{"id":162,"date":"2015-02-09T09:04:48","date_gmt":"2015-02-09T09:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/microcosmpublishing.dev\/blog\/2015\/02\/things-are-meaning-morecatching-up-with-al-burian\/"},"modified":"2016-02-02T18:11:00","modified_gmt":"2016-02-02T18:11:00","slug":"things-are-meaning-morecatching-up-with-al-burian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microcosmpublishing.com\/blog\/2015\/02\/things-are-meaning-morecatching-up-with-al-burian\/","title":{"rendered":"Things are Meaning More\u2014catching up with Al Burian"},"content":{"rendered":"

Microcosm’s first paperback books came out back in 2002, and as I’ve been reading my way through them, I’ve been wondering\u2014where are the authors now? I fired off a few emails with nosy questions, which were followed by a deafening silence… then at last, to my relief, Al Burian<\/a> wrote back with thoughtful and generous answers. Thanks, Al. <\/span><\/p>\n

1. Hi Al! What are you up to these days? Where in the world are you and what’s it like there today? <\/strong><\/p>\n

My last publication for Microcosm (Burn Collector #15<\/a><\/em>) was about moving to Berlin, Germany, and in fact I\u2019m still living there, even still living in the same apartment. But today I am not at home for a change; I am in Hamburg, a few hours away. I\u2019m at a band practice in a basement room, filled with musical equipment, like so many similar rooms around the world: familiar, non-exotic territory. Outside, the day is a drizzling, oppressive dark grey. I imagine it is comparable to winter weather in Portland, OR.  \"drawn<\/p>\n

 2. Your first book with us was a comic book in 2003 (!), Things Are Meaning Less<\/a><\/em>. Your work now is pretty different in format and also in tone\u2014what changed and why? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t really feel that my work has changed so drastically, but perhaps readers see that differently. My early stuff was informed by a younger persons\u2019 sensibilities, of course. In my twenties I had the typical know-it-all attitude that comes with a liberal arts degree and an obscure record collection. After I finished college I began touring with punk bands and produced a lot of zines; I enjoyed writing in an academic, pseudo-literary style, even as I described dumpster-diving, visits to Waffle House, and other low-brow everyday behavior. The contrast struck me as funny. Other people might have found the affect annoying. <\/p>\n

Now that I\u2019m older and have had a few of the important traumatic adult experiences, my horizons have broadened, and I feel like I hardly know anything at all. I\u2019m slower to produce and much more self-critical. I find myself talking about how it\u2019s not all so black and white, weighing both sides of the issue, displaying all the wishy-washy attitudes that used to annoy me about old people. I don\u2019t feel so comfortable anymore with the \u201cinsert situation, make fun of everyone\u2019s haircuts, end with a Nietzsche quotation\u201d style of writing. Nonetheless, I would maintain that it is not me that has changed so much\u2013 I have actually remained pretty consistent\u2013 but rather the context within which I\u2019m working, the milieu I\u2019m in (not touring so much, and definitely not much in North America), the recontextualization of the meaning of analog creative forms in the digital era…. stuff like that. <\/p>\n

3. What’s your plan for where you’re going with your work next?  \"al<\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know. I\u2019ve never had any kind of plan. My creative history is one long and uncoordinated flail forward. In theory I agree, having a plan is a good idea, and I even tried to formulate one when I moved to Germany, which was to quit doing music and focus on writing. Apparently to succeed and be fruitful, you need a solid focus and single-minded discipline; all the self-help books say so. But those have traditionally been my weak spots, and sure enough, now a few years later I\u2019ve meandered off track completely. In 2015, maybe some new comics, most likely will put out some new music, and possibly but not very probably will finish up one of many long-term writing projects. <\/p>\n

 4. What books and music have you liked recently? Or maybe “like” is the wrong metric, so: what’s gotten stuck in your head? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Books: The Nostalgia Echo<\/a><\/em> by Mickey Hess, Orlando<\/em> by Virginia Woolf, The Loom of Ruin<\/a><\/em> by Sam McPheeters, Susan Sontag: the Complete Rolling Stone Interview<\/em> by Jonathan Cott <\/p>\n

Comics: Anna Haifisch<\/a>, Mike Taylor<\/a> <\/p>\n

Music: Mothers of Invention with Napoleon Murphy Brock, Disappears<\/a>, Corrosion of Conformity self-titled album <\/p>\n

 5. What question should I really be asking you? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Anyone can ask me any question they want to\u2013 leave a \u201ccomment\u201d at alburian.com<\/a>. But as far as \u201cshould,\u201d I\u2019d say, hey, no pressure. Maybe you don\u2019t have any more questions. That\u2019s OK too.<\/p>\n

