2012 Puddly Awards
 
 
Follow us on TwitterFollow us on FacebookFollow us on TumblrSubscribe to RSS

Recently Viewed clear list

Original Essays | February 8, 2012

Kent Hartman: IMG A Raider by Any Other Name

2 comments By Kent Hartman

Perhaps you are aware of the fact that there is an oddly popular trivia game floating around that a group of clever (and likely bored) college... Continue »
  1. $18.19 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret

    Kent Hartman 9780312619749
spacer
Free Shipping!

Ships free on qualified orders.
$9.00
New Trade Paper
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
5 Burnside Small Press- Fiction and Prose

More copies of this ISBN

Beautiful Blemish

by Kevin Sampsell

Beautiful Blemish Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Kevin Sampsell likes secrets. In the short story collection Beautiful Blemish, Sampsell dives deep into the human psyche to reveal the layers of secret desire, loneliness and hope buried in our hearts. The stories in Beautiful Blemish display an American voice that mixes humor, experimentation and unflinching pathos to full effect.

Review:

"Sampsell, editor of The Insomniac Reader and publisher of fringe fiction at 'micro-press' Future Tense Books, concocts a diverse, convincing world of romantic perversion governed by impulses at turns whimsical, hilarious and cryptic in a slim collection of very short stories ranging from one to 11 pages. In the title story, an elderly couple engages in bizarre sexual congress involving Magic Markers and extreme dirty talk, only to end their romp on a note of piquant tenderness. In 'Gloves,' a man collects lost gloves from the street and vainly looks for ways to give them away. In 'The Plant,' a man casually mourns his 'inept nurturing' of the plant in his care and his own frustrated self. Sampsell's prose ranges from taut to indifferent, bearing occasional whiffs of Charles Bukowski and Richard Brautigan, as well as Chris Ware and Dan Clowes, and his stories are full of horniness and wonder, morbid speculation and strange coincidence. For readers with tastes that range outside the mainstream, this is a gem of warmhearted idiosyncrasy and oddball observation." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Review:

"Kevin Sampsell should never be allowed near children. Or electrical outlets. Or water. I'm frightened and thrilled to see what he'll do next." Zoe Trope, author of Please Don't Kill the Freshman

Review:

"Let Kevin Sampsell in for one page and he has permanently won you over with writing that is charmed, painful, hilarious and beautiful. His ability to find magic, humor, and heartbreak where anyone of less talent would see only vacant landscapes leaves you reconsidering every place you've ever been." Dan Kennedy, author of Loser Goes First: My Thirty-Something Years of DumbLuck and Minor Humiliation

Review:

"Quirky, perverse tales of romance and alienation. Fun, winning, and passionate." Tin House magazine
back to top

About the Author

Kevin Sampsell is the publisher of the influential micro-press, Future Tense Books, in Portland, Oregon. His work has been published widely in magazines and on the internet. He is also the editor of The Insomniac Reader: Stories of the Night (Manic D Press) and the author of many small books such as A Common Pornography, Etiquette for Evil, and The Patricia Letters.
back to top

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
gingertwinkle, July 30, 2009 (view all comments by gingertwinkle)
Kevin is brilliant. Kevin is brilliant and reading his work is like watching someone get the $_!_ kicked out of them on a big-screen TV in HD -- you can see every pockmark and hair follicle and drip of saliva with such incredible clarity that it almost feels surreal. "Beautiful Blemish" is visceral and addictive; sometimes profound, sometimes as honestly shallow as life has the tendency to be, and mostly both at once. It's the type of book you read, re-read, loan to friends, and read again when you get it back.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(3 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
back to top

Product Details

ISBN:
9780972820080
Author:
Sampsell, Kevin
Publisher:
Word Riot Press
Subject:
General
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Copyright:
2005
Publication Date:
20050231
Binding:
TRADE PAPER
Language:
English
Pages:
96
Dimensions:
8.24x5.30x.29 in. .26 lbs.
back to top

Other books you might like

  1. $4.00 New Pamphlet add to wish list

    The Patricia Letters

    Kevin Sampsell 9780965319409
  2. $4.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    The Greatest Show on Earth

    Daniel Scott Buck 9780595334278
  3. $5.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Motivation and Toleration: The Story of Ishmael Hieronymus Shannon III

    Ian Avi 9780975362204
  4. $2.50 Used Pamphlet add to wish list

    Dont Take Your Life True Stories

    Justin Maurer 9781892061294
  5. $14.50 New Trade Paper add to wish list

    Rachel Calofs Story: Jewish Homesteader on the Northern Plains

    Rachel Calof 9780253209863
  6. $8.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    The Contortionist's Handbook

    Craig Clevenger 9781931561488
back to top

Related Aisles

Beautiful Blemish New Trade Paper
0 stars - 0 reviews
$9.00 In Stock
Product details 96 pages Word Riot Press - English 9780972820080 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "Sampsell, editor of The Insomniac Reader and publisher of fringe fiction at 'micro-press' Future Tense Books, concocts a diverse, convincing world of romantic perversion governed by impulses at turns whimsical, hilarious and cryptic in a slim collection of very short stories ranging from one to 11 pages. In the title story, an elderly couple engages in bizarre sexual congress involving Magic Markers and extreme dirty talk, only to end their romp on a note of piquant tenderness. In 'Gloves,' a man collects lost gloves from the street and vainly looks for ways to give them away. In 'The Plant,' a man casually mourns his 'inept nurturing' of the plant in his care and his own frustrated self. Sampsell's prose ranges from taut to indifferent, bearing occasional whiffs of Charles Bukowski and Richard Brautigan, as well as Chris Ware and Dan Clowes, and his stories are full of horniness and wonder, morbid speculation and strange coincidence. For readers with tastes that range outside the mainstream, this is a gem of warmhearted idiosyncrasy and oddball observation." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
"Review" by , "Kevin Sampsell should never be allowed near children. Or electrical outlets. Or water. I'm frightened and thrilled to see what he'll do next."
"Review" by , "Let Kevin Sampsell in for one page and he has permanently won you over with writing that is charmed, painful, hilarious and beautiful. His ability to find magic, humor, and heartbreak where anyone of less talent would see only vacant landscapes leaves you reconsidering every place you've ever been."
"Review" by , "Quirky, perverse tales of romance and alienation. Fun, winning, and passionate."
spacer
spacer
  • back to top
Follow us on...


Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.