ARTHUR MAGAZINE - WE FOUND THE OTHERS » ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka http://www.arthurmag.com Homegrown counterculture Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:30:34 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 en hourly 1 ZAZEN http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/19/zazen/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/19/zazen/#comments Sat, 19 Dec 2009 20:30:19 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=11109
zazencvr

A hearty hip hip hooray is in order for Ms. VANESSA VESELKA, whose courageous first novel, ZAZEN, completed its 30-part serialization on the pages of this website last week. Thank you to Stefan Jecusco for the book cover design. And a big thank you to Karin Bolender for getting the original manuscript of this seether in our hands earlier this year.

We’re leaving all 30 chapters online for folks who haven’t read it yet.

ZAZEN is an intense read. The narrator is looking at what’s in front of her—Walmart America—instead of avoiding it (as most of us have trained ourselves to do), and is painfully aware of not only the ecological degradation, species extinction, culture destruction and human suffering that modern consumer capitalism is built on, but also, getting closer to the bone, the heartbreaking inadequacy of progressive activist responses to the horrorshow.

So she starts making credible bomb threats.

One suspects it is the latter plot point that has kept ZAZEN from finding a publisher in 2009, but whatever: it got out there anyway. Ha ha ha.

Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants”
Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats”
Chapter 3 — “New Haiku”
Chapter 4 — “Asian Market”
Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL”
Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage”
Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms”
Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte”
Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen”
Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere”
Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital”
Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect”
Chapter 13 — “Manifestation”
Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers”
Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist”
Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers”
Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin”
Chapter 18 — “Grace Mountain”
Chapter 19 — “The Sea Goat”
Chapter 20 — “Dancehall”
Chapter 21 — “Into the Snow”
Chapter 22 — “Deer Teeth”
Chapter 23 — “Disco”
Chapter 24 — “Hazard Maps”
Chapter 25 — “La Rue des Oiseux”
Chapter 26 — “Road to Laos”
Chapter 27 — “Batholith”
Chapter 28 — “The Skateboard Sutta”
Chapter 29 — “Della’s Mosaic”
Chapter 30 — “Tiny Living Hearts”

Read Vanessa Veselka’s blog: http://vanessaveselka.wordpress.com/

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/19/zazen/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, the conclusion: Chapter 30, “Tiny Living Hearts” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/11/zazen-chapter-30/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/11/zazen-chapter-30/#comments Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:36:01 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10931

Sasha and I had had sex pretty much the first time we were alone together. Mostly because, given our introduction, it seemed like a stupid line to draw especially on the beach with the Rapture lapping at our feet. I’m sure Grace would have been disappointed. Falling back on cultural norms at the brink of crisis? Oh well. It looked like my lack of commitment to a more subversive sexual orientation was just going to be another way I failed the revolution. I tried to examine it through a critical lens. But I just saw people.

zazencvr

Download: ZAZEN, Chapter 30 — “Tiny Liver Hearts” (pdf)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: This is the concluding chapter of Zazen. Special thanks to Karin Bolender for making this project possible. Previous chapters are available for free download after the jump…


ZAZEN, Chapter 29 — “Della’s Mosaic” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 28 — “The Skateboard Sutta” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 27 — “Batholith” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 26 — “Road to Laos” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 25 — “La Rue des Oiseux” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 24 — “Hazard Maps”
ZAZEN, Chapter 23 — “Disco” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 22 — “Deer Teeth” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 21 — “Into the Snow” (62k, pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 20 — “Dancehall” (pdf, 99k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 19 — “The Sea Goat” (pdf, 57k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 18 — “Grace Mountain” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin” (pdf, 66k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers” (pdf, 83k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/11/zazen-chapter-30/feed/ 1 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 29: “Della’s Mosaic” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/10/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka-chapter-29/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/10/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka-chapter-29/#comments Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:24:23 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10921 By the time I turned myself in I was pretty run down. No electrolytes at all. My hands and face were chapped and I had a lot of scratches but I was as lucid as I have ever been, clear and attentive. I watched each person who came and talked to me and could almost see the flames licking up around them. I was held as a possible terrorism suspect. Grace and Miro were so proud they could barely stand it. Like it was lefty Christmas just for them. Viva North Pole Libre…

zazencvr

Download: ZAZEN, Chapter 29 — “Della’s Mosaic” (pdf)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: ZAZEN concludes on Friday, December 11 with Chapter 30.