\n

This is one of a series of interviews with Microcosm authors. The next interview is with Anna Brones<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. Hi Al! What are you up to these days? Where in the world are you and what’s it like there today? <\/p>\n

My last publication for Microcosm (Burn Collector #15) was about moving to Berlin, Germany, and in fact I\u2019m still living there, even still living in the same apartment. But today I am not at home for a change; I am in Hamburg, a few hours away. I\u2019m at a band practice in a basement room, filled with musical equipment, like so many similar rooms around the world: familiar, non-exotic territory. Outside, the day is a drizzling, oppressive dark grey. I imagine it is comparable to winter weather in Portland, OR.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[14,11],"class_list":["post-162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogifesto","tag-books","tag-interviews"],"my_excerpt":"

Microcosm's first paperback books came out back in 2002, and as I've been reading my way through them, I've been wondering\u2014where are the authors now? I fired off a few emails with nosy questions, which were followed by a deafening silence... then at last, to my relief, Al Burian<\/a> wrote back with thoughtful and generous answers. Thanks, Al. <\/span><\/p>

1. Hi Al! What are you up to these days? Where in the world are you and what's it like there today? <\/strong><\/p>

My last publication for Microcosm (Burn Collector #15<\/a><\/em>) was about moving to Berlin, Germany, and in fact I\u2019m still living there, even still living in the same apartment. But today I am not at home for a change; I am in Hamburg, a few hours away. I\u2019m at a band practice in a basement room, filled with musical equipment, like so many similar rooms around the world: familiar, non-exotic territory. Outside, the day is a drizzling, oppressive dark grey. I imagine it is comparable to winter weather in Portland, OR.  \"drawn<\/p>

 2. Your first book with us was a comic book in 2003 (!), Things Are Meaning Less<\/a><\/em>. Your work now is pretty different in format and also in tone\u2014what changed and why? <\/strong><\/p>

I don\u2019t really feel that my work has changed so drastically, but perhaps readers see that differently. My early stuff was informed by a younger persons\u2019 sensibilities, of course. In my twenties I had the typical know-it-all attitude that comes with a liberal arts degree and an obscure record collection. After I finished college I began touring with punk bands and produced a lot of zines; I enjoyed writing in an academic, pseudo-literary style, even as I described dumpster-diving, visits to Waffle House, and other low-brow everyday behavior. The contrast struck me as funny. Other people might have found the affect annoying. <\/p>

Now that I\u2019m older and have had a few of the important traumatic adult experiences, my horizons have broadened, and I feel like I hardly know anything at all. I\u2019m slower to produce and much more self-critical. I find myself talking about how it\u2019s not all so black and white, weighing both sides of the issue, displaying all the wishy-washy attitudes that used to annoy me about old people. I don\u2019t feel so comfortable anymore with the \u201cinsert situation, make fun of everyone\u2019s haircuts, end with a Nietzsche quotation\u201d style of writing. Nonetheless, I would maintain that it is not me that has changed so much\u2013 I have actually remained pretty consistent\u2013 but rather the context within which I\u2019m working, the milieu I\u2019m in (not touring so much, and definitely not much in North America), the recontextualization of the meaning of analog creative forms in the digital era.... stuff like that. <\/p>

3. What's your plan for where you're going with your work next?  \"al<\/b><\/p>

I don\u2019t know. I\u2019ve never had any kind of plan. My creative history is one long and uncoordinated flail forward. In theory I agree, having a plan is a good idea, and I even tried to formulate one when I moved to Germany, which was to quit doing music and focus on writing. Apparently to succeed and be fruitful, you need a solid focus and single-minded discipline; all the self-help books say so. But those have traditionally been my weak spots, and sure enough, now a few years later I\u2019ve meandered off track completely. In 2015, maybe some new comics, most likely will put out some new music, and possibly but not very probably will finish up one of many long-term writing projects. <\/p>

 4. What books and music have you liked recently? Or maybe \"like\" is the wrong metric, so: what's gotten stuck in your head? <\/strong><\/p>

Books: The Nostalgia Echo<\/a><\/em> by Mickey Hess, Orlando<\/em> by Virginia Woolf, The Loom of Ruin<\/a><\/em> by Sam McPheeters, Susan Sontag: the Complete Rolling Stone Interview<\/em> by Jonathan Cott <\/p>

Comics: Anna Haifisch<\/a>, Mike Taylor<\/a> <\/p>

Music: Mothers of Invention with Napoleon Murphy Brock, Disappears<\/a>, Corrosion of Conformity self-titled album <\/p>

 5. What question should I really be asking you? <\/strong><\/p>

Anyone can ask me any question they want to\u2013 leave a \u201ccomment\u201d at alburian.com<\/a>. But as far as \u201cshould,\u201d I\u2019d say, hey, no pressure. Maybe you don\u2019t have any more questions. That\u2019s OK too.<\/p>

