BRIEFING ELWIN COTMAN
WEIRD BLACK GIRLS
by Elwin Cotman
A rural town finds itself under the authoritarian sway of a tree that punishes children. A pair of old friends navigate their fraught history as strange happenings escalate in a Mexican restaurant. A pair of narcissistic friends wreak havoc on an activist community. An aloof young man finds himself living through his lover's memories. And a day of LARPing takes a cosmic turn. In each of the seven stories in this collection, characters pursue their obsessions on paths to glory and destruction while around them their worlds twist and warp, oscillating between reality and impossibility. On display throughout is Cotman's ability to reveal truths about the human experience--about friendship, love, betrayal, bitterness--through whimsy, horror, and fantasy. Elegiac in tone, imaginative and humorous in their execution, the character-driven stories in Weird Black Girls challenge, incite, and entertain.
BELLETRIST:
What was your favorite book that you read last year and why?
ELWIN:
My Memoirs by Alexandre Dumas. Dumas was a rock star writer and a revolutionary. His memoirs go deep on both his creative process as a playwright and the French history he took part in. Inspiring, funny, action-packed.
BELLETRIST:
What book are you most looking forward to reading in the year ahead and why?
ELWIN:
The Jaguar Mask by Michael J. DeLuca. It's climate fiction based on Guatemalan myth. Seems like just the decolonial read I'm craving.
BELLETRIST:
What is your favorite indie bookshop and where is it located?
ELWIN:
Caliban Book Shop in Pittsburgh, PA
BELLETRIST:
What are 3 articles you really enjoyed reading and recommend others should too?
ELWIN:
I haven't read any articles lately. At least not standout ones. I've been deep in a fiction hole.
BELLETRIST:
Tell us 3 products that you are loving right now.
ELWIN:
The Authors Guild and the resources they provide writers.
My universal travel adapter.
The album "Myths and Legends" by Fox Sailor.
BELLETRIST:
What shows/series are you watching right now?
ELWIN:
None.
BELLETRIST:
What are 8-15 songs (or more) you were listening to when you wrote this book?
ELWIN:
"Fall In the Light," Lori Carson.
"Walk on By," Isaac Hayes.
"Stagger Lee," Lloyd Price.
"Love Kills," Joe Strummer.
"Irresponsible Hate Anthem," Marilyn Manson.
"Wall," Living Colour.
"Angel," Jimi Hendrix.
"Making of Cyborg," Kenji Kawai.
"Torukeia," Yoko Kanno.
"What a Feeling," Irene Cara.
"How's the Heart," Nightwish.
"OK Connery theme song," Ennio Morricone.
"Going Way Back," Just-Ice.
"Samurai Heart," Moriguchi Hiroko.
"Bay City," Junko Yagami.
"Hothouse Flower," Emmy.
"Matto, Caldo, Soldo, Morto, Girotondo," Ennio Morricone.
"The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," Ennio Morricone performed by the Danish Symphony Orchestra.
"Guantanamera," Joseito Fernandez.
"Song of the North," Brunuhville.
"Yakusoku," Satoshi Kadokura & Akino Arai.
"Cruiser," The Cars.
BELLETRIST:
What is one podcast you highly recommend?
ELWIN:
Crime in Sports
BELLETRIST:
You're organizing a literary dinner party. Which three writers, dead or alive, do you invite?
ELWIN:
Claudia Rankine, Patricia Smith, Jericho Brown
BELLETRIST:
What's the best book you've ever received as a gift?
ELWIN:
The Beautiful Ones by Prince (Thanks Melinda!)
BELLETRIST:
Whom would you want to write your life story?
ELWIN:
Daniel Patrick McCloskey