Artwork by Michael Salerno
WHAT I SEE IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT I DON’T THINK IT’S ENOUGH
“I’m beyond thrilled to announce that my brand new novel, WE’LL NEVER BE FRAGILE AGAIN, is ready and waiting to enter the world. It’s my sixth novel, and a book that I’m really proud of. I feel it’s the best writing I’ve done so far and I’m excited to share it with you very soon.
“I am indebted to Philip Best for his continued support and faith and for giving the book a place at the one and only Amphetamine Sulphate. I couldn’t ask for a better publisher, and I don’t have the words to describe the help and support he has given me these last few years. And again, I’m honoured that the incredible Michael Salerno has given me his miraculous skills and created such gorgeous, beautiful artwork for the book.
“It’s a strange, painful book about memory, regrets, art, friendship, desire and death.” — Thomas Moore
Purchase We’ll Be Fragile Again
Release date: USA, May 18th 2025
UK/EU (hardcover version) June 20th 2025
Buy the book here
USA: https://amphetaminesulphate.bigcartel.com/product/fragile
UK: https://cargorecordsdirect.co.uk/products/thomas-moore-well-never-be-fragile-again?srsltid=AfmBOootAkRBRo1hc8m0tMDfIMTpqcy6M3hraxVBVqi7lFWBmADzFWbC
Interview with Thomas Moore by Danielle Chelosky
I got into Amphetamine Sulphate through Isabelle Nicou’s otherworldly books. Shortly after, I was diving into the works of Audrey Szasz and Simon Morris, and then finally Thomas Moore. I was enamoured with the visceral writing of all of the authors, along with the handwritten postcards Philip Best would send with the paperbacks. The first book of Moore’s I read was Forever. Reading it immediately gave me the feeling that I’m always searching for in art — that the words on the page are familiar despite the fact I’ve never read them before, like I’m digging up thoughts and ideas from my subconscious. Its follow-up Your Dreams possessed the same magnitude of emotion and disillusionment. Now, We’ll Never Be Fragile Again is another evocative text from a prolific writer dedicated to portraying the tribulations of love, lust, aging, and existing at all.
Danielle Chelosky: While reading We’ll Never Be Fragile Again, I found this line to be particularly striking: “What I see is beautiful, but I don’t think it’s enough.” It’s a recurring idea in your work — feeling enchanted by something yet still empty. It breaks my heart, but at the same time, in spite of this feeling, you keep writing, and I see writing as a pursuit to create something beautiful and fulfilling. Do you view writing that way?
Thomas Moore: I think that might be true in a way, actually, the more that I think about. When I write, part of the whole thing is wanting to write the books that don’t exist but that I wish did exist. I’m very obsessive about writing and that also translates into the subject matter, which often does revolve around obsession. I want every book to be better than the last, so each time I do as best as I can, but it’ll be perfect, so I carry on and try and get closer to whatever it is that this compulsion is driving me towards for whatever unknown reason. And yeah, beauty is a reoccurring idea in all of my books, in whatever form or forms beauty takes in them. I’ll probably never know why, but I just have to keep going. I guess there’s hope in that in a way.
DC: When you say you’re trying to get closer to whatever it is that the compulsion of writing is driving you toward, it reminds of this 1949 essay by Bataille that I can’t stop quoting lately. I’m going to quote it now without the necessary context because that would take too much time. But he says that art “puts us on the path of complete destruction and suspends us there for a time, offers us ravishment without death. Of course, this ravishment could be the most inescapable trap — if we manage to attain it, although strictly speaking it escapes us at the very instant that we attain it. Here or there, we enter into death or return to our little worlds.” It may be dramatic but I think it’s true — that making art is a close encounter with death. Do you feel that sort of euphoric, otherworldly breakthrough while writing? There’s a recurring theme in your books where you feel dissatisfied with writing, though, and I’m curious how often that happens, too.
