My new chapbook, A Flamboyance, is here!
My new chapbook, A Flamboyance, is here!
It's gay as hell, and funny — just in time for Pride Month
Happy Pride, beautiful people.
As you might have guessed from the title, yer boi’s got a new project— a very gay, very fun chapbook via Bottlecap Press, an indie publisher founded in 2014.
It’s called A Flamboyance, a collection of prose, poetry, and a short story that (loosely) addresses the theme of flamboyance, or trying your best to be yourself as loudly and boldly as possible. Sometimes succeeding, sometimes not. All in hopes of finding love, community, and connection.
It includes some of the gayest excerpts from this here newsletter, along with some surprises and newer works. Of course it follows the JASPER ethos—to inspire joy.
But mainly, my goal with A Flamboyance is to offer something tangible to those who support my work.
We live in the digital age. Our music, books, movies, all come at us virtually, and that’s great. It’s sometimes the more accessible option to pricier tangible art, and there’s much to be appreciated about that.
But also, I was watching a show recently. A reality show, as I’m wont to do these days. And one day I opened up ole’ Paramount Plus to continue my said viewing, and the show was gone. Just like that. Utterly erased and unavailable everywhere else lest I paid a small fee to rent (or very large to “own”).
I’ve found a similar issue with so much of my own writing. Wonderful pubs like The Toast, The Establishment, and Bitch Mag, where much of my work once lived, are now defunct. This annoyance got me thinking.
We are so beholden to forces outside of ourselves when it comes to the art we consume.
And so there’s something quite beautiful about art you can hold in your own hands. I feel there is always space for that, and so I offer you this casual little chapbook in honor of trees, water, and earth.
Commence mini rant
I’m an indie bitch at heart. I’ve always loved and been fascinated by zines and chapbooks, and those DIY collections of literary art that defy expectation. I read them often, yet, for whatever reason, I hadn’t yet made one of my own. I’m so, so excited to be a part of this world now.
I’ll admit though, my anti-capitalist approach to creating has had its challenges.
(See: self-publishing my first YA fantasy novel then refusing to advertise it out of rebellion. Ha! Like, I really do be getting in my own way.)
Today, the literary world demands you make a name for yourself before your art can ever be considered “important.” I have so many thoughts on this. And though I do understand it, something in me fully refuses to play the game.
Instead, my rather fanciful rebellion has led my work into the indie corners of the web. A shift in my psyche as of late has led me to love this defiant nature within myself. Maybe it is good, actually? I am paving my own way. I am creating my own rules. I am following in the footsteps of queer artists before me who did the same. I know for a fact that baby Jasper would be very proud.
But also, balance is good. I’m learning, slowly, ways to maintain my integrity while dabbling in “the game” a bit more. I’ve seen folks I admire do it, so it must be possible. Not common, but very, very possible. So here’s to that.
Thanks for reading. :)
P.S.: I am working on being much better about sharing and promoting my writing. So if you happen to buy A Flamboyance and you fuck with it, feel free to say so out loud somewhere, digitally or audibly. It’d help others learn about this chapbook’s existence, and I’d really appreciate that.
Happy June,
Jasper