Previous chapters available for download after the jump…

ZAZEN, Chapter 28 — “The Skateboard Sutta” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 27 — “Batholith” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 26 — “Road to Laos” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 25 — “La Rue des Oiseux” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 24 — “Hazard Maps”
ZAZEN, Chapter 23 — “Disco” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 22 — “Deer Teeth” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 21 — “Into the Snow” (62k, pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 20 — “Dancehall” (pdf, 99k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 19 — “The Sea Goat” (pdf, 57k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 18 — “Grace Mountain” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin” (pdf, 66k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers” (pdf, 83k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/10/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka-chapter-29/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 28: “The Skateboard Sutta” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/09/zazen-chapter-28/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/09/zazen-chapter-28/#comments Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:07:27 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10918 People will do anything. Smash a kid’s head against a rock. Maim Silver Backs and drag them across a square. Run through landmines to protect someone they’ve never met. Waste their bodies on grace. A high wire, a hurdle, a diving plane. It’s chemistry and people are shifting compounds, not elements like I thought. Sitting up all night, watching the Walmart fail to blow up, I saw an endless spectrum. I don’t mean some soft sell about life on the banks or shades of gray. What I saw was a spectacle. A death chamber. A chandelier. A thousand rooms. By the edge of an industrial park with my face burnt and my swollen duct-taped hands, I finally joined the human race. I became a tenant in that house…

zazencvr

Download: ZAZEN, Chapter 28 — “The Skateboard Sutta”

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 29 of ZAZEN will be posted Thursday, December 10. There are 30 chapters in all.

Previous chapters available for download after the jump…

ZAZEN, Chapter 27 — “Batholith”
ZAZEN, Chapter 26 — “Road to Laos” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 25 — “La Rue des Oiseux” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 24 — “Hazard Maps”
ZAZEN, Chapter 23 — “Disco” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 22 — “Deer Teeth” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 21 — “Into the Snow” (62k, pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 20 — “Dancehall” (pdf, 99k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 19 — “The Sea Goat” (pdf, 57k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 18 — “Grace Mountain” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin” (pdf, 66k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers” (pdf, 83k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/09/zazen-chapter-28/feed/ 1 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 27: “Batholith” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/08/zazen-chapter-27/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/08/zazen-chapter-27/#comments Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:23:46 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10910 The center of the store was an intersection of accessories, electronics, small appliances and ladies’ wear. A bomb in a backpack would do it. Especially if the ceilings were dropped and there was a strong supply of oxygen through the duct system.

I could easily see it on fire. The wicker dogs, the prom dresses, the camouflage strollers burning. It was beautiful and I couldn’t remember why I wanted to stop it. I think that if I had had a bag full of explosives, I might have let it slip, or forgotten it by the greeting cards and silver balloons with the superheroes on them and the ribbons trailing down to tie the fat baby hands to a generation of merchandising, I might have left it there. But I didn’t have a backpack with a bomb in it and if anybody was going to blow up the Superland™ Walmart, it was going to be me. Not some fucking crusty punk…

zazencvr

Download: ZAZEN, Chapter 27 — “Batholith”

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 28 of ZAZEN will be posted Wednesday, December 9. There are 30 chapters in all.

Previous chapters available for download after the jump…

ZAZEN, Chapter 26 — “Road to Laos” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 25 — “La Rue des Oiseux” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 24 — “Hazard Maps”
ZAZEN, Chapter 23 — “Disco” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 22 — “Deer Teeth” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 21 — “Into the Snow” (62k, pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 20 — “Dancehall” (pdf, 99k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 19 — “The Sea Goat” (pdf, 57k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 18 — “Grace Mountain” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin” (pdf, 66k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers” (pdf, 83k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/08/zazen-chapter-27/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 26: “Road to Laos” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/08/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka-chapter-26-road-to-laos/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/08/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka-chapter-26-road-to-laos/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:54:36 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10899 The three women in front of me were talking about the big demi-anniversary sale at Walmart and how they’d gotten time off from their cleaning jobs and were going down together.