TM: I love Bataille’s essays. They struck such a strong chord with me way back when I first started to discover his work. I can definitely relate to that quote — he puts it in a way that’s beyond any inarticulate fumbles that I might attempt in that kind of direction. For me, yes, writing completely gives men that otherworldly thing. Bataille talked about sex and religion having this similarity in the way that they both take the participants out of the everyday, and I think from my personal experience, art does similar. It’s only when I’m writing that I enter this zone where the whole world and everything around me just stops and disappears briefly. I think Burroughs referred to it as inner silence. When I get fully into writing it’s like meditation — I’m just writing and nothing else. I don’t notice it until I finish and I’m suddenly hit by the noise of everything else returning. Do you get that too? With regards to the stuff about being dissatisfied with writing, that’s more to do with the idea of the limitations of writing, how I’m interested in trying to achieve things that I don’t think language and words really can — the real magic isn’t about the words but about the moods that are created that are something other than the simple nuts and bolts of the text.
DC: Yes, I once tweeted that I like writing because it’s like blacking out, but meditation is a better (or at least better-sounding) comparison. To get less existential (didn’t mean to start the interview with Bataille but shit happens), I’ve been thinking about genre a lot. With We’ll Never Be Fragile Again, there’s a dedication page but the name the book is for is blocked out. How do you choose between what to reveal and what not to reveal in your work, and how do you react to that frequent desire of readers to know whether something is nonfiction or fiction? It kind of disturbs me — it makes them uncomfortable if it doesn’t fit into one box and it affects the way they view the work. I also think there’s a tendency for readers to view nonfiction-leaning writing as gossip rather than art.
TM: With the dedication, I just liked the idea of using the entire book as part of the fiction, from the front cover to the back. It just seemed like a chance to add something really simple but hopefully quite impactful or something. For me, some of the writers of the New Narrative, which was a massive influence on me, turned writing gossip into something really spectacular and powerful. With regard to what people wonder about what’s “real” or whatever doesn’t really bother me too much. If they’re interested, maybe that means that the books have caught their imagination, in some way at least.
DC: It’s nice you’re less bitter than I am about that stuff. Which New Narrative writers/works do you view as your main influences? (Chris Kraus has been a favorite of mine for forever, but Lynne Tillman’s Haunted Houses recently blew me away)
TM: Oh man, just the whole thing. Kevin Killian, Dodie Bellamy, Lynne Tillman is amazing. Robert Glück is an absolute legend to me. And one of my all time favourites is Lawrence Braithwaite, who I’m always recommending to people because his two novels (and his unreleased final book) are all so completely mind-blowing. He was such a special and singular writer.
DC: This reminded me to order Cunt-Ups by Dodie Bellamy, because I don’t know where to begin with her, but I love that title. Anyway, you put out books quite often; this is your second book of 2025, following the poetry collection I Ruined Your Life, which was published on Kiddiepunk in February. What does the process consist of for you? Are you the kind of writer who saves observations and thoughts into a document throughout the day and puts them together later? Or does it all come out in a flow at your desk? And — even though I personally hate this cliché term, I have to ask — do you ever get writer’s block?
TM: That’s a great book. The Letters of Mina Harker is a wonderful novel, so you should grab that, too. My process is just obsessively reworking and fiddling with things until they feel how they’re meant to feel. I try and write every day. That’s my way of never having writers block. And a lot of the time I just let myself write crap, that way it gets stuff out of my system until the good stuff is ready to appear. I think I only had proper writers block once, and that lasted a good few years. After that I decided if I never stop writing I never have to worry about having to start again. It’s not an approach that works for everyone but it does for me. Also, writing is my favourite thing to do, so it’s never a chore or anything like that. It’s a pleasurable thing for me to do. And yes, I’m forever making notes and then reworking stuff later and seeing what works with whatever else I have. I guess I’m always taking everything in.
DC: OK, last question: I feel like almost all of your books break the fourth wall by acknowledging the book and the act of writing it. The penultimate chapter of Your Dreams was very confrontational with the reader, and toward the end of We’ll Never Be Fragile Again you even explain the process behind the book title. Why do you think you’re drawn to doing that? It’s almost like you’re making the reader feel as exposed and vulnerable as you.
