Interview: Bradley Sands

[enjoi]

To start, I should say I didn't know how to approach Bradley Sands. On the one hand, he studies at Naropa University, a respected and prestigious institute of higher learning that has given the world several talented and influential authors, but on the other, his debut novel, It Came From Below the Belt, concerns a talking penis. Drawn out over several days, Bradley was very gracious about my lack of interview skills and the wasting of his precious time. He really isn't as weird as I was told.


THE VELVET: According to my research (otherwise known as drunk Wikipedia time), you are a part of the Bizarro fiction movement. What is Bizarro and what made the genre appealing to you?

BRADLEY SANDS: Bizarro books are considered the literary equivalent of the movies in the cult section of a video store. They are often humorous (particularly black humor), absurd, surreal, and unreal. I enjoy bizarro books and the movement appeals to me because it has created a home for my work and I really like the authors who are involved with it.

V: Interesting. You have a new collection that just came out, My Heart Said No, But the Camera Crew Said Yes! In either 12, 34, or 59 words, and including at least one reference to falafel, how would you describe it?

BS: It’s like a falafel, but without the fried balls and tahini-based sauces. Instead, it consists of a whole bunch of humorous irreal/absurd stories inside a pita. Wait… that can’t be right. I think the stories are between a book cover, not a pita, but I’m not entirely sure. I would also describe it as kick-ass kick-ass kick-ass kick-ass kick-ass kick-ass.

V: That much kick ass, you can't just be stretching. One thing you've been known for is your work with, and being the founder of Bust Down the Door and Eat All the Chickens, a rather successful surrealist journal. Recently, you were named an associate editor for the esteemed journal Bombay Gin. How did you get the position and how different will it be from your other job?

BS: I'm a graduate student at Naropa University, working towards an MFA in Writing and Poetics with a concentration is prose (my program is known as The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics.) The journal hires students from inside the program. I am one of six associate editors (while I am the Editor-in-Chief of Bust), so I will have a lot less power as far as Bombay Gin content. I’ll be handling the fiction side of things. (Note: According to Bradley, he "didn't "found" Bust. A guy did an issue of it before [he] got involved and took over.)"

V: You now have a beard. Is that because you are a superhero? If so, I have a goatee, can I be your sidekick? I make a very good mocha.

BS: Well, Christopher, superheroes don't exist. But you're welcome to believe they do if it means you'll be my personal assistant for free. You can even wear a mask if you want. See that bank up ahead? Put on this super special sidekick ski mask and ask that nice banker for my two million dollars. Good job! Wait... WHAT!?! You took off you mask while you were in line because it was difficult to breathe? And you left it on the counter? #$%$%%^($&*@&%*^(^($&*#!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok. No problem. But you'll have to listen very careful to me: grow a full beard. Grow a full a full beard as quickly as you can! Before the police get here! You don't want them to recognize you. Why don't you want them to recognize you? Umm... I have no response for that. But trust me. You really want to grow a getaway beard. Getaway? Did you just say that? I meant a gorgeous beard. Yeah, that's right, a gorgeous beard.

And to answer your question, I have a beard because my hair follicles are totally invulnerable to razor blades.

V: That is very interesting. I have also heard that you have yet another book on its way. Is this true, and if so, could you describe it? Also, it is true that you bribed the publisher with a half a ton of pineapples?

BS: Actually, I have three more that are supposed to come out this year:

Disappointing Sophomoric Effort: A novella collection where each story features Frankie Nougat, a bookstore detective.

TV Snorted My Brain: A novel that's a modern-day retelling of the King Arthur myth.

Sorry I Ruined Your Orgy: A prose poetry and short-short story collection.

And the pineapple thing is slanderous lie. I didn't bribe. I threatened. Threatened to drop half a ton of pineapples on the publisher's head while he slept.

V: Very cool. I know I'll be picking up all three. It seems you are rather prolific with your writing. Is there anything out there, say a genre or a style, that you haven't yet written that you have been inching towards?

BS: Thanks. I'm planning to write a children's fantasy novel for my graduate thesis. Something in the vein of The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland and The Phantom Tollbooth.

