A Common Pornography_ A Memoir - Kevin Sampsell [62]
Early Praise for A Common Pornography by Kevin Sampsell
“This is a heartbreaking and magnificent book. I love its mosaic structure—a portrait of a family and a young man created out of jewel-like fragments of memory. In its depiction of small-town American life—the ennui and despair and beauty—I am reminded of Denis Johnson’s Jesus’ Son. This is the kind of book where you want to thank the author for helping you feel less alone with being alive.”
—Jonathan Ames, author of Wake Up, Sir! and The Double Life Is Twice as Good
“For beauty, honesty, sheer weirdness, and a haunting evocation of place, Kevin Sampsell is my favorite Oregon writer. Ken Kesey, Chuck Palahniuk—make some room on the shelf.”
—Sean Wilsey, author of Oh the Glory of It All
“Embarrassing and honest, heartbreaking and hilarious. A Common Pornography is a great memoir from one of the Northwest’s best writers.”
—Willy Vlautin, author of Northline and The Motel Life
“Memory and truth are jagged things, and Kevin Sampsell’s memoir-in-vignettes expresses this forcefully. With grit and candor, he marches us through the heartbreak, horniness, and confusion of a West coast boy becoming a man.”
—Robin Romm, author of The Mercy Papers
“Kevin Sampsell’s stories are brief incantations, uppercuts to the gut, prose poems given over to the bloodiest realms of the self. It’s all here: the emotional squalor, the sweet bite of loneliness. Make no mistake: Sampsell can write like hell.”
—Steve Almond, author of Candyfreak and My Life in Heavy Metal
also by Kevin Sampsell
Creamy Bullets
Beautiful Blemish
How to Lose Your Mind with the Lights On
The Insomniac Reader (editor)
Portland Noir (editor)
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
P.S.™ is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers.
A COMMON PORNOGRAPHY. Copyright © 2010 by Kevin Sampsell. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
EPub Edition © December 2009 ISBN: 978-0-06-196611-8
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
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http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
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New Zealand
HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
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Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com
*Potato method of ear piercing: Sterilize sharp needle. Numb earlobe with ice. Press piece of raw potato behind earlobe for support. Aim needle. Push.
Table of Contents
Author’s Note
Introduction
Washington Street
Egg Hunt
Attractions
Elinda
Reasons
Saved
After Medical Lake
Bird Whistles
Bedbugs
Last Man
One P, Another L
Spirits
Records
OK 95
Wet
J. V. Cain
Silhouette
Black
Cherokee Pride
Scratchmuback
Grapes
Car-Mull
Fights
Centerfolds
Chongo
Field Trip
Interim
Mayfair
The Manships
Mark
Dog Days
Themes
Pot
Space Shuttle