RSSA Sheepish Interview With Hot (on Many Levels) Debut Author Josh Weil
22 Dec 2010 No Comments
in beauty, boots, literature, Uncategorized Tags: AAAL, American Short Fiction, Annie Proulx, Ben Sherman, Cormac McCarthy, Flatmancrooked.com, Fulbright, Garnier Fructis, Heritage Boots, Jim Harrison, Jim Shepard, John Steinbeck, Jonathan Franzen, Josh Weil, Kevin Wilson, Laura van den Berg, Meghan Kenny, NBF, Nobunny, Oprah Winfrey, Skip Horack, Suzanne Rivecca, The New Valley, Tom's of Maine, Toni Morrison
As PW notes, “taken individually, each novella offers its own tragic pleasures, but together, the works create a deeply human landscape that delivers great beauty.”
The book went on to win American Academy of Arts and Letters Sue Kaufman award (for best work of first fiction published in 2009), as well as the National Book Foundation’s “Five Under 35″ award. Oh–and then he got a Fulbright. Not too shabby. Even more impressive, though, was his coveted place on Flatmancrooked’s “Sexiest Authors Under 35″ list, which I’ve now tried to link to several times, but for some reason readers keep getting redirected to a streaming porn site. Which–while sexy enough (well, depending on your tastes) is not discernibly about Josh, or anything vaguely literary. But if you search “Josh Weil Sexiest Authors 35″ on Google, you can find it (the proper link, that is) yourself. You’ll find that Flatmancrooked selected its winning authors in this way: You’ve just hopped from the HTML Giant Bonanza, to the Granta Party, to the New Yorker Drink-Fest at some upscale bar. It’s 1 AM. Coats are off. Personal space is a thing of the past. The room, dark and warm, is filled with sexy brainiacs and you certainly don’t want to curl up with just a book tonight. So, you’re gonna make your move. Which author do you aim for?
Their answer?
Josh of Appalachia, of course. Or–as he is more likely to be found looking at some upscale, Hot-35-And-Under authors bar (nicely sandwiched between two also HTFAU authors Laura van den Berg and Meghan Kenny):
Say it with me: Mreow!
Flatmancrooked also awarded Josh its highly competitive “Spokesperson for All Things Great about Strong Jawlines” title. But one thing they left off the list was his ballsy approach to fashion, which is puzzling, as it’s one of the first things many people notice about him (he came to school dressed as a train conductor once or twice, if I recall. Really. And pulled it off). So when I went on the hunt for great guy writers to share thoughts on sartorial as well as literary style, I was thrilled that he stepped so bravely up to the plate–and even more thrilled when I saw his awesome answers. As will you be–read on!
(SF): How would you describe your personal style? How about your writing style? Is there any connection between the two in your mind?
(JW): Here’s me: funky, non-conformist, on-the-edge utilitarianism that harkens to an earlier (and, yeah, alright, probably mythological) era of cowboys and cavalrymen and explorers hacking their way through jungles.
Here’s how my friends describe my style: Costumes.
It used to be worse. When I was in high-school I used wear full-on outfits: a train driver cap with suspenders and striped shirt [Sheepish aside: Told you! He still has it, I swear!] ; a cowboy hat with vest and boots; full Soviet Army regalia. My friends now can’t imagine that I wasn’t beat up every day. Then I got to college and refined my style: I’d wear, say, a shin-length brown leather coat with flared maroon lapels (that I called my “pimp jacket”), combat boots, and my long hair tied up in top-knot. It was something I think I thought of, vaguely, as “bad-ass kung-fu master…
…who happened to paint pictures and curl up with a good book now and then.” I still wear combat boots, and I still wear a coat that looks like it could have been taken off a dead Confederate horsesoldier in the Civil War, but the long hair, thank god, is gone. Gone, gone, gone. Gone the way of the goatee. [Sheepish aside: Check out my past posts on combat boots and military-style parkas...though in the latter case, please ignore the rest of the header].
(JW): My writing style? Since it probably grew out of my influences, I’ll just hope it’s something like a mix of Toni Morrison’s lushness, Cormac McCarthy’s hard-eyed view of the world, Annie Proulx’s honed sentences, and Steinbeck’s love of his characters.
A connection between that and my personal style? Huh. Maybe that I hope I’m half as good – or look half as good – as the folks who influenced me?
[Sheepish aside: Here is John Steinbeck....
...and here, yet again, is Josh:
...I'd say Josh at least has half the looks. Am I wrong?]
(SF): Who is your favorite author? Designer?
(JW): Favorite author? Are you crazy? How can I pick just one? How about favorite contemporary short story writer? That I can – kind of shockingly – do: Jim Shepard.
Favorite Designer? Are you crazy? I don’t know any designers. Ben Sherman? Is there an actual Ben Sherman who makes clothes with labels that say Ben Sherman? Because when I go into Beacon’s Closet on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn and I put a Ben Sherman thing on, I usually like it.
[Sheepish response: Yes, Josh. There was a Ben Sherman. Apparently he helped create the whole "Mod" aesthetic of the 60's before drinking himself to death--you can read about him here. Somewhat surprisingly, he looked like this:]
[The label has since been taken over by a group of hipster Brits with a lingering admiration for Mr. Sherman. Here's one of their nifty shirts, currently on sale at $69.30 down from $99]:
(SF): What books are on your nightstand?