TM: I’m really into the idea of the books knowing they are books. It feels like that gives me space to play with the language in a way that can hopefully mess around with emotion in a certain way that I find interesting for whatever reason. In all honesty I’m not completely sure why I’ve been drawn to this just yet — there are a lot of structural things and formal stuff that I’m conscious of putting in place when I’m working on the books and a lot of things that become more apparent when I’m editing, but so many of the decisions are also intuitive and instinctive and just come from whatever place the compulsion to write comes from in the first place. I don’t try and work it all out too much, I think that the ideas are there and it’s important that when the ideas feel so certain, that I just go with them. I think the writing knows more than me.
Excerpt
Links:
Thomas Moore at Instagram is @thomasmoronic
Amphetamine Sulphate: https://amphetaminesulphate.bigcartel.com
Michael Salerno and Kiddiepunk: https://kiddiepunk.com
Danielle Chelosky: https://www.daniellechelosky.com
*
p.s. Hey. This weekend the blog reverts to doormat mode to become one of the entryways for Thomas Moore’s spanking new novel. I’ve read it, and it’s really gorgeous, and I suspect you’ll think so too. Please scroll incrementally and input all the evidence gathered here. Thank you, and many thanks to you for gracing this place with your mastery, Mr. Moore. ** James Bennett, I thought so. Well, palm trees always give their planting ground a certain je ne sais quoi. Enjoy the out and about with your pal. When’s the Adem-hosted reading? This weekend? ** jay, Hey there! Back from your Japan holiday? If so, that’s some jet lag to reckon with. Anyway, is that where you were? Were you dazzled, etc.? All’s good and fairly usual here. Good to see you! ** Misanthrope, As with everything directed from the governmental gate keepers these days, I’ll believe when I see it, if even then. Three days off with no car? You got a bike? ** Dominik, Hi!!! I feel like I can think of lots of films where queerness is central but not bracketed by the ‘coming out’ thematic. Let’s see … Kenneth Anger films, Araki’s, John Waters’s, Derek Jarman’s, ‘I Saw the TV Glow’, ‘Death in Venice’, ‘Tangerine’, Wong Kar Wai’s ‘Happy Together’, most of Almodovar’s films, ‘Velvet Goldmine’, ‘My Own Private Idaho’, … Or did you mean something different? Steve had a recommendation for you if you check this comment of yesterday. Love didn’t want to interview Huppert mostly because it’s a lot of work since he would need to familiarise himself with a decent portion of her films and she’s been in a million films and because he respects her but is not that excited by her. Oh, no, an asshole dentist is scary. I trust Anita’s mouth is drinking and chewing and breathing normally. Love relaxing a bit because Zac loves his latest draft of their new film script, G. ** _Black_Acrylic, One of these years I do want to go to Greece for that monumental screening, but it is, yes, a daunting prospect. Not to mention the imagined heat, yikes. Happy you were hooked in by his films. How’s your weekend looking or how did it look? ** Carsten, If you grew up in the States pre-internet you had to live in LA or NYC or maybe SF to even know experimental films existed much less see them. Well, unless you studied film at university and lucked out with some adventurous professor. We storyboard our films both to help us visualise the wordage initially and also and mainly because if you make films with a crew and cast who are being paid for their time and if you have very limited money like we do you don’t have the luxury of sitting around on set for hours experimenting with the filming aspect. ** julian, Good, mission accomplished. Experimental films have been kind of my bread and butter since I was teenager. They’re where I learned so much about making things. UCSD, yes, that’s what I was thinking. I used to know people who taught there, and maybe I still do. Oh, the tribute album. Yes, that was wild. It was the project of this guy/writer Don Waters. He just approached bands and artists he thought might be influenced by my work and solicited tracks they thought showed the influence. And a couple of musicians I collaborated with. I was totally honored by it, of course, and liked a lot of it. He