John Colapinto

Review of Undone

book review

OUR CHIEF INTEREST is in finding writing which pushes against the acceptable boundaries of the establishment literary/publishing world– and which blurs the lines between the “literary” and “pop.” Toward that end we’ve published work by new writers like Andrea Gregovich, and interviewed more established authors like John Colapinto, if their artistic interests in some way converge with ours.

With our new feature we bring both tracks together, as Andrea Gregovich reviews  John Colapinto’s controversial novel Undone. Offbeat personality reviewing a different kind of offbeat personality? It’s a feature not to be missed.

Here’s the thing about the much-maligned male gaze, though: every now and again it hits upon something real.

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(Remember to stay current with our Fun Pop Poetry feature.)

Year-End Report

Announcement

Hello! Our main accomplishment in 2015 was surviving– given that half of our modest team left halfway through the year. We’d already taken on more than we could reasonably handle.

Not to worry! We had a few coups in our pursuit of literary notability.

Among them: two terrific interviews with establishment writers– who were candid with us as they NEVER could be in a status quo publication. See our talks with

–John Colapinto

–Tom LeClair

We also continued to present terrific new writing, which is what we’re about. Our coup on that front was publishing the first story in English by renowned Belarus author Andrei Dichenko.

–“Energy”

In all things, our mission is to showcase reader-friendly writing– including from writers too quirky, edgy, different, or real for the literary “mainstream.” We aim to expand the bounds of what’s considered good writing.

Finally, we struggled out our first print issue– available, along with other NEW POP LIT products, at our Detroit blog.

What lies ahead?

-An improved web site.

-Other books.

-Perhaps, an expanded team.

-And, at this location– exciting pop-lit writing of a kind not found anyplace else. Those writers to be featured after the New Year include: Tom Ray, Ron Singer, Joe Wilson, Jess Mize, Scott Cannon, Ian Lahey, Dave Petraglia, Kathleen Crane, among others.

PLUS, maybe a surprise or two. We have on our drawing board, in the NEW POP LIT design shop, a way to reinvent the short story– giving the public a model faster and more powerful than what’s been done.

Stay tuned! Exciting happenings are ahead.

(Image artist: Larisa Koshkina.)

EXCLUSIVE JOHN COLAPINTO INTERVIEW

Controversy

John Colapinto has written a novel he’d like to have published in the United States. Undone is its title. Despite being an excellent writer and on the staff of the esteemed The New Yorker magazine; despite having an impressive resume; despite having been published by book giant Harper-Collins previously– forty U.S. publishers have declined to publish Undone because of its potentially offensive plotline. Even though the novel is well written and entertaining.

What’s happening? Have we entered a new Victorian Age?

Is John Colapinto a latter-day D.H. Lawrence, Allen Ginsberg, or James Joyce?

NEW POP LIT’s Karl Wenclas interviews Mr. Colapinto in an attempt to understand the controversy. Read the interview here.

THIS IS A MUST READ FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN TODAY’S PUBLISHING SCENE.