This is one of a series of interviews with Microcosm authors. The next interview is with Anna Brones<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","my_excerpt_rendered":"

Microcosm’s first paperback books came out back in 2002, and as I’ve been reading my way through them, I’ve been wondering\u2014where are the authors now? I fired off a few emails with nosy questions, which were followed by a deafening silence… then at last, to my relief, Al Burian<\/a> wrote back with thoughtful and generous answers. Thanks, Al. <\/span><\/p>\n

1. Hi Al! What are you up to these days? Where in the world are you and what’s it like there today? <\/strong><\/p>\n

My last publication for Microcosm (Burn Collector #15<\/a><\/em>) was about moving to Berlin, Germany, and in fact I\u2019m still living there, even still living in the same apartment. But today I am not at home for a change; I am in Hamburg, a few hours away. I\u2019m at a band practice in a basement room, filled with musical equipment, like so many similar rooms around the world: familiar, non-exotic territory. Outside, the day is a drizzling, oppressive dark grey. I imagine it is comparable to winter weather in Portland, OR.  \"drawn<\/p>\n

 2. Your first book with us was a comic book in 2003 (!), Things Are Meaning Less<\/a><\/em>. Your work now is pretty different in format and also in tone\u2014what changed and why? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t really feel that my work has changed so drastically, but perhaps readers see that differently. My early stuff was informed by a younger persons\u2019 sensibilities, of course. In my twenties I had the typical know-it-all attitude that comes with a liberal arts degree and an obscure record collection. After I finished college I began touring with punk bands and produced a lot of zines; I enjoyed writing in an academic, pseudo-literary style, even as I described dumpster-diving, visits to Waffle House, and other low-brow everyday behavior. The contrast struck me as funny. Other people might have found the affect annoying. <\/p>\n

Now that I\u2019m older and have had a few of the important traumatic adult experiences, my horizons have broadened, and I feel like I hardly know anything at all. I\u2019m slower to produce and much more self-critical. I find myself talking about how it\u2019s not all so black and white, weighing both sides of the issue, displaying all the wishy-washy attitudes that used to annoy me about old people. I don\u2019t feel so comfortable anymore with the \u201cinsert situation, make fun of everyone\u2019s haircuts, end with a Nietzsche quotation\u201d style of writing. Nonetheless, I would maintain that it is not me that has changed so much\u2013 I have actually remained pretty consistent\u2013 but rather the context within which I\u2019m working, the milieu I\u2019m in (not touring so much, and definitely not much in North America), the recontextualization of the meaning of analog creative forms in the digital era…. stuff like that. <\/p>\n

3. What’s your plan for where you’re going with your work next?  \"al<\/b><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know. I\u2019ve never had any kind of plan. My creative history is one long and uncoordinated flail forward. In theory I agree, having a plan is a good idea, and I even tried to formulate one when I moved to Germany, which was to quit doing music and focus on writing. Apparently to succeed and be fruitful, you need a solid focus and single-minded discipline; all the self-help books say so. But those have traditionally been my weak spots, and sure enough, now a few years later I\u2019ve meandered off track completely. In 2015, maybe some new comics, most likely will put out some new music, and possibly but not very probably will finish up one of many long-term writing projects. <\/p>\n

 4. What books and music have you liked recently? Or maybe “like” is the wrong metric, so: what’s gotten stuck in your head? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Books: The Nostalgia Echo<\/a><\/em> by Mickey Hess, Orlando<\/em> by Virginia Woolf, The Loom of Ruin<\/a><\/em> by Sam McPheeters, Susan Sontag: the Complete Rolling Stone Interview<\/em> by Jonathan Cott <\/p>\n

Comics: Anna Haifisch<\/a>, Mike Taylor<\/a> <\/p>\n

Music: Mothers of Invention with Napoleon Murphy Brock, Disappears<\/a>, Corrosion of Conformity self-titled album <\/p>\n

 5. What question should I really be asking you? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Anyone can ask me any question they want to\u2013 leave a \u201ccomment\u201d at alburian.com<\/a>. But as far as \u201cshould,\u201d I\u2019d say, hey, no pressure. Maybe you don\u2019t have any more questions. That\u2019s OK too.<\/p>\n

\n

This is one of a series of interviews with Microcosm authors. The next interview is with Anna Brones<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microcosmpublishing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microcosmpublishing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microcosmpublishing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microcosmpublishing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microcosmpublishing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/microcosmpublishing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":528,"href":"https:\/\/microcosmpublishing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162\/revisions\/528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microcosmpublishing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microcosmpublishing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microcosmpublishing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}