Reading Local Q & A: Kevin Sampsell

I’m by no means an expert on noir themed writing, so to hear Bill Cameron (the noted Portland mystery author, and devoted reader of Akashic’s Noir series) proclaim Portland Noir (Akashic) “excellent” and “unique” at last month’s Reading Local Book Club, makes me feel more comfortable in attributing the same labels to this engrossing collection of 16 stories.  Granted Mr. Cameron has a vested interest in the readers opinion, as his caffeinated story Coffee, Black makes an appearance, but I’ll trust his impartiality all the same.

For some readers, like myself, this may be an introduction to noir, and it seems as good a place to start as any.  This is in part due to the fact that Kevin Sampsell wasn’t a big noir reader himself prior to signing on as editor, something I believe shows itself in the stories he selected for inclusion.  The elements you expect (murder, theft, drugs, etc.) to make an appearance, do.  But in several of the stories these darker shades of life tend to take a back seat, allowing the overall complexion of the story to shine through a bit more brightly.  It provides a space for stories like Floyd Skloot’s Alzheimer Noir, which supplies a haunting peak inside the loneliness and victimization in being robbed of one’s memory, or Dan DeWeese’s The Sleeper, that depicts the anxiety and desolation that comes from having the hopes and aspirations for ones life slowly seep away.

This isn’t to take away from the sadistic pleasure the reader experiences at the expense of characters in stories such as Jonathan Selwood’s The Wrong House, Justin Hocking’s Burnside Forever, or Karen Karbo’s The Clown and Bard, all of which are what a more accomplished noir reader may expect.  This variation of takes on noir is what makes the collection great, and is why Sampsell should be commended for arranging it in such a way.  In the end, Portland Noir is less of a showcase for the “darker side” of Portland, and more a platform to spotlight some of this city’s great literary talent.  Here’s hoping Sampsell gets his wish and is allowed to edit a Portland Noir II, so even more Portland writers are afforded the opportunity to strut their stuff.

Upon completing the book I sent a few questions to Sampsell, his responses are below.  Also, don’t forget to go watch the Portland Noir crew put the smackdown on the Seattle Noir gang tonight at 7:30 at Murder By The Book.

1) How were the experiences as editor of The Insomniac Reader and Portland Noir different?

The Insomniac Reader (Manic D) was more of a learning experience. After I did that and after I guest-edited an issue of Spork Magazine a couple years back, I feel like I have a good handle on how to do these kind of themed collections. I feel like I had more patience with this one and I wanted to be as tough as possible too. I wanted to really make sure I accepted the stories that had the strongest voices and were the best–the top sixteen. When you start a project like this, it’s easy to get really excited and accept things right away, especially from well-known writers. But if you let more people into the pool, you’ll start to discover stories that are even better than the first ones that impressed you.

2) How has your perception of Portland changed since reading through the submissions you received for Portland Noir?

I always knew that Portland was a crazy place, so it’s pretty hard to shock me. I think I learned more about the history of Portland doing this book though, especially from writing the intro. I learned that Portland was always weird.

3) What other theme would you like to see a collection of stories about Portland revolve around? Why?

For one thing, I think I’d like to do another Portland Noir book in a couple years. There are so many great writers in town that I didn’t get in the first one. I think it would be cool if someone edited an anthology of Portland surrealism or maybe stories that take place in various different strip clubs–even the male ones.

4) You don’t generally think of Noir writing as being funny, but are there any stories in the collection that will have the reader laughing?

I think this kind of writing–with criminals, detectives, and unsuspecting victims–really does invite humor to bleed through when it’s done really well. I have a hard time enjoying stories unless there’s some kind of humor, dark or otherwise. I think Jonathan Selwood’s story is one of the most violent and unsettling in the book but it’s also funny for that same reason. It’s over the top. That Karen Karbo story is also really funny, especially the stuff about mail order brides. The dialogue in Gigi Little’s story is like Dorothy Parker funny. Jess Walter has a funny and twisted story about an Oregonian horoscope writer getting revenge on an ex-girlfriend and there’s definitely some big laughs in that too.

5) Your memoir, A Common Pornography, will be coming out early next year. What led you to tell your story now? And can you give us the beginning of a story, of which the ending can be found in the book?

I have been writing little stories and memories about my life for a few years and last year, after my dad passed away, I learned a lot of weird stuff about him and my family and I wanted to write about that stuff. I wrote a long sort of outline/letter/list of family secrets to my agent and he sent the letter and some parts I had already written to HarperCollins. They’ve actually been interested in me as a fiction writer but then they got really excited about the memoir. I got a deal with Harper Perennial and had to write about 30,000 more words last summer and fall. The death of my father was still fairly fresh in my mind and I was never that close to him but it was still a very emotional book to write. I recently finished with all my last revisions and copy edits and now it’s all ready to come out in January.

The beginning of a story? How about if I give you the first line in the Introduction: “In August of 2008, I had a panic attack that forced me out of my home naked.”

6) Lastly, what’s coming down the pike from Future Tense? Any submissions you’ve received lately that you’re excited to get out in front of people?

Right now we’re still doing really well with all the excitement around Chelsea Martin’s book. But the next thing will be out in September and it’s a chapbook of flash fiction by Claudia Smith, a really spectacular writer who is currently moving from Texas to Mississippi. Her work is really poetic and bittersweet. It’s going to be called Put Your Head in My Lap and it is heavily colored by the sadness of divorce and broken families. I think it’ll be a powerful book for many people. I’m working on a few other things and I have my eye on a couple of writers in particular, but I don’t want to jinx anything by saying names just yet. Like I said earlier, being patient really helps me as an editor and publisher. I know that if I’m ready to announce a new book coming out, I have to be really in love with that book.