“Is it that big?” I asked.

“Oh yeah,” they said, “50% off all children’s clothes, shoes and school supplies.”

Everything Else=Box of Tampons.

“Got to get there early though.”

Or they’ll stop selling you cheap shit made by slaves and cared for by cannibals who’d fish out their own pancreas if you gave them a hook? It was just another reason I didn’t mind leaving.

zazencvr

Download: ZAZEN, Chapter 26 — “Road to Laos” (pdf)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 27 of ZAZEN will be posted Tuesday, December 8. There are 30 chapters in all.

Previous chapters available for download after the jump…

ZAZEN, Chapter 25 — “La Rue des Oiseux” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 24 — “Hazard Maps”
ZAZEN, Chapter 23 — “Disco” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 22 — “Deer Teeth” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 21 — “Into the Snow” (62k, pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 20 — “Dancehall” (pdf, 99k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 19 — “The Sea Goat” (pdf, 57k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 18 — “Grace Mountain” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin” (pdf, 66k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers” (pdf, 83k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/08/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka-chapter-26-road-to-laos/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 25: “La Rue des Oiseux” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/04/zazen-chapter-25/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/04/zazen-chapter-25/#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:53:17 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10871 “I’m staying because it’s the right thing to do,” she said hoarsely. “Because Jules and I made a commitment and because I want to wake up to something isn’t a fucking horror show of constant defeat.”

She blew into her hands and squinted at me.

“I don’t know what to do,” I said.

Those were words I don’t ever remember having said.

“That’s right,” she said, “None of us do and we’re all trying to figure it out together because there’s no other option.”

I let ignorance radiate. It was a quiet and gentle freedom, utterly foreign…

zazencvr

Download: ZAZEN, Chapter 25 — “La Rue des Oiseux” (pdf)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 26 of ZAZEN will be posted Monday, December 7. There are 30 chapters in all.

Previous chapters available for download after the jump…

ZAZEN, Chapter 24 — “Hazard Maps”
ZAZEN, Chapter 23 — “Disco” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 22 — “Deer Teeth” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 21 — “Into the Snow” (62k, pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 20 — “Dancehall” (pdf, 99k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 19 — “The Sea Goat” (pdf, 57k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 18 — “Grace Mountain” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin” (pdf, 66k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers” (pdf, 83k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/04/zazen-chapter-25/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 24: “Hazard Maps” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/03/zazen-chapter-24/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/03/zazen-chapter-24/#comments Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:34:44 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10861
I started with FEMA maps.
“This is how they cost out earthquake damage.”
I laid one on the drafting table so Jules could see.
“Sometimes people call them Ground Failure Maps or Hazard Maps. They show you where the land is unstable and prone to liquefaction.”
He leaned over. I traced a river gorge.
“Check that out.”
Jules brought the arm light closer.
“And if you think that’s bad, look at this.”
I unfolded a second map.
“That’s the city.”
Jules shook his head.
“I can’t believe you can just get these.”
“Everybody has them. It’s how they sell insurance.”
But it’s not like we were going to blow up a volcano or anything. Toppling a transmission tower was really a civil engineering problem. My job was just to figure out whether soil improvement techniques could be crudely adapted to destabilize land on a slope…

zazencvr

Download: ZAZEN, Chapter 24 — “Hazard Maps”

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 25 of ZAZEN will be posted Friday, December 4. There are 30 chapters in all.