(JW): The Farmer’s Daughter – by one of my literary heroes, Jim Harrison – which I’ve been eager to dig into for a while; Death Is Not An Option by Suzanne Rivecca, stories I’ve been reading – and loving – for years now; The Eden Hunter by Skip Horack, which I’m in the middle of and wish would never end, because it’s that good; and a galley of a novel by Kevin Wilson – The Family Fang – that isn’t out yet, but is going to blow everyone away when it is.
(SF): What beauty/cosmetic products are on your bureau or in your medicine cabinet ?
(JW): Medicine Cabinet? I have no medicine cabinet. That would requiring having a home. And I have no home. But if I had a medicine cabinet, it would surely be bare of all beauty products (probably just some rust flakes and dead flies).
It might, however, contain things I would prefer to label as, um, surface cleansers and self-maintenance tools. For instance: down at the cabin where I spend much of my time, my father made a toothbrush rack. He carved it with a band saw. It’s still unsanded and unstained. I hang my toothbrush there. I rest a tube of Tom’s of Maine non-sweet toothpaste ($1.69) on it, too (I mean, sugary toothpaste: who thought that was a good idea?).
If my father knew that I also sometimes rub a dollop of leave-in-conditioner into my hair to keep it from looking like a chipmunk family made their home in it all night, he’d probably disown me. Great, now look what you’ve done.
[Sheepish aside: It took some dogged followup on my part, but I wrested the name of Josh's leave-in conditioner out of him: Garnier Fructis ($4.29). He also noted the following in his own defense: "I actually tore the label off the bottle a year ago, or whenever, since I hate gaudy labels and whatnot. Which tells you two things: how little I use of the stuff, and what a weird guy I am about the ambiance around me."]
(SF): Who is the best-dressed character you’ve created? How did you come up with and dress them? What does the way you dress them say about them to you?
(JW): You know, thinking about this, I have just realized that pretty much all my characters look like shit. They dress in sweatshirts and canvass duck jackets and coveralls and have scraggly beards and many of them probably don’t change their underwear as often as they should.
[Sheepish aside: This is not a character from Josh's book. It's one of the images that came up when I did a "Dirty Underwear" search on Google (and believe me, some of them you DON'T want to see....).
[Above is actually the lead singer from the West Coast pop/punk/rock band Nobunny. Their drummer is here, also in his underwear and a kind of interesting hat...]:
(JW): But, there is one character from a short story I wrote – “The First Bad Thing”, published in American Short Fiction – who I, personally, think is hot. Smokin’. And stylish. She’s named Drema Pearl Howell and she has a mohawk stiffened with super glue and wears baby-doll dresses and logger boots and when we first see her she’s wearing a yellow rain poncho that shows just the bit of bare shinflesh above her boots. Later, she’s holding a Chief’s Special .45 pistol. She rubs out her cigarette butts on her boyfriend’s chest.
[Sheepish aside: You know, I'm not even going to try to find an image to go with that one. But if you have one, feel free to send it in....]
(JW): She’s based on my first girlfriend. I don’t want to think about what that says about me.
(SF): If you could take just one book, one pair of shoes/boots and one clothing item to a desert island, what would they each be?
(JW): Book: “Returning to Earth” by Jim Harrison. Boots: my zip-up black leather paratrooper combat boots.
(JW): Clothing: my blue, well-worn bandana = head-covering, cooling-system, towel, tissue, and tourniquet all in one.
[Sheepish aside: Tourniquet?]
(SF): What do you wear when you’re writing?
(JW): Holey jeans; ancient, patched-up long-underwear shirt; wool socks; ear plugs($5.39).
(SF): What’s your next big fashion purchase? Next literary purchase?
(JW): I’m gonna get me some cowboy boots. [Sheepish aside: Oooh--I can answer this one! Prior Sheepish Interviewee Quentin Hardy turned me on to Heritage Boots. Personally, I think Josh should buy these ($895):]
[...for me, I mean. I really don't care which ones he buys for himself.]
(JW): And a copy of Franzen’s Freedom.
[Sheepish aside: You know what? So many people have mentioned this damn book that I'm not putting it up anymore. Instead, I'm putting up this]:
[God bless her.]
(SF): What’s your go-to distraction–online or off–when you have writer’s block or are just feeling lazy?
(JW): www.nytimes.com. The damn news keeps happening. And those bastards keep covering it.
(SF): What are you working on now?
(JW): A novel. A big crazy novel set in an alternative present in northern Russia. Until my friends read this. Then, obviously, they’ll have me working full time on my fashion sense.
[Fin]
So there you have it–words of style and wisdom by one of literature’s hottest new names–on several levels (just ask Laura van den Berg and Meghan Kenny). 
Many, many thanks to Josh for taking the time to Sheepishly answer my questions. And make sure to check out his site for more info, more headshot-worthy photos, and–most importantly–to buy his book (hint, hint: great holiday gift!).
That’s it for today–join me towards the weekend and I’ll have some ideas on NOT looking the way I have for the past two weeks, when I’ve been laid up with various virii and a nasty ear infection.
No, seriously–that’s my next post: “Sick-Chic--A Sheepish Guide to Viral Style.” If you have any ideas for looking good when you feel like crap, send ‘em in! Until then–happy holiday shopping (if that is at all possible). Don’t forget to breathe–and read–as often as possible.
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