Cover Stories
Literary LEO 2011
Tightrope BY IKE THACKER Tee ing, ter ter tot ing On the tightrope, the young man acknowledged his Applause— and fell.
Literary LEO 2011
Every Part of the Animal (Non-elegy) BY RINA PERLIN When I go, don’t make my bones dry-cakes or root bulbs. Don’t hold onto them as if they can press you coldly, or kiss you brittle, or tell you how and that all this was true. Do not tell them you love…
Literary LEO 2011
Short Fiction First: Tyrel Kessinger, “Sonnet To An Asshole” Second: David Owen, “Art Lesson” Third: Madison Fay, “Clothes” Honorable Mention: Mary O’Dell, “Ritual” Flash Fiction First: Madison Fay, “Bronco and Me” Second: Dana Oliver, “k.d. For A Day” Third: Dan Barbercheck, “Come Home” Honorable Mention: Casey Shepherd, “Intercession” Poetry First: Makalani Bandele, “coda”…
Literary LEO 2011
My Life In Quotes BY ROB JAMNER They said, “First things first.” He said, “Are you having trouble learning the song? Well, then go back to book one. It’s all in book one.” He said, “It’s the small things.” I said, “Your hand’s cold.” And she said, “Your hand’s warm.” He said, “Live in…
Literary LEO 2011
Toadstool BY JEREMY GARRETT Once Koopa was killed, and the kingdom saved, she sashayed across the TV screen, and I pressed my lips to her pixels. It wasn’t so much love as wanting to be her: Bathroom door locked, quilt wrapped around my waist, I perfected a curtsey for a plumber-savior these…
Literary LEO 2011
Big Bill’s Metal Recycling BY GAIL CHANDLER Under New Management This Property Recorded By 24 Hr. VIDEO Cameras After the sign and stacks of batteries and hubcaps we gaze at oxidized motors, corrugated roof sections gutters, dryer vent hoses, a hospital trash can, springs two plaid sofa cushions, a yellow bush hog balanced…
Literary LEO 2011
Shotguns BY DAN BARBERCHECK startled doves rose booms echoed crisply over the dead hills a cold wind came up and sent the yellow leaves scurrying before our shiny shoes the message on the phone said not to call back we walked to where the gravel turned to new asphalt and the shotguns sounded like…
Literary LEO 2011
Recipe BY MEGHAN MCCABE It is 8 o’clock and all I can think about is Daniel Russy’s upper lip. Its soft peachy hairs were dripping warm, wet, sweat as he turned around in home economics to look at me. “Hey faggot,” he said under his breath. “Eat this.” His large pink hand grasped…
Literary LEO 2011
coda BY MAKALANI BANDELE inhale tomorrows all the dreams they contain and fairer view of end the changes blow everybody away a lick hucklebuck to which parker replied da doo ba da doo ba da doo ba doo which is to say leap a half step up an octave, every line…
Theater: ‘Black Bottom’ on top
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom A production by Actors Theatre of Louisville. Directed by Ron OJ Parson. Continues through Feb. 13. For tickets or more information, call 584-1205 or go to www.actorstheatre.org. If August Wilson’s dramatic project had been simply to examine and document the African-American experience during the 20th century — which he did over…
Comedy: Among royalty
After two decades of laughs, few would dispute D.L. Hughley’s claim as one of the “Original Kings of Comedy,” a tour he did with friends Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer and the late Bernie Mac that kicked off an industry-wide phenomenon and launched a million imitators (“Blue Collar Comedy Tour,” “Latin Kings of Comedy”). In…
Sixth & Jefferson
On Monday, Jefferson County Clerk Bobbie Holsclaw entered the race for governor of Kentucky, giving local Republicans a moderate alternative to support in the upcoming primary. After mulling over the field of candidates, Holsclaw, who has been elected clerk four times, jumped in the race with retired Navy master chief Bill Vermillion of Grayson County…
The Grape Escape: Hey! This wine’s not sweet!