V: Now that is something I wouldn't have expected from you. Is that a format you've wanted to try for a while?

BS: Yes, for a while. Generally speaking, I feel children's books have always been more imaginative than books for adults. Genre fiction is imaginative, but often based on pre-conceived concepts. Children's lit is more likely to use entirely new ideas. I think my usual writing (especially lately) shares a kinship with children's lit, but it contains dark subject matter and content that is inappropriate for children. I'll just have to suppress these things while working on the book, which will be difficult.

V: I find myself agreeing with your assessment of children's literature. That in mind, are there any trends in literature you despise, either in general or in bizarro?

BS: I used to read tons of lit mags, but stopped due to an annoying convention in literary fiction stories: the non-ending. After a while, I noticed how the majority of the stories ended without providing any resolution. Also, I'm cool with open-ended stories, but they really need to leave the reader satisfied, and most stories published by lit journals fail to do this. They just fizzle out while using pretty language that’s intended to leave the reader thinking, “Oh, how profound.”

As far as bizarro, I have one main gripe: authors sometimes focus more on their content than their prose. So while the content is great, the writing is “just ok” (although this is not often not the case). I share the same complaint about most genre fiction. I’m just really picky about prose. I like it to sparkle. I work really hard on my sentences and I wish other authors would do the same. I don’t think fiction should be “substance over style.” Instead, these two things should be equal. Although I’m a bit of a hypocrite because my earlier work can perhaps be classified as “style over substance,” but I strongly prefer writing like that to “substance over style.” Nevertheless, I think an equality between the two results in the best possible work.

I think the “substance over style” in bizarro is a symptom of the “write a novella in three days” technique practiced by many bizarro authors. Of course, if a book is written this way, an author is not going to have the time to focus on their prose. Although there is one author in particular who “shines” when writing this way, and I think his work wouldn’t be as strong if he took his sweet time with it.

Another thing: I’m really tired of “shock value” book or story titles when they are neither funny nor clever. Particularly if there is some variation of “fecal” in the title (which I am guilty of myself because I wrote a novella called Fecal Follies a while back). Titles like this aren’t really a problem if the book has strong writing to back it up, but newer, unpublished writers are more likely to use shock value titles while they are less likely to write well.

V: What would you like to see more of?

BS: I would like to see more “weird” crime fiction, like the novels of Jack O’Connell. I also think it’s about time I discovered another writer whose work is worth obsessing over. Every year or two, I come across someone who fits this description, and then devour every book they have ever written. So yes, I would like to see more authors producing work like this.

V: I find myself in the same boat when it comes to many different writers. For my final question, I want to ask about your work in the grand scheme. You have an obvious passion for words, and your talent is undeniable. Are you afraid of being considered "just another Bizarro writer" or do you think your work will last beyond the borders of that style?

BS: About being considered "just another Bizarro writer": I don't think this will happen because I don't associate myself exclusively with bizarro and I'm not one of the genre’s more popular authors (possibly due to not being published by the flagship bizarro press). Bizarro readers may consider me “just another Bizarro writer,” but that’s not the case with readers outside the genre.

I've developed a recent distaste for categorizing myself, but I'm fine if my readers label me as a bizarro writer. There probably isn’t a better label out there. Exciting things are happening in bizarro.

Plus I never try to write bizarro. I write what I want. And the classification just ends up being a good fit.


For more information about the elusive and handsome Bradley Sands, go to www.bradleysands.com.

[Richard Martin]

I enjoyed this, Chris, thanks. Both substance & style. I look forward to checking his fiction out.

[enjoi]

I'm glad you liked it, Richard. Are we still good for an interview when your novel comes out?

[Richard Martin]

Sure thing, thanks.

[thirstygerbil]

Very cool. But for the record, Bradley Sands is super weird (in the best possible way). I met him in Denver earlier this year. Definitely a cool guy.

[enjoi]

Sure thing, thanks.

Let me know when it's time.

[JesseLawrence]

great interview. thanks, Chris. Bradley too.

and I'll second what Caleb said.

[enjoi]

Thanks, Jesse. Hope it matches up with the quality of yours.