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NOÖ andTHE OLDEST EMAIL in my inbox withthe word “vouched” in it is from apoet who needed people to writeletters to a judge vouching for hischaracter after he got a little out ofhis mind and hit someone with aWET FLOOR sign. (I did it! He’s agreat guy!)Then, in 2010, we hit someemails about Vouched Books, anamazing project for sharing andpromoting independent literature started by Christopher Newgent inIndianapolis. I met Christopher in Denver, and we ate burgers andblueberries together, which doesn’t make sense, which is why Iremember it. He is one of the kindest and most hardworking people Iknow. There is no one more sincere and burly when it comes tostraight up spreading the love about work put out by small presses.Which is why I am very excited to announce that NOÖ will fromnow on be teaming up with Vouched Books on this here section. AllPresentNOÖ [14]along I wanted this section to be about presenting books and projectsthat people could, yes, vouch for—in eloquent and entertaining ways.So this pairing makes a lot of sense both spiritually and lexically.Here’s how it will work: in addition to our regular content, we willbe running special expanded reviews, interviews, and other features bythe Vouched Books team. The idea is you might read a review youreally like here in NOÖ, then visit vouchedbooks.com to see what elsethat reviewer has vouched for. Or you might see a snippet about abook on vouchedbooks.com and visit NOÖ to read an expandedfeature. Either way, you’ll get to find about excellent literature thatflies—with shimmering duct-taped wings—under the radar. Thanks toour new Associate Editor, Tyler Gobble, for putting this in motion. Icould not be more stoked! Now I’m going to let Laura Straub, kingpinof Vouched ATL, tell you a little bit more about how Vouched Booksstarted and why it’s so amazing. — MikeP.S. Do not hit anyone with a WET FLOOR sign and expect me tobail you out. That was a one time deal for a special hermit. Puteverything back where you found it.VWHAT: Vouched BooksBY: Christopher Newgent & Laura Straub & more!IS: Indie lit spotlightsSAYS: You know—at like craft fairs and shit.AT: www.vouchedbooks.comPRESENTED BY: Laura StraubOUCHED BOOKS was birthed in October of 2009 inIndianapolis, in the brain of my best friend: ChristopherNewgent. He was dissatisfied with the lack of small pressrepresentation in bookstores around Indy, so he decided to dosomething about it. Our Gchat conversation about the idea wentsomething like this:(This is a reenactment. Christopher would be portrayed as alarge-armed Paul Schneider. I would be a highly caffeinated c-lister.)Christopher: So I’ve been bummed lately at how hard it is tofind small press books in Indianapolis. I mean, you’ve read thesebooks. They’re so freaking awesome. People need to read them.Laura: Yeah, that’s a total bummer.Christopher: I’m thinking of setting up a guerrilla bookstore ofsmall press books I’ve read and loved. You know—at like craftfairs and shit.Laura: DO IT!Laura: DO IT! DO IT! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!Christopher took action. He contacted a bunch of small presseswho had published books he had read and loved, purchased booksas a bookseller, and set up the first Vouched Books “guerrillabookstore.” Soon after, he launched the Vouched Presents readingseries in Indianapolis.Then, in June 2010, a website was launched, where contributorsVouched for literature published online, interviewed authors,reviewed titles, and so on. It was all great fun. Our contributorshave included (and currently include) some real fireworks of thesmall press world: Troy Urquart, Roxane Gay, Amber Sparks, TylerGobble, Ashley Ford, Abby Koski, Kyle Winkler, Layne Ransom,Aaron Gilbreath, Andrew Sims, and Scott Daughtridge. Theirenthusiasm is what makes the website so effective. Roxane Gay hadthis to say about the Vouched Books table on HTMLGIANT:“That intimacy makes it easy to get on board with taking a chance onwriters we’re not familiar with, and I’ve enjoyed learning about booksI wouldn’t ordinarily come across.”In June of 2011, Vouched Books spawned a table in Atlanta. Iwanted to get involved in the city and to do so with WORDS. Manypeople had approached Christopher about “franchising” Vouchedin different cities, but he wasn’t sure how the process would work.Our Gchat conversation went something like this:(This is a reenactment. Christopher would be portrayed as a muscularand serious Peter Sarsgaard. I would be an over-enthusiastic c-lister.)Christopher: So a lot of people have been contacting me askingabout Vouched franchising, and wanting to set up their owntable in other cities.Laura: Dude, what an amazing idea. You should makethat happen!Christopher: Yeah I just have no idea how that would work,you know?Laura: Sounds like you need a guinea pig, best friend.Christopher: …Laura: …? Oh. Hey! I could do it!Laura: U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!4