basically had no funding, so a number of bands/musicians who wanted to contribute (Sonic Youth, Pavement, and others) couldn’t because their record companies wouldn’t donate the tracks gratis. I’m surprised that CD hasn’t been uploaded somewhere. Awesome that you found it. ** Steeqhen, Hi. I need to befriend someone who only speaks French, but it would be hard to start a friendship where both parties would be doomed to months and months of confusion and exhaustion. I’ve seen the words ‘Vanderpump Rules’, but, as with all things TV, I don’t know what the fuck. ** Thomas Moronic, There you are, the man of the 48 hours (and beyond). Thanks in person for what’s up above. I’m really happy you like Beier’s work. Yay! Love, me. ** pancakeIan, Surely you know John Waters’ or Gus Van Sant’s stuff? Anyway, glad it struck you. Poor Robin (‘Try’), yes. I felt sad putting that figment of my imagination through all of that. And let’s not even start with poor, poor Alfonse. Some part of me is horrible, haha. If I was a human air conditioner, and sadly I am not, I would be teleporting you a hug right now. ** Steve, Grief is a sneaky and invasive and unfortunately patient thing. I passed your rec. onto Dominick, thanks, and I might check that film out myself. I don’t know it. ** HaRpEr //, Excellent! Wonderful! And I am not at all surprised, but still. Yes, yes, share the link when it’s linkable. The poem sounds great, natch. There are few things in this world more unpleasant than drunken UK soccer fanatic boys. As I may have mentioned, one night when I was on a UK book tour in the early 90s these three soused soccer boys knocked me to the ground and kicked me repeatedly in the head because their team lost some match. Lovely. Of course the Bowery show is amazing. Gosh, great, so happy you got to it. ‘Hail the New Puritan’ is wonderful through and through. Exactly, about ‘120 Days”s end. Couldn’t be put better. Glad the films intrigued you. Have an intriguing and much more weekend. ** oliver jude, Hey! Nice to see you. Gosh, LA is giant. Where are you staying? You’ll have transportation? Um, I always recommend The Museum of Jurassic Technology. The Graveline Tour where you’ve driven around in a converted hearse and shown the exact spots where famous people died is fun. There are the amusement parks, but you probably won’t have time. Eat good Mexican food. Poquito Mas is my favorite. Anyway, yeah, where will you be in that sprawl? I’ll try to think further. ** Okay. Be all experiential with Thomas Moore’s new novel, you people, and I will return to this place again on Monday.
Now available in North America 
Hi!!
Thomas, congratulations! I can’t wait to read this! (And the cover looks absolutely gorgeous, too, god!)
Wow, I feel dumb. I’m familiar with most of the films and directors you listed (a rare occasion), and I can’t believe nothing, NOTHING, came to mind. I guess I, too, got momentarily stuck in that little pocket of films we’d been discussing. I haven’t seen “I Saw the TV Glow,” though, so I’ll check that one out. Thank you, once again! And thank you for the recommendation, Steve – I’ve never heard of “A Strange Love Affair.” I’ll definitely watch it!
Ah, that’s excellent news! Congratulations, love! Love wondering why so many kids seem to go through a dinosaur phase, Od.
P.S. I’m going on a two-week “family vacation” in Hungary tomorrow and will be back on June 9th. I hope we’ll catch each other before you go to the US!
Thank you, Dominik!
I’ve been meaning to get to reading Thomas Moore ever since your last post about him, plus being a big Whitehouse/Consumer Electronics fan I’ve been following Philip Best and Amphetamine Sulphate for a while. All the stuff they’ve been publishing seems really interesting. Sad that we’ll never get to hear the Dennis Cooper influenced Sonic Youth track. Have you got a favorite Sonic Youth song or album? I really love the three album run of Bad Moon Rising, Evol, and Sister. Maybe one day you’ll get a second tribute album, who knows? I think you deserve one. I hope one day I’m influential enough to get my own tribute album, or maybe I’ll do what Stephin Merritt did with The 6ths and make my own.
Thanks for being interested! And the Dennis CD is cool – I managed to find it cheap years back although I think nowadays it tends to go for a higher price on discogs.