Previous chapters available for download after the jump…

ZAZEN, Chapter 23 — “Disco” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 22 — “Deer Teeth” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 21 — “Into the Snow” (62k, pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 20 — “Dancehall” (pdf, 99k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 19 — “The Sea Goat” (pdf, 57k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 18 — “Grace Mountain” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin” (pdf, 66k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers” (pdf, 83k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/03/zazen-chapter-24/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 23: “Disco” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/02/zazen-chapter-23/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/02/zazen-chapter-23/#comments Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:25:35 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10847 I began to sense the work going on beneath the seed-based cheeses and ‘zines. An undercurrent of excitement bearing no relationship to anything on the surface and which ran through the most trivial interactions. I recognized the feeling from my childhood, the excitement that was there when people came to our house. Or when we went to theirs and slept over or drove back late. Credence, Cady and I would spend the whole day running around with all the other kids, chasing chickens or playing in the forest in our underwear, then get carried to bed half-asleep while the adults talked. There was nothing they said that I could pin the feeling to, but I knew it like a smell or a quality of air. It was so familiar that when I caught it again as an adult, it hurt. It was a ghost from a lost world and I was the only survivor, that’s how it felt…

zazencvr

Download: ZAZEN, Chapter 23 — “Disco” (pdf)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 24 of ZAZEN will be posted Thursday, December 3. There are 30 chapters in all.

Previous chapters available for download after the jump…

ZAZEN, Chapter 22 — “Deer Teeth” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 21 — “Into the Snow” (62k, pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 20 — “Dancehall” (pdf, 99k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 19 — “The Sea Goat” (pdf, 57k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 18 — “Grace Mountain” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin” (pdf, 66k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers” (pdf, 83k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/02/zazen-chapter-23/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 22: “Deer Teeth” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/01/zazen-chapter-22-deer-teeth/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/01/zazen-chapter-22-deer-teeth/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:16:34 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10839 I had been with Grace and Miro in a hundred kitchens like that. Everything was wood, metal, paper or glass; nothing was disposable. I knew where to look for cloth filters, tea, compost buckets and co-op containers of peanut butter, honey and tahini. I knew how the bread would taste, how the clay mugs would feel and how cold the kitchen would be until people came and it got warm from the bodies. I knew someone would have to boil the water for the dishes and someone would have to bury the trash at night so the bears didn’t get it. And if you couldn’t feel the despair that was in everything, if you were numb to the intense loss at the center of it all, it was like stepping right into a children’s story…

zazencvr

Download: ZAZEN, Chapter 22 — “Deer Teeth” (pdf)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 22 of ZAZEN will be posted Tuesday, December 1. There are 30 chapters in all.

Previous chapters available for download after the jump…

ZAZEN, Chapter 21 — “Into the Snow” (62k, pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 20 — “Dancehall” (pdf, 99k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 19 — “The Sea Goat” (pdf, 57k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 18 — “Grace Mountain” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin” (pdf, 66k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers” (pdf, 83k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/12/01/zazen-chapter-22-deer-teeth/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 21: “Into the Snow” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/30/zazen-chapter-21/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/30/zazen-chapter-21/#comments Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:56:27 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10835 The Blackberry Apocalypse was settling into a traffic menace and maybe Sasha was right that not much had actually changed, but I saw it differently. Over the digital streams and dammed expressways, my flag flew like gauze in front of the stars…

zazencvr

Download: ZAZEN, Chapter 21 — “Into the Snow” (62k, pdf)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 22 of ZAZEN will be posted Tuesday, December 1. There are 30 chapters in all.

Previous chapters available for download after the jump…

ZAZEN, Chapter 20 — “Dancehall” (pdf, 99k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 19 — “The Sea Goat” (pdf, 57k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 18 — “Grace Mountain” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin” (pdf, 66k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers” (pdf, 83k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/30/zazen-chapter-21/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 20: “Dancehall” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/26/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka-chapter-20-dancehall/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/26/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka-chapter-20-dancehall/#comments Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:21:04 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10780 “Red is all access, open to anything. Blue is hetero only. Pink is girl on girl—don’t say it, I’ve already gotten a rash of shit from the leather dykes—black is boy on boy, which doesn’t apply…Safety Orange means you just want to watch and probably shouldn’t be here anyway and you’re not wearing that one because I would never speak to you again if you did and…I guess that’s it. Red, blue or pink. Which is it?”

