This new literary journal is edited by
Sydney writer Brenton Booth and is devoted to “hard edged writing”. It features
mainly poems and short stories by small press luminaries, such as, Wolfgang
Carstens, Catfish McDaris, Matt Borczon, Janne Karlsson and Brenton Booth
himself. Perhaps the star of the
collection is lesser known outlaw poet “James Decay”. A few previous poems from
the Spokane resident can be found on-line in Gutter
Eloquence and Midnight Lane Gallery-
the latter which is linked below.
Booth explained to me yesterday the idea
behind his journal The Asylum Floor:
“I was going for something a little different with it. My intention was more
pages by each writer to give a clearer picture of them. And to break free of
the conservatism of publishing that chokes modern journals.” His only brief to
the featured writers was simple, “It is anything goes, as long as it is well
written. I told the contributors to only send me the stuff they would normally
not bother sending because it says too much etc.”
The collection integrates the work of the six
writers and includes many strong pieces. The emphasis is on character portraits
and common underground themes, such as, substance abuse, explicit sex, suicide
and the madness of everyday living. Interestingly, The Asylum Floor also includes the first published short stories by
Epic Rites Press guru Wolf Carstens, the best being “The Mauler”.
Booth is “really not sure if there will
ever be another issue” of the journal. “If there is, it will be an annual
thing.” This project is ambitious and Booth has stuck his neck out, solidifying
his position as a leading Australian underground writer and now editor.
Brenton Booth is interviewed by Marcia
Epstein on Talk With ME: https://player.fm/series/talk-with-me/brenton-booth-writer
(Booth talks about his writing history and processes and reads several of his
poems. The audio is dodgy from the Australian feed and you need to be patient
to preservere).
Buy the book here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/wolfgang-carstens-and-catfish-mcdaris-and-james-decay-and-matt-borczon/the-asylum-floor/paperback/product-23414733.html
3 poems by James Decay on Midnight Lane Boutique: https://midnightlanegalleryii.wordpress.com/2017/06/17/feature-poet-james-decay/
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