I had an interesting conversation recently with some folks who wanted to like wine but had a hard time warming up to it. “It isn’t sweet,” they fretted. “And it doesn’t really taste much like grapes.” Those of us who’ve developed a taste for the dry (unsweet), acidic (tart) style of fine table wines tend…
Inbox — Jan. 26, 2011
Not Fitting In Dear Senator Rand Paul, As your employer — the people of Kentucky — I wish to discuss your work performance since you became our U.S. senator in January. To begin with, you work hard, show up on time and handle yourself in public so well. But I’m afraid you just aren’t fitting…
Literary LEO 2011
Sonnet To An Asshole BY TYREL KESSINGER Hell, you remember that time when you went kamikaze all over that joker at Cahoots? You paced around as calm as Walden Pond for awhile and we all thought you had made peace with the situation. But goddamn, if you didn’t light up out of nowhere, like you…
Literary LEO 2011
Clothes BY MADISON FAY The mesh is thin and it feels cool against my tits. I smell smoke, old smoke like cardboard, or those West-end retailers where everything is rough and the suits are too big. It’s cold. Not shopping mall cold, not like tile or marble, but a cheap, wet cold, the way these…
Plugged In
Readers are strongly encouraged to call ahead to verify these listings. To get your club, comedian, musical act or karaoke listed, please send e-mail to mherron@leoweekly.com with PLUGGED IN in the subject line. The deadline is NOON THURSDAY the week before the show happens. We do not accept listings via social networking sites. Wed. Jan.…
Literary LEO 2011
For nearly two decades, we’ve called on readers to tap into their creativity for our annual Literary LEO contest. And as usual, you did not disappoint, sending in hundreds of works in six categories: short fiction, flash fiction, poetry, photography and “something different,” an outlet for slightly more experimental artistic endeavors. Thanks to the writers,…
Literary LEO 2011
Bronco and Me BY MADISON FAY Here I am on this stringy bronco surveying the landscape. He paws at the carpet impatiently, but I’m not ready to go yet. No sir, not in the least. I relish this. Yes sir. Far as I can see are toppled desks and grey cubicle walls tossed and bent,…
Jesse Malin: NYC’s not-quite-punk
Some musicians get tagged as punk rockers early on simply because they understand life’s grittier side and know how to pull off fast and focused songs. Alejandro Escovedo and Bruce Springsteen are two who never quite fit that mold, and have pretty much outgrown anyone’s attempt to label them. The same can be said of…
Not too late to listen (Part 1)
I think about music a lot but listen to it infrequently. When I started fumbling around trying to write songs in my early 20s, I arrived, by avenues still unclear to me, at the conclusion that over-exposure to the great works of others might somehow diminish, dilute or otherwise augment my own ideas about song…
‘Our path’
The Deloreans return with their sophomore album, American Craze, on the heels of their successful debut, Love Outrageous. Singer and producer Jeremy Perry talks musical maturity. LEO: How do you think American Craze challenged you? Jeremy Perry: We felt we’d like to thicken the plot. With our first album, we sorta invited people to our…
Literary LEO 2011
Come Home BY DAN BARBERCHECK It was a little too blustery on the bench outside the big box store. The little girl’s hair kept blowing across her eyes as she struggled with the toy’s impenetrable packaging. He suppressed an urge to brush the hair aside for her, accepting the futility of the gesture. “Here, let…
Bar Belle: Nothing’s right, I’m torn
I’m all out of faith, this is how I feel. I’m cold and I am shamed, lying naked on the floor. OK, just kidding. I am pretty cold, but I’ve never been ashamed of lying naked on a floor — if it’s carpet, it was a good night; if it’s linoleum, um, it was probably…
Literary LEO 2011
Art Lesson BY DAVID OWEN My name is Art. It isn’t short for anything. It’s just that my mother loved art, and maybe for that reason I never took to it. Of course I’ve had to endure all those word plays on my name; you know, like Art follows function, Art imitates life, art for…
Video TapeWorm
THIS WEEK’S TWIN PEEKS: LET ME IN 2010; $29.95-$39.95, R While we thought that the original Swedish version, “Let the Right One In,” had a wonderfully eerie sense of ooga-booga, this shorter, faster-paced American version has Chloe Grace Moretz of “Kick-Ass” — a hard choice to make! Kodi Smit-McPhee from “The Road” is a lonely,…
Literary LEO 2011
k.d. For A Day BY DANA OLIVER Shaunna Saunders awoke one morning to find she had been transformed into k.d. lang. It was kind of like Quantum Leap, but she was in her own bed. She didn’t realize the transformation right away. Her mind was the same — just the body was different. She kicked…
Locavore Lore: Crock pots are like crack when it’s cold outside
During these cold, blustery months in the Ohio Valley, most of us think less about eating local and more about foods that’ll warm and comfort our souls. The truth is, little is “in season” right now. Greens, maybe, and some root vegetables and processed items that have been put away. Oh, and of course meat,…
Literary LEO 2011
Ritual BY MARY O’DELL At the start, there were a few luminous years — years shot through with sunlight. Then came the start of the secret. They were eight. It was summer, 1979. Cyn wore yellow shorts and tee shirt, goldy yellow that looked so right on her. Amazing, how neat she kept herself, considering…
Moisan mosaic
Dave Moisan releases his debut EP of jubilant folk-pop, Ungravity Part 1, on Friday, Jan. 28, with a show at The 930 Listening Room (930 Mary St., 635-2554). Doors open at 7 p.m., and tickets are $8 (adv.), $10 (door). A Lion Named Roar opens. The New Vintage Next month, ZaZoo’s (102 Bauer Ave., 894-8030)…
Literary LEO 2011
Intercession BY CASEY SHEPHERD That day you approached me on Broadway, you just kinda took me off guard. Not your fault, I guess, but before you decided to walk up and say hello, did you notice I was clutching a thousand scraps of paper to my chest? Or that my fingers and face were black…
Staffpicks
Wednesday, Jan. 26 Literary LEO Party Monkey Wrench 1025 Barret Ave. • 582-2433 Free; 7 p.m. We have celebrated the area’s literary talents since the early days of our publication — that’s right, Literary LEO goes as far back as The Backstreet Boys, people. This issue features the winners of the annual contest, and tonight,…