“Red,” I said and slipped the bracelet she handed me onto my wrist…

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 20 — “Dancehall” (pdf, 99k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 20 of ZAZEN will be posted Thursday, November 25. There are 30 chapters in all.

Previous chapters available for download after the jump…

ZAZEN, Chapter 19 — “The Sea Goat” (pdf, 57k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 18 — “Grace Mountain” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin” (pdf, 66k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers” (pdf, 83k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/26/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka-chapter-20-dancehall/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 19: “The Sea Goat” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/25/zazen-chapter-19/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/25/zazen-chapter-19/#comments Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:01:22 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/25/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka-chapter-19/ It was like the world had broken open and nothing was hidden anymore, like we were crawling all over it like salamanders. I felt my own life, a minnow in a brook, silvered and fleet. I was alive for no reason at all, finally unindentured…

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 19 — “The Sea Goat” (pdf, 57k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 20 of ZAZEN will be posted Thursday, November 25. There are 30 chapters in all.

Previous chapters available for download after the jump…

ZAZEN, Chapter 18 — “Grace Mountain” (pdf)
ZAZEN, Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin” (pdf, 66k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers” (pdf, 83k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/25/zazen-chapter-19/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 18: “Grace Mountain” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/24/zazen-chapter-18/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/24/zazen-chapter-18/#comments Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:03:19 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10760 Grace keeps all of Cady’s things in a crib so that no one ever forgets to whom she really belonged. Stuffed rabbits, snap-on black leather bracelets with metal studs, half-used hair dye—Enchanted Forest and Electric Lava—black nail polish, a plastic record player, Mutant Ninja Turtle stickers, jewelry boxes, candles, incense, a Bauhaus poster, a Walkman, cassettes. If you glued it all together it wouldn’t look like Cady, though. Like when you look at fossils and think the world must have been nothing but seashells but it wasn’t. It was filled with all sorts of things that didn’t preserve.

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 18 — “Grace Mountain”

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 19 of ZAZEN will be posted Wednesday, November 25. There are 30 chapters in all.

Previous chapters available for download after the jump…

ZAZEN, Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin” (pdf, 66k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers” (pdf, 83k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/24/zazen-chapter-18/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 17: “The Avalanche Cabin” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/23/zazen-chapter-17/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/23/zazen-chapter-17/#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:13:54 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10724 She looked up. Her face was half shadowed and half lit. Tiny golden hairs played on her upper lip. I slid right behind her while she was watching the hawk, put my mouth to her ear and whispered, “Let’s leave tonight when they’re all asleep.”

She thought I was joking but I meant it. I don’t know where I thought we would go. Everything was already so messed up…

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 17 — “The Avalanche Cabin” (pdf, 66k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 18 of ZAZEN will be posted Tuesday, November 24. There are 30 chapters in all.

Previous chapters available for download after the jump…

ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers” (pdf, 83k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/23/zazen-chapter-17/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 16: “Breath of Soldiers” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/19/zazen-chapter-16/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/19/zazen-chapter-16/#comments Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:24:43 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10679 I thought of this guy I knew whose gratitude practice was centered on appreciating every object from the day it comes into his possession until the dystopic collapse of society. Vacations (soon nobody’s going to be going anywhere, man), new cars (what the hell, we’ll all be walking before long), guitars (how else are we going to have music without electricity)—the guy was Zen master. And now I walked in the golden autumnal light thinking he was more right than not…

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 16 — “Breath of Soldiers”

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 17 of ZAZEN will be posted Monday, November 23. There are 30 chapters in all.

Previous chapters available for download after the jump…

ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/19/zazen-chapter-16/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 15: “Head of John the Baptist” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/18/zazen-chapter-15/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/18/zazen-chapter-15/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:50:46 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10659 We went to a bar with a TV and stared for an hour. Devadatta met us there. Bomb squads and cameras were trained on the New Land Trust Building like it was a birthday cake with a stripper inside. Then they cut back to Brass Ring with its missing face.

“Man,” Mirror said, “Just look at that.”