Wow, that excerpt really grasped me!! I think I let out a little gasp when I read the second page and realized it was just a game being described. That whole feeling of being so confused and assuming something is unreal or surreal and then, nope, you’re being tricked or viewing it wrong and it all makes sense… I love that.
How you today? I assumed that tomorrow was Father’s day, as my Dad’s birthday is Tuesday and I was convincing my sibling we can get a double present for both of those occasions, but I was just informed by my parents that it isn’t, in fact.
I found out that the guy is only here for the weekend, sadly. Though I feel myself ready to keep texting this guy, practicing my French (and him practicing his English), as a commitment to finally moving to France. He’s in Rennes, and that was always my second spot to move to in France, so if Paris isn’t on the tables at least I might know someone there!
The idea of having such a strong language barrier with someone who you’re committed to speaking to daily feels like almost a breath of fresh air nowadays; not knowing everything about them, people oversharing; just small words trying to become something greater.
Vanderpump Rules started as a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills spin-off, following the staff at Housewife Lisa Vanderpump’s SUR restaurant in West Hollywood. For the first few seasons, it is a real, genuine friendgroup of some of the most mentally ill and narcissistic people I’ve ever seen. They’re all dating and cheating on each other, only to be angry and violent when they find out they’ve been cheated on. The show had a big cultural moment 2 or 3 years ago — Scandoval — where Tom Sandoval cheated on his girlfriend Ariana of about 10 years. It’s weird that that cheating scandal was the big one, but the basis was that Ariana (from what I know) never cheated on Tom and was kind of the moral compass of the show, they never really fought and seemed to genuinely be in love. I don’t know how it really surprised people: their relationship started from Tom cheating on his girlfriend with Ariana… anyway, I love the show because they are all crazy and despicable and trashy, creating and living in their own hell. It’s somewhat satisfying.
Thanks so much, man! Really glad you enjoyed the excerpt!
Hey Dennis,
Enticing post for an enticing book… (congrats on publication Thomas!)
The Adem-hosted reading is on Wednesday. Please send “break a leg” wishes over the airwaves.
I spent all of yesterday trying to find the slow part of my mind that I use for writing. It kind of freaked me out, the extent to which I’d lost touch with it over the last month or so. I did manage to find it again, but I’m gonna have to build it back up. I feel like i need to be on guard against so many manipulative/anaesthetic streams of words/sounds/images coming through the phone.
Hope you had a good weekend!
J x
Cheers, James!x
Thomas! Yay! I often think about the week we spent together in Paris. That was a great time. Congrats, sir.
Dennis, Oh, if this passes the Senate, it’s a done deal. I think it will. But I hear you. Actually seeing is believing, particularly nowadays.
Oh, they got the car fixed yesterday, and I got it back after work. I’m good.
I’m gonna have a cookout Monday evening and Kayla’s bringing her new “boyfriend” over. I’ve not met him yet. My mom and David have. She was scared I wouldn’t be nice. I’m like, WTF, I’m ALWAYS nice. I put boyfriend in quotes because it’s not official, even though they really like each other and have been dating for a few months.
Thank you, George! And totally – lovely memories man. That was a great visit xx
Hi Dennis. Thanks for the peek into this novel. I can tell how much the author really loves L.A. The closest I ever came to there was visiting a friend , way back in grad school, who was in San Diego. That incidentally was my only time at Disney Land , too.
Sorry, I meant to say last time that Markopoulos was the first out director making gay films that I’ve ever encountered in the 20th century, decade-wise. In that his first seemed to be in the 40s/50s.
I do know Waters, but should get to know his stuff better. Van Sant I’m more familiar with . I really like his biopic, ‘Milk’. Also, Araki’s ‘Mysterious Skin’ is a favorite of mine . I should reread that novel , one of these days.
Speaking of film, I know that’s been your focus recently, and I discovered that ‘Permanent Green Light’ is playing on the Roku Channel, which is a free streaming service over here. I really enjoyed it. It has this great, low key vibe, with a vague eroticism throughout. I liked the combo of suicide and pinatas …….very unique. French towns on film always seem so peaceful, clean, and orderly. I wish I could live there . Did you write the screenplay in English and have it translated ? I’m glad I had the chance to view it, since who knows when RT will make it’s way to my neck of the woods.
