Bostonist Gchats Brandon Scott Gorrell

Bostonist: Originally, the book was supposed to come out on another publisher. What specifically made you switch over to MuuMuu house?

Brandon Scott Gorrell: i felt that muumuu house would print more copies of my book, that it would be printed as a perfect bound paperback, that it would be well-distributed, that its promotion would reach a wider audience, and that these factors would benefit me in the completion of certain goals i had at the time of making the decision.

Bostonist: How'd you enter the muumuu house fold as it were? How did you meet Tao Lin and all the other writers linked up to muumuu house?

BSG: i became concretely involved in muumuu house on, i think, the first or second day that it 'really' existed (tao had some of the website built--it hadn't 'gone live' at that point). tao emailed me that day, asking if he could publish my book, and i accepted his request. before that day, i had talked with tao a lot about possible names for the press, but had nothing, really, do to with its actual creation.

BSG: regarding meeting tao and other writers linked to muumuu house, it was all done over the internet. i started gmail chatting with tao after emailing him, randomly, about a thing i had published on 3:AM. i meet a lot of writers on the internet. most of the writers i know, i have met on the internet.

Bostonist: when did you start using the internet as a means of getting your writing out to the public and connecting to other writers?

BSG: the beginning of april, 2007.

Bostonist: what had you done as far as writing before that and trying to get it out to people? Or did you just keep it to yourself as it were?

BSG: the only writing i had done before that was this long science fiction story, co-authored with my 'real life' friend. i didn't really know what to do with it. i had, basically, no concept of how to get anything published, what 'getting published' entailed, literary tradition, the 'internet literary scene', and other things related to those three things.

Bostonist: what was the event or idea that inspired you to look at the internet literary scene? did you immediately feel welcomed by it and felt that your voice would work so well in it?

BSG: i had a job writing content for a website at that time. my boss told me he sometimes had stories published places. i asked him how i could have stories published places and he showed me some websites. this eventually led to me getting published, then, later, finding tao's blog. i did not feel welcomed by the scene, really; i don't think i thought of the scene in a way that would allow it to welcome me. i think i felt that the scene was like a hill, or something, that i had to work hard at climbing. i felt that i needed to do things to attract people to my website, and i felt that i could potentially do those things. i felt that i had goals, before knowing the internet literary scene, that could be accomplished through the internet literary scene. i think i felt that the internet literary scene was, literally, a 'tool' that i could use. these thoughts do not mean that i did not or do not enjoy or find valuable specific individuals and the works that exist inside the scene.

Bostonist: it sounds like you're far more interested in concentrating on your writing for reading vs writing for publicity, no?

BSG: do you mean "it sounds like you are more interested in making your writing 'readable' than you are writing to get famous"?

Bostonist: in a way, yes.
there's a lot of blurred lines there though too, I guess.
especially concerning the internet, where anything can be misconstrued to be taken as a way of "getting famous."
especially when it comes to what people write about tao lin.

BSG: okay

Bostonist: oh man, sorry for going on a tangent there...

BSG: i am glad you explained it. i will answer.

Bostonist: great

BSG: i think that writing so it's easier or enjoyable for people to read and writing to get famous are two concepts that are invariably connected in the context of "publishing your own writing on your blog and trying to get your writing published elsewhere." if you are actively seeking publication or publishing your words on your own blog, then you want others to read it. if you didn't want this attention, then you would not make it available to the public. this is okay with me. i am interested in making the things i write more readable. if it were not readable then it would not be functional. and i want it to function. i want it to function because i don't want to work at a restaurant, or an office, or a parking lot, or something. i would rather write.

Bostonist: before you took to writing, what did you focus on as a way of making something that functions or merely as a way of doing something period?

BSG: i didn't really have strongly articulated goals before i started writing. i just existed, mostly unaware of any need for progress.

BSG: in other words, i didn't do much. i went to coffee shops with people and was into science fiction. i was bored a lot. i felt alienated often.

Bostonist: much of your poetry in during my nervous breakdown... discusses themes of alienation by literally discussing the minute details of it. has being able to write about subjects like alienation, boredom, etc helped you come to terms with these issues, has it magnified these problems, or has it done something else? Or nothing at all?

BSG: i think it magnified the problems. for awhile i felt that it was appropriate to be alienated; that it was OK. i would read the things that i had written and laugh, and then read richard yates and laugh, and then feel superior, or something, like i knew something that most people didn't, and that this made me better. i think i started to take pride in it. later, i got a girlfriend, and one night she said something like 'your alienation is "great and all that" but it's not functional; or it functions negatively, for the most part: you still have all these problems, you work at a cafe that you hate, you dislike your living situation, you have no friends, you're depressed all the time.' i believe that my perception shifted after that.

Bostonist: do you feel that now that you've published this book and getting it into the public you're able to focus on what you would consider negative aspects of your life and deal with them, or is this merely a window to express your continued frustration? Do you feel like you have any way to deal with those feelings that can have an adverse affect?

BSG: this is merely a window to express my continued frustration. writing the book and getting it published did not cause me to stop feeling certain things sometimes. i am unsure if i have a way of dealing with feelings that have an adverse affect in terms of function; 'thinking logically' is the only method for dealing with bad feelings that i can recall right now.

Bostonist: do you think that perhaps in the future writing will provide some method to deal with certain frustrations, such as worrying about having a shitty job, etc? Or do you think you'll seek some other outlet for that?

BSG: in the future, i believe that writing will be an option for 'dealing with' certain frustrations. i am unsure how well it will work. i also predict having new methods which i currently cannot specifically foresee. i am not 'sold' on the idea that writing is 'what i want to do.'

Bostonist: any other ideas for something you "want to do" that you're contemplating?

BSG: yes. i might become an organic farmer. this summer, i have been working on an organic farm twice a week. sometimes, when i'm not on the farm, i feel as if i would like to be on the farm. generally i don't get such enjoyment out of things, where i look forward to them. i am going to explore this possibility by working 4-day weeks, there, in the near future.

Bostonist: how did you get involved in farming?

BSG: my ex-girlfriend used to run an organic farm. we tentatively planned on farming together next year. i wanted to gain experience.

Bostonist: outside of farming, you'll be doing some talks around the country for during my nervous breakdown... What should folks in Boston look forward to during your stop at Brookline Booksmith?

BSG: they can look forward to me reading from either my poetry book or from things that i have written in the past 3 months. they can also look forward to tao lin reading something that he wrote.