I couldn’t stop. I saw the buildings burn in live time. People were crying. They were scared. High school girls huddled together waiting for their parents to come get them. A little Vietnamese boy wailed in his mother’s arms. Oh god, I thought, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god…and I ran my shaking hands through my hair. With short sharp fingernails I scratched at my chest until it was red with crosshatches…

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 15 — “Head of John the Baptist” (pdf, 75k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 16 of ZAZEN will be posted Thursday, November 19. There are 30 chapters in all.

Previous chapters available for download:

ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/18/zazen-chapter-15/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 14: “Two Rivers” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/17/zazen-bchapter-14-two-rivers/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/17/zazen-bchapter-14-two-rivers/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:54:57 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10655 On the way home I found myself wondering how many chances we get.

Raina believes in reincarnation.

“What about birds?” I asked, “Will they all be birds again? Do sparrows become starlings, or does it go the other way? What happens after you’re a blackberry bush?”

“Well,” she said, “I think we’re here for a reason and that whatever we haven’t learned before we get to learn now. Some of us won’t have to come back.”

I’m learning how to call in bomb threats and bury rats in the back of a restaurant without tipping off the health department. Do I have to come back?

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 14 — “Two Rivers” (pdf, 84k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 15 of ZAZEN will be posted Wednesday, November 18. There are 30 chapters in all.

Downloads of previous chapters available after the jump…


ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf, 94k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/17/zazen-bchapter-14-two-rivers/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 13: “Manifestation” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/16/zazen-chapter-13/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/16/zazen-chapter-13/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:01:46 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10636 I had never met anyone in any political organization that I liked. “Eat with your hands like the African people,” that’s what this one girl I knew used to say. Someone told me she called a fork fascist. They were all like that—macrobiotic Belgian trust-fund junkies, park bench anarchists, mean white lesbians in canvas clothing and dreadlocks—each ready to denounce you as a cop at the slightest sign of dissent. But beyond that, I had dirty little secret. I only liked militants at a distance. Up close I couldn’t stand them. Their targets were always the same, a cow path from the cell to the Great Reactionary Dawn. I wanted something more creative than dead clerks…

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 13 — “Manifestation” (pdf)

ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Walmart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maximum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 14 of ZAZEN will be posted Tuesday, November 17. There are 30 chapters in all.

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/16/zazen-chapter-13/feed/ 1 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 12: “Colony of the Elect” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/12/zazen-chapter-12/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/12/zazen-chapter-12/#comments Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:30:59 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10590 I sat on the stairs across from Annette and we talked about how stupid the term bisexual was. Like you were different species because you slept with another human and how it was really somebody else’s line and not hers or mine at all. We both agreed the joy of my gayness would kill my parents. First, black grandchildren and now the fantasy of two women on the couch at family gatherings (entwined and laughing as if it were all going to be okay). Yes, they will finally be dead from politically informed glee….

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 12 — “Colony of the Elect” (pdf, 58k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Wal-Mart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maxmum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 13 of ZAZEN will be posted Monday, November 16. There are 30 chapters in all.

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/12/zazen-chapter-12/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 11: “Church of Enlightened Capital” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/11/zazen-chapter-11/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/11/zazen-chapter-11/#comments Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:34:42 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10588 I was sick of people acting against their own interests. Mooing about how to refinance the slaughterhouse. Putting skylights in the killing pen and pretending the bolt in the brain was a pathway to a better field. I paid my bill. Save your fucking pennies for a gun and a history book, I thought. But I knew I didn’t mean it about the gun. I know I’d never be able to shoot anyone. I wish I could. I wish I could blow up things for real. Not really, but I do…

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 11 — “Church of Enlightened Capital” (pdf, 65k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)
ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Wal-Mart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maxmum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 12 of ZAZEN will be posted Thursday, November 12. There are 30 chapters in all.

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/11/zazen-chapter-11/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 10: “Venus Rodere” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/10/zazen-chapter-10/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/10/zazen-chapter-10/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:16:24 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10573 I made a list of possible terrorist group names. I decided it’s only fair that with a personal savior you should get a personal destroyer—niche terrorism being the obvious next step in identity politics. Narcissism meets the rest of the world. Hi! Howdy do? The market rallies. Satin covered bullet cases? First-responder kits with your astrological sign etched on the front plate? My mind was clicking…

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 10 — “Venus Rodere” (pdf, 64k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Wal-Mart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maxmum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 10 of ZAZEN will be posted Tuesday, November 10. There are 30 chapters in all.

