Not Heaven, Somewhere Else
by Rebecca Brown
Short Stories. Paperback. 80 pp. October 2018
Cover art by Robyn O’Neil
Read excerpts at Evergreen Review and The Stranger
If heaven is somewhere, it isn’t with us, but somewhere we want to get — a state, a place, a turning to home. Novel- and essayist Rebecca Brown’s thirteenth book is narrative cycle that revamps old fairy tales, movies, and myths, as it leads the reader from darkness to light, from harshness to love, from where we are to where we might go.
Not Heaven, Somewhere Else
by Rebecca Brown
Short Stories. Paperback. 80 pp. October 2018
Cover art by Robyn O’Neil
Read excerpts at Evergreen Review and The Stranger
If heaven is somewhere, it isn’t with us, but somewhere we want to get — a state, a place, a turning to home. Novel- and essayist Rebecca Brown’s thirteenth book is narrative cycle that revamps old fairy tales, movies, and myths, as it leads the reader from darkness to light, from harshness to love, from where we are to where we might go.
Praise for Not Heaven, Somewhere Else: Aside from “genius,” the other word I would use to describe Rebecca Brown is “elemental”…. She’s a genius at the invisible forces that bind words together…. It feels dangerous and exciting, like if she puts her big brain to it long enough, she could completely rewrite the story of who we are. (Paul Constant, Seattle Review of Books) These updated and revised fables satisfied a desire for moral discussion I didn’t even know I had…. Highly recommended and highly rewarding. (Rich Smith, The Stranger) Praise for Rebecca Brown: A strange and wonderful first-person voice emerges from the stories of Rebecca Brown, who strips her language of convention to lay bare the ferocious rituals of love and need. (The New York Times) One of the few truly original modern lesbian writers, one who constantly pushes both her own boundaries and those of her readers. (San Francisco Chronicle) Watch for her books and hunt down her short stories. (Dorothy Allison) The straightforward prose style belies Brown’s penchant for brilliant narrative, which at any moment can turn from the gentle and intimate to the violent and bizarre. (Utne Reader) A dry, witty, graceful — if savage — gift. (Mary Gaitskill) Ripe and imaginative, often funny, and sliding craftily between fact and wishful fantasy. (The Sunday Times(London)) America’s only real rock ‘n’ roll schoolteacher. (Thurston Moore, Sonic Youth)
Praise for Not Heaven, Somewhere Else: Aside from “genius,” the other word I would use to describe Rebecca Brown is “elemental”…. She’s a genius at the invisible forces that bind words together…. It feels dangerous and exciting, like if she puts her big brain to it long enough, she could completely rewrite the story of who we are. (Paul Constant, Seattle Review of Books) These updated and revised fables satisfied a desire for moral discussion I didn’t even know I had…. Highly recommended and highly rewarding. (Rich Smith, The Stranger) Praise for Rebecca Brown: A strange and wonderful first-person voice emerges from the stories of Rebecca Brown, who strips her language of convention to lay bare the ferocious rituals of love and need. (The New York Times) One of the few truly original modern lesbian writers, one who constantly pushes both her own boundaries and those of her readers. (San Francisco Chronicle) Watch for her books and hunt down her short stories. (Dorothy Allison) The straightforward prose style belies Brown’s penchant for brilliant narrative, which at any moment can turn from the gentle and intimate to the violent and bizarre. (Utne Reader) A dry, witty, graceful — if savage — gift. (Mary Gaitskill) Ripe and imaginative, often funny, and sliding craftily between fact and wishful fantasy. (The Sunday Times(London)) America’s only real rock ‘n’ roll schoolteacher. (Thurston Moore, Sonic Youth)
About the Author
Rebecca Brown is the author of Not Heaven, Somewhere Else (Tarpaulin Sky Press, 2018) and a dozen titles published in the US and abroad, including American Romances, The Last Time I Saw You, The Dogs, The Terrible Girls (all with City Lights Books), and The Gifts of the Body (HarperCollins). She been awarded The Boston Book Review Award, The Lambda Literary Award, a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, two Washington State Book Awards, and a Stranger Genius Award, as well as grants to MacDowell, Yaddo, the Millay Colony, Hawthornden Castle, and The Breneman-Jaech Foundation. Her altered texts and installations have been exhibited in the Frye Art Museum, Hedreen Gallery, Arizona Center for Poetry, Simon Fraser Gallery (Vancouver, BC) and Shoreline Art Gallery. Her work has appeared in magazines and journals in the US, UK, and Japan, and her books have been translated into Japanese, German, Dutch, Norwegian, and Italian. Read more at our author page for Rebecca Brown.
About the Author
Rebecca Brown is the author of Not Heaven, Somewhere Else (Tarpaulin Sky Press, 2018) and a dozen titles published in the US and abroad, including American Romances, The Last Time I Saw You, The Dogs, The Terrible Girls (all with City Lights Books), and The Gifts of the Body (HarperCollins). She been awarded The Boston Book Review Award, The Lambda Literary Award, a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award, two Washington State Book Awards, and a Stranger Genius Award, as well as grants to MacDowell, Yaddo, the Millay Colony, Hawthornden Castle, and The Breneman-Jaech Foundation. Her altered texts and installations have been exhibited in the Frye Art Museum, Hedreen Gallery, Arizona Center for Poetry, Simon Fraser Gallery (Vancouver, BC) and Shoreline Art Gallery. Her work has appeared in magazines and journals in the US, UK, and Japan, and her books have been translated into Japanese, German, Dutch, Norwegian, and Italian. Read more at our author page for Rebecca Brown.