 71 poems I wrote revolved around his bizarre existence.
If I were to meet him, I’d probably see a lot of similarities between Sebastian & I, specifically our inherently existential philosophy, though the actual details of our lives are quite different.
Q: What’s your fifty-year plan?
A: You know: Become Poet Laureate, win the Nobel Prize, travel to the moon, & star in an Academy-Award®-winning film. But I’d be more than happy with just trying my best at being my definition of a good person, a good son, a good brother, a good husband, & a good friend.
Q: How can people get in touch with you?
A: My e-mail’s jonathan_greenhause@yahoo.com. Just write, & I’ll be glad to write you back. You can also try mental telepathy: Let me know if that works.
Purchase a copy of Jonathan Greenhause’s new book here. Only 75 are left!
Anobium Presents: ‘Sebastian’s Relativity’ by Jonathan Greenhause.
Sebastian takes off his shoes,placing them in front of the mirror as his eyes stare back at him.
He pauses, Fido, his plastic German Shepherd, - From the poem Sebastian’s Shoes, entry #17 in Sebastian’s Relativity, a new chapbook by Jonathan Greenhause scheduled to be released this fall by Chicago’s own Anobium Books. - - - Sebastian’s Relativity is a 40+ pp, perfect-bound book by Jonathan Greenhause about a young man whose best friend is a plastic dog named Fido. He has Siamese sisters, he philosophizes with a burrito, and he’s learning to make sense of his broken heart in a world of gas chambers, time travel and wholesale cutlery. Jonathan Greenhause is a Pushcart Prize nominee and has been published in dozens of national and international journals, including Rattle, The Bitter Oleander, Nimrod and others. The book is designed by Jacob van Loon, whose flowing, complex illustrations serve to compliment and amplify the already compelling text. Not only is Sebastian’s Relativity a significant work of independent literature, but it’s a book of firsts: - It’s the first official collection of Jonathan Greenhause’s inimitable hybrid style of surreal, dreamlike prose-poetry. With the cost printing and shipping continuing to escalate, we need your help to make Sebastian’s Relativity an Absolute Reality. All money donated to this project will go towards offsetting material costs for this important project. We’re not asking for much, because Anobium Booksprides itself on its ability to do a lot with a little. In this time of substantial cultural change, it is imperative for us to continue upholding the value of the arts. By donating to this project, you will not only be supporting the important work of independent artists, but you will you also be aiding the strength and continuity of the greater literary and artistic community. Expected release for Sebastian’s Relativity is scheduled for October 31st, 2011. Visit Anobium Books at anobiumlit.com (which is powered by Tumblr) to stay up to date on all the latest Anobium news. You can also follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and subscribe to our mailing list here. And of course, if you have questions, always feel free to ask!
hearing the sound of the trickling water from his leaking toilet,
then peers at the tiny goldfish swimming precise circles around the bowl.
mentally follows along from his resting spot in the corner.
Where did I leave my brother? Sebastian mutters to himself
as he digs through a heap of discarded underwear.
- It’s the first book of it’s kind to be designed by talented and accomplished illustrator, Jacob van Loon.
- It’s the first chapbook to be released by Anobium Books.
Now announcing - ANOBIUM CHAPBOOKS!
Take a minute to read this and acquaint yourself with our forthcoming projects.
Slow news day at Anobium.
- We are still receiving submissions for Volume 2! The window is wide open.
- Even though summer has come to a close, we still want to hand-deliver your copy of Volume 1. If you live on the north side of Chicago, check out our doorstep delivery program.
- …and with summer coming to a close, a lot of people are back in school. If you are enrolled in a Chicago metropolitan area school, you may qualify for a 20% discount!
- Anobium is going to be attending an upcoming meeting of the Chicago Literary Alliance! This portends great happenings for the future of Anobium.
- We’re getting closer to the release of Sebastian’s Relativity by Jonathan Greenhause. Stay tuned for updates and pre-order news.
Have a great week. Write on!