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/10/zazen-chapter-10/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 9: “The Rat Queen” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/09/zazen-chapter-9/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/09/zazen-chapter-9/#comments Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:09:47 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10556 An hour after the explosion Rise Up Singing was packed. The whole block was standing around eating vegan doughnuts waiting for a chance at the landline. Gangs, they said. But not everyone agreed. Insurance, some thought. One guy said developers but nobody believed him because that would just be too obvious. Mitch was giving away food and Mirror was taking advantage of the situation to drive turnout for the sex party….

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 9 — “The Rat Queen” (pdf, 87k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Wal-Mart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maxmum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 10 of ZAZEN will be posted Tuesday, November 10. There are 30 chapters in all.

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/09/zazen-chapter-9/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka, Chapter 8: “Lagerstätte” http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/05/zazen-chapter-8/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/05/zazen-chapter-8/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:34:39 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10525 That’s the problem with symbolic gestures; people never take them far enough. They don’t see them as a system. They blow up something right in front of them, like the bathroom of the New Land Trust Building, then caper around like monkeys. They might as well throw bananas at it…

zazencvr

Download:

ZAZEN, Chapter 8 — “Lagerstätte” (pdf, 61k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Wal-Mart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maxmum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 9 of ZAZEN will be posted Monday, November 9. There are 30 chapters in all.

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/05/zazen-chapter-8/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka—Chapter 7 http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/04/zazen-chapter-7/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/04/zazen-chapter-7/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:02:39 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10499 Everyone at Rise Up Singing knew who bombed the New Land Trust building. Mr. Tofu Scramble said it was an intergovernmental squabble. Ed, Logic’s Only Son, said it was immigrants.

“They got their own radio station with fucking tubas and everything,” he said.

Mirror said she had a friend who applied for an admin job with New Land Trust and was denied an interview for refusing to claim a gender on the application.

“She could have totally done it.”

Mitch the cook, thought it was eco-terrorists for sure. Kelly, the fill-in dishwasher agreed but then they split over whether it was an anarcho-primitivist cell or the Redwood Action Collective. That’s how the betting pool got started…

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 7 — “Cherry Blossoms” (pdf, 75k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Wal-Mart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maxmum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 7 of ZAZEN will be posted Wednesday, November 4. There are 30 chapters in all.

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/04/zazen-chapter-7/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka—Chapter 6 http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/03/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka%e2%80%94chapter-6/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/03/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka%e2%80%94chapter-6/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:53:20 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10486 “Riding the bus out there, I counted rings of urban renewal. Clouds burned off and new streets ticked by on my right, Car Parts Lane, Value Town Outlet Parkway, Pay Day Loan Road, Bank of Nations Plaza and Paul of Damascus Court. On my left was the long and windowless side of the box-mall-church…”

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 6 — “Aerial Map of Carnage” (pdf, 76k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 88k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Wal-Mart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maxmum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 6 of ZAZEN will be posted Tuesday, November 3. There are 30 chapters in all.

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/03/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka%e2%80%94chapter-6/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka—Chapter 5 http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/02/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka%e2%80%94chapter-5/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/02/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka%e2%80%94chapter-5/#comments Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:33:58 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10451 “Jimmy handed me some zucchini bread and I looked around like I had been born into that moment. Like I had been somewhere else all along. I saw the glittering incongruity. I was right in the center of it. It’s simple when you’re not clenching up and I was before but didn’t know it. At some point that morning the clenching stopped… ”

zazencvr

Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 5 — “1 800 buy COAL” (pdf, 81k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Wal-Mart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maxmum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 6 of ZAZEN will be posted Tuesday, November 3. There are 30 chapters in all.