NOÖ [14]Soon Vouched Atlanta was launched. The ATL has been stuckwith me ever since.Running the tables, we’ve encountered more than our fair shareof people who can’t wrap their head around the heart of ourmission. Why we would do such a thing? Questions asked of usrange from: “Wait, so where is your bookstore actually located?” to“But who is PAYING you to do this?” or the often understated,oversimplified “…Why?”The thing is, Vouched Books (Atlanta + Indianapolis + online)exists because there’s a segment of literature from small andindependent presses who are taking risks and publishing reallyinnovative words by up-and-coming authors we really believe in.We saw a void in the industry and are trying to help fill it. Most ofthese presses are comprised of one or a few people, and they don’thave the funding or manpower to get a large amount of distributionor promotional help. They’re doing great work and Vouched wantsto shine a spotlight on them. The stories being told, the poems beingwritten—they are phenomenal and deserve to be read. We’re here tohelp facilitate that.We do this because we love it.Some of the Vouched team at AWP Chicago in 2012. From left to right:Christopher Newgent, Amber Sparks, Ashley Cassandra Ford, TylerGobble, and Laura Straub. I actually can’t tell because of Laura’s hairwhether she is to the left or right of Tyler, but I feel like you can figureout who is Tyler and who is Laura.JWHAT: For Out of the Heart ProceedBY: Jensen BeachIS: Debut story collectionFROM: Dzanc Books / Dark Sky BooksSAYS: Sadness thick as a riverAT: www.jensenwbeach.comPRESENTED BY: Scott DaughtridgeENSEN BEACH’S debut story collection is introduced by aBible passage, Matthew 15:18-19: “But those things whichproceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defilethe man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders,adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” Withthis passage we become acquainted with the tone of the collection.Beach’s stories are about death, parenthood, family conflict, and thefight against the darkness that, at times, threatens to envelope us.Through his characters, Beach is showing us the various wayspeople cope with life’s harsh circumstances.Some take strange actions, like the man in “Priest Lake, Idaho”who sets fire to his tool shed in hopes of building something newafter his wife dies. In my favorite piece, “We Cannot Cross theRiver,” a group of men are inexplicably stranded in a cabin andcannot escape by crossing the river until it is frozen:Sadness thick as a river, and night you can write upon, forcesMolineux to succumb. He grinds a rock into his throat andchokes a horrid, slow death. Suarez buries him in the soft dirt.Winslow whispers prayers. Bekker’s jealous spit hits thetilled earth.Other stay calm and speak plainly. In “How It Was When a CarCaught Fire on the Street Outside My House Last Night,” a manargues with his wife after they awake to a burning car on theirstreet. She is in tears, and he sums up their problems like this:The fire was out. The firemen left. The police arrived andwrapped the car’s skeleton in yellow warning tape. I explainedthis to my wife. She said she was too tired to argue. Clearly shehadn’t been listening. That’s the major problem with us. We justtalk. We never listen.In equally plain language, a man imparts wisdom on his son in“The Dark is What.” The two go to the flea market to buy a puzzleand find that the table they normally visit has been replaced by apurse vendor. The son is upset and the father reminds him “thatnothing lasts, which is both good and bad because it means you willnever feel anything for very long.”Whether the response to their plight is to stay calm or start afight, these characters ask for sympathy and understanding. Thecards have been stacked against them and they are doing their best.This is not a collection for readers looking for comic relief or anescape into fantasy. The characters are in a world of shadows, facingthe evils stated in the epigraph, but they show moments of strengthand determination.If it’s from our own mouths and our own hearts that darknesscomes, then the battle we are waging is with ourselves, our ownnature. At times, external circumstances exacerbate the struggle,but they nevertheless provide us with good stories from which lightcan be gathered.In “Their Future Looks Brighter the Closer It Gets to the Sun,” acouple sew a large kite they use to fly them away from theirdomestic lives. Neighbors gather to watch them take off. Afternearly failing, they are lifted from the ground:Below them, the park and the neighbors and everything theylonged to be rid of grew smaller. And when they could no longersee anything that reminded them not to, they shared a smilebetween them.5
Page 1 and 2: 14NOÖa j o u r n a l o f p r o s e
Page 3: NOÖ [14]Editor’s NoteMike Young
Page 7 and 8: NOÖ [14]IWHAT: Vital PursuitsBY: E
Page 9 and 10: NOÖ [14]The Information: a History
Page 11 and 12: NOÖ [14]We Penetrated Deeper and D
Page 13 and 14: NOÖ [14]the bodyTHE BODY IS NOT PE
Page 15 and 16: NOÖ [14]DORITOS ® brand tortilla
Page 17 and 18: NOÖ [14]couldn’t take a pet that
Page 19 and 20: NOÖ [14]His wife, with two partner
Page 21 and 22: NOÖ [14]OtherWomenFarmerAFEW YEARS
Page 23 and 24: NOÖ [14]IMET A MAN at a barbeque w
Page 25 and 26: NOÖ [14]who snapped into meat stic
Page 27 and 28: NOÖ [14]TundraSee more of Kelly Sc
Page 29 and 30: NOÖ [14]Mike KrutelCarFireinSnowIt
Page 31 and 32: NOÖ [14]WE AREBOTHDIEWendy XuIn a
Page 33 and 34: NOÖ [14]Russell JaffeI Shall PlayU
Page 35 and 36: R/NOÖ [14]REEPHOTa poem for violen
Page 37 and 38: NOÖ [14]YES, I WILLGOMeghan Privit
Page 39 and 40: NOÖ [14]Let’s chart the economy
Page 41 and 42: NOÖ [14]UTERANCEEmilyToderThe foll
Page 43 and 44: NOÖ [14]Stock-StillWe step into th
Page 45 and 46: NOÖ [14]Ron Winklertranslated from
Page 47 and 48: NOÖ [14]KBKELLY SCHIRMANN is from

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