Nah, Robin and Alfonse are your characters, so you can do with them what you will. I think the violence is what gives your works that edge that so many like. But , I must say, I’m glad you didn’t kill off Drew in ‘Guide’. He’s my favorite of yours, so far. Endearing and yet comical at the same time.
I appreciate the teleported hug. Luckily, my apartment has decent AC , and I don’t have to be exposed to the elements outside much, these days. Hope your weekend is/was decent.
Thanks for checking it out. It’s funny, I’ve actually never been to LA. It’s more about having an imaginary/perceived version of a place in your mind versus the reality.
hi dennis! omg new thomas i’m so excited 🥺 i wanted to drop by to say hi and ask hey, what’s up. i hope you’re well! i wrote a teeny poem it’s this one https://www.tumblr.com/loreleitrix/784482512796893184 xx
Thank you so much!
Congratulations, Thomas! Looks beautiful. Ordered and Excited!
Hi, Dennis! Big love from TKO! xx
Thank you, my driend!
Congratulations on the new book, Thomas! Will probably have to wait till I am back in the States to be able to read it but very excited.
Dennis, it’s been an odd week. I started writing the first ever letter to somebody I’ve slept with, breaking my longstanding rule for myself: don’t write about your lovers; you have other ways of getting inside them. In real terms: general zombification from jet lag, finding out my friend doesn’t have cancer again, another person I care about being successfully treated for it, etc.
On the plus side, a lot of reading and rereading. Detective fiction after a while, Salka Valka (more on that in a sec), Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, and now a daunting fourth (?) reading of Joyce’s Ulysses, which was when I picked it up as a preteen the first book I could not finish (it took me three tries over three years).
Otherwise, tired in general and also tired of specific things (quarrelling, politics, etc.)
Salka Valka! I know I’ve recommended Halldór Laxness on here a few times, but this one really feels like the kind of book you’d like—a sentence I hate writing because I get annoyed when somebody recommends a book to me that I don’t like and I don’t want to be that person. It is, obviously, a feminist novel but what makes it so good is that it is also less obviously so. Also general Laxness-isms. I paraphrase from memory here:
‘”I’ll make us a spot of coffee,” said Herborg, with the pleasant expression that people have when they offer coffee.’
Cheers!
Congratulations Thomas! Amphetamine Sulphate seems like a splendid home for one’s work.
Did you keep up with Cannes at all, Dennis? I followed some of the coverage & liked what I heard about the Kristen Stewart & Lynne Ramsay films, but especially Sirât by Oliver Laxe—looks like a wild desert freak-out of a film.
How tough is the festival submission process generally? Straightforward or a headache?
Thank you!
Congratulations Thomas!
Have just sprung for a copy of this book and am now massively excited. TM contributed some extraordinary haiku to a Yuck ‘n Yum show in the US many years ago, something I am forever grateful for.
The weekend has been very much a mixed bag for me. Was struck down by some unfathomable tiredness late on Friday, but come Sunday morning have been right as rain. Drinking water and eating falafels seems to have sorted me out.
Thanks Ben!
Congrats TM!!!!! Enjoy watching you kill it, lit-wise, from across the planet my old friend!
Hey D!
I keep trying to just drop a note on here to say hi but I always seem to be one post behind and I don’t want my note to get lost in this weird browser situation.
Anyway, hi!
Have you seen Pavements yet? I was skeptical, but it’s truly awesome. I mean seeing it in a theater full of fans helped as we all got it and laughed etc.
I’m in the middle of the Pee-Wee doc which is also amazing. There’s a photo of a young long haired Paul Ruebens and friends in the early 70’s that totally looks like they’d be in your scene. Did you cross paths with him at all? Tragic he had to climb back into the closet in order to keep that particular career.
Things are good over here. I’m still in a manic production phase. Figuring lots of things out with my home recording set up and I’ll hopefully birth a masterpiece of sonic fuckery at some point. Had chapbook release recently and my improv noise band has some shows coming up. So yay on all of that in the face of the most absurd era.