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/11/02/zazen-by-vanessa-veselka%e2%80%94chapter-5/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka—Chapter 4 http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/10/29/zazen-chapter-4/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/10/29/zazen-chapter-4/#comments Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:40:59 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10398 “I looked up the number of the sports bar and called in a bomb threat. Told them they were all going to die in multiple explosions during the fourth quarter and then I went and looked through the windows to see what would happen…”

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Download:
ZAZEN, Chapter 4 — “Asian Market” (pdf, 56k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Wal-Mart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maxmum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 5 of ZAZEN will be posted Monday, November 2. There are 30 chapters in all.

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/10/29/zazen-chapter-4/feed/ 0 ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka—Chapter 3 http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/10/28/zazen-chapter-3/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/10/28/zazen-chapter-3/#comments Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:52:52 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10388 “Up in my attic room the president came on the radio. Another special broadcast. Computers and digital cable hum in unison throughout the nation: War A is going well and no longer a threat, small and mature. Like a Bonsai. War B is in full flower. Its thin green shoots reaching across the ocean floor like fiber optic cable. Our only defense is attack…”

zazencvr

Download:

ZAZEN, Chapter 3 — “New Haiku” (pdf, 64k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Wal-Mart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maxmum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 4 of ZAZEN will be posted Thursday, October 29. There are 30 chapters in all.

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/10/28/zazen-chapter-3/feed/ 1 A new novel, serialized: ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka—Chapter 2 http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/10/27/zazen-chapter-2/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/10/27/zazen-chapter-2/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:06:24 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10373 I got the job at Rise Up Singing through Credence. He dated a cook there a few years back, a girl named Jimmy. It has a ‘we all work in hell but that’s okay cause we don’t have to take out our piercing’ kind of theme…

The owner’s name is Franklin. He started Rise Up Singing when every business on the street had bars on the windows.

“I like to think of myself as a coworker with lots of experience rather than a boss,” Franklin said.

I like to think of myself as a boss more than a slave but mostly I prefer to not think about it at all because when I think about it, I can’t stop.

“Okay,” I said…

zazencvr

Download:

ZAZEN, Chapter 2 — “Pregnant Rats” (pdf, 81k)

ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Wal-Mart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maxmum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 3 of ZAZEN will be posted Wednesday, October 28. There are 30 chapters in all.

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/10/27/zazen-chapter-2/feed/ 1 A new novel, serialized: ZAZEN by Vanessa Veselka—Chapter 1 http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/10/26/zazen-part-1/ http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/10/26/zazen-part-1/#comments Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:31:10 +0000 Jay Babcock http://www.arthurmag.com/?p=10368 When the first box-mall-church went up in the blackberry field I wanted some kind of rampant mass stigmata with blackberry juice for blood. It didn’t happen. It’s not going to. They win; they just roll, pave and drive over everything that’s beautiful: babies, love and small birds. On summer nights with the windows open I hear joints cracking like crickets…

zazencvr

Download: ZAZEN, Chapter 1 — “Burning Ants” (pdf, 79k)

The Story: It’s the very near-future, somewhere in the Pacific Northwest—or a neighborhood near you. 27-year-old Della Mylinek has suffered some kind of breakdown after failing to stop the construction of a local Wal-Mart. In an attempt to regain psychological, financial and emotional stability, she’s moved in with her brother and his pregnant wife and taken a job waiting tables at a vegan restaurant. But her anger remains, and one thing leads to another…

“Zazen” Keywords: geology, veganism, the apocalypse, urban planning, yoga, sex parties, bombs, anarchism, aging new-left revolutionaries, strip malls, paleontology, dark hippies, transcendentalism, lavender hair dye.

The Author: Vanessa Veselka is a writer and musician living in Portland, Oregon. She has been, at various times, a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, a student of paleontology, an expatriate, an independent record label owner, a train-hopper, a waitress and a mother. Her work has appeared in Bust, Bitch, Maxmum Rock ’n’ Roll, Yeti Magazine and Tin House. Zazen is her first novel. She is online at vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

The Serial: Chapter 2 of ZAZEN will be posted Tuesday, October 27. There are 30 chapters in all.

]]> http://www.arthurmag.com/2009/10/26/zazen-part-1/feed/ 0