Fiction. NONE OF THIS IS REAL imagines a not-too-alternate reality of philosophical children, reincarnating chimeras, mutant matriarchies, and kind seers adapting to affliction. These five fictions question what is knowable and what actions can be taken in the face of loss—of family, heritage, ecosystems, agency, and power. A face incapable of masking its sneering rebellions; young sisters in search of their missing mother; a page whose very body extracts meaning from occult readings in response to alienation; a never-ending line for coffee that becomes a surreal site of quotidian wars in miniature; a nightmare future of scientific subjugation and regenerate seekers—this first collection by the author of THE REVISIONIST illuminates the gap between institutional powers and those failed by, or otherwise mortally at odds with, those powers. Drawing inspiration from absurdism, noir, fairy tales, and the occult, NONE OF THIS IS REAL brings the playfulness of contemporary fabulism to bear on today's pressing ethical and political issues, exploring the potential and limits of magical thinking with empathy, subtle humor, and an engrossing mastery of the fictional form.

None of This Is Real

Literature & Fiction

Mellis, Miranda

Contemporary

Sidebrow Books

Fiction. "In lucid, utterly captivating prose, Miranda Mellis delivers a highly disciplined, deeply melancholy portrait of the living and the dead. I read it transfixed. It is a radiant piece of work."—Carole Maso "THE SPOKES is as elegant as it is daring, as arresting as it is mysterious. It seems to me a truly timeless story, which is to say not only that it removes itself from time—though it does—but that its pleasures, enigmas, and meanings ought to be as accessible fifty or a hundred years from now as they are today."—Kevin Brockmeier

The Spokes

Solid Objects

Poetry. "DEMYSTIFICATIONS is a circle of keys; a florilegium; a circle of voices engaged in a public conversation whose subject is the transformation of knowledge into a collective organ. Mellis uses aphorism to bring us back to basics--what is the best way to proceed; starting from here? How should we inhabit the present? By excavation; by error; by exaggeration; by gesture; by revolt; by contradiction; by voice; by tone. Fanny Howe and Edward Said; Etel Adnan; Karl Marx and Muriel Rukeyser--Miranda Mellis hosts the living and the dead in a grand conference on the value and practice of wisdom."--Robert Gluck "With humor and grace; bite and tenderness; these ninety-nine poems structure an archive of a Miranda Mellis mind map. I loved being there with her! 'DEMYSTIFICATIONS is a key ring;' each page a passkey. From Orange Is the New Black to Etel Adnan; from Revital and Tuur's albino goldfish via Marx to Blessing Ngobeni with several visits to Walter Benjamin; the good enough mother; and the public school down the block; Mellis expands the visible--not to hide the cracks; but 'to see the fissure in the fix.' She also gives us the possibility of 'a forgiveness cloak'--a one-size-fits-all-garment--to help us see through other minds besides our own in these darkest of times."--Lynn Marie Kirby

Demystifications

Poetry

Literary Nonfiction. Collaboration. Index by Katie Aymar. Drawings by Xylor Jane. From the publishers at Carville Annex Press: Like all the things we make, this book helps us breathe, which is why we want to share it with you. Katie Aymar made an index for the book, and this part of "H" describes THE INSTEAD's range and depth: Holbrook, Robert Saleem, 182 holistic storytelling, 108-109, 125-126, 144-146, 148-153, 188-189 holograph of facts, 83 homogenizing forces, 95, 113; see loss Hopelessness of Changing Anything, 75 how to: balance a sense of peace with the chaos of others, 103, 109; escape from Eastern State Penitentiary, 94; renew the present, 111; sound out a question, 163; surpass gravity and death, 180; telepathically foment solidarity, 189; see swimming, see also toxicity human rights monitoring, 150-153 human transgenerational response, 64, 78 This book reminds us that we are all in this together, asking questions, trying to find a way through.

The Instead: A Conversation Between Emily Abendroth and Miranda Mellis

Abendroth, Emily

History & Criticism

Carville Annex Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mellis, Miranda. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Mellis, Miranda

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Mellis, Miranda. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

None of This Is Real

The Spokes

Demystifications

The Instead: A Conversation Between Emily Abendroth and Miranda Mellis