Much love D!
-L
Thanks, Larry!!!
Congrats, Thomas!
Eric de Kuyper only made a few other features, which I haven’t been able to find with English subtitles, but he’s a prolific novelist.
I finished Gary Indiana’s VILE DAYS yesterday. That was truly invigorating, a model for adversarial cultural criticism. I am astonished at some of the things he got away with publishing in the Village Voice. (Even explicitly leftist arts writing now tries to be nice.)
I just got back from lunch with a friend. Other than that, the weekend’s been pretty relaxed. I saw FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES yesterday. There are a few good set pieces, but the special effects are digital and unconvincing. It would be more enjoyable as airplane viewing.
Thank you!
I love that excerpt. Especially that bit near the end, “the fake city at fake night begins to look like the embers of some digital fire.” The words feel right together. If that makes sense at all.
Recently I’ve been reading off this website called the citizen trans* project. Have you heard of it? I imagine a lot of it is more my realm than yours, but I like the way it runs. You submit your piece, and it gets published no matter what, as long as it’s on theme. No matter if it’s “good” or not. It’s nice reading things written by unpublished people who I’d never be able to hear from otherwise.
Thanks a lot!
Hey. Yep, football fans are notoriously insane in the UK, likely linked to the country’s drinking culture. Imagine if we ran through the streets kicking and screaming about poetry or something, chanting poems in the tube.
Here’s the link to the filmed reading:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDUY7jdRS7I
I’m the second reader. God, the gallery lighting isn’t too flattering, but hey, I suppose the focus is actually on making the art look flattering. As I say, it’s a bit of a weird poem for me given how it came into being, though I guess a lot of my poems are sort of self-contained experiments.
Steve who got me this opportunity is the greatest lecturer and teacher I have ever had. The first time I met him a couple of years ago, I mentioned your name as a writer I loved, and he excitedly told me that you listed one of his books as one of your favourite books of the year on your blog. So yeah, shout out to Steve, a great writer and a great teacher and force for good in this world.
‘Hail the New Puritan’ is amazing, even by way of the low res version I watched (ripped from when it was first shown on Channel 4) where the swear words and nudity are awkwardly cut out with what I thought were intentional Godardian jump cuts. I clearly recall seeing Michael Clark’s buttocks in the clip I saw at the Tate. Anyway, after watching it I found out that the film is actually being screened next month at the Rio Cinema, so I excitedly booked a ticket for that. I’ve been listening to my favourite Fall albums all day today after catching some ear worms from watching it.
I’m loving the new Sparks album by the way, and I didn’t know what to expect. Some parts are reminiscent of ‘Angst in My Pants’ in my opinion.
Congrats Thomas! Can’t wait to read this, I’ve been flicking through and lingering over ‘I Ruined Your Life’ fairly regularly and it always plants a seed in my head.
Awesome / thank you so much!
i’ve wanted to comment on this blog for a while but i found the long threads and history behind them (both in the comments and the p.s. sections) pretty overwhelming and not sure where/how to start.
i figured i would join now since i care so much about thomas moore and the release of this book.
thomas moore, you are my favourite writer and a huge inspiration to my own writing.
i relate so much to the themes in your books of struggling to articulate and the problems of language, memory, desire and everything else etc. as well as the short/minimalist style you use.
that stuff is really important to me and i try to reflect it in my own writing.
i’ve already ordered the book and i can’t wait to read it!
Ah wow! That’s so kind and cool of you to say. I really appreciate it xxx
Congratulations on the new novel, Thomas! Michael, that’s a lovely cover, as usual.
We have a long weekend, so after my usual running around, I have some time to sink my teeth into Markopoulos. Yessss.
I finally saw Joshua Oppenheimer’s The End. What an odd film. I’m still trying to decide what I think of it. Certainly could be umm shorter.
Bill
Thank you, Bill!
And Dennis – just thank you thank you for hosting the day. And for the kind words about the book / you know how much that means to me.
Love
Thomas xoxo