Kyle Beachy

Short Story Twofer

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:45:12 +0000

Two stories of mine appeared in print recently. The first, “Untoward,” occupies a few pages of Another Chicago Magazine‘s second of their Issue #50s, Volume 2 of the two-volume series of all-Chicago authors. The second is called “Lithium Tetrachloroaluminate and Other Servants of God’s Will,” in Knee-Jerk Offline Vol.2. The purpose of this blog post is: practical and informative and promotional.

Chronicles, Depth

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 03:18:42 +0000

I realize how terrible I’ve been with my official website. I go and tweet and tumbl and what-the-hell-ever else, but leave this place, my home, untended and sad. I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry.

In the meantime, two new essays are up The Classical. The first, ”A Chronicle of Doing It: Nike and Destruction,” explores the way Nike has gotten to where they currently are in skateboarding. Seems to me there’s something to be learned, there. Though I’m open to suggestions regarding exactly what that is, exactly.

The second is roughly half of an essay called “The Deap Seams: A Search for Fun in David Foster Wallace’s Peoria,” which appears in the first, beautiful, massive issue of The Chicagoan. You really wouldn’t believe the way people are crawling all over one another for this issue in Chicago right now. It’s like Furbies or something. But look, here is the link the excerpt, which many thanks to Pete Beatty at The Classical for working with me to get this thing up there.

Thanks, folks. More to share very soon…

admin — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 18:56:56 +0000

My first piece for The Classical went up this week, so a thank you to them for having me along for their big smart sportswriting party. The essay is about what Nyjah Huston might possibly mean to the world(s) of skateboarding, and how that meaning is mitigated by the brutality of his performance, here, and the way the video of his performance was edited, marketed, and released. And perhaps why watching it over and over again isn’t the best thing for a skateboarder. And more…You’re Not Me: Nyjah Huston and Inflationary Spectacle.

I also published a Point at The Point.

admin — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 06:20:55 +0000

If you’re a person who wonders why I don’t have any books finished or even forthcoming, technically, one reason is that I have been skating more than writing, and teaching full time now at Roosevelt University’s MFA program. I’ve somehow not mentioned this yet. I’ve been there since August. When I skate all summer I get footage of proximal bros and then I get a little more more recently, and then I messily compile it by trial and error. Here is “Tall Down There,” what I will call a short film. A short film.

Lula Reading, Big Questions

admin — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:01:19 +0000

This coming Tuesday, Anders Nilsen, the man behind, among so much else, the van overhead and all other images on the covers of The Slide, will present a “book release slide show art show multi-media reading event and food tasting” at Lula Cafe in Logan Square. John Porcellino will read, I will read, others may read too, and Zak Sally, who used to play bass for Low and probably gets tired of, I’m only guessing here, being referred to as a guy who used to play bass for Low, will be there to play bass and probably share his own comics. Things begin at 7:00 at the cafe where everyone waits for brunch, looking goooooood. Here is a Facebook page for the event. Hope to see you…

Every Time Makes…Makes Us Better

admin — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 21:04:29 +0000

Some overdo updates to arrive very soon, but for now here’s a little video of the buds’ recent activities. Music from Serengeti.

Every Time Makes….Makes Us Better from kyle beachy on Vimeo.

Friday Night, Book Cellar

admin — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 19:20:20 +0000

Many thanks to Patrick Somerville for inviting me along for The Pale King release event Friday night at Chicago’s perfect Book Cellar. Details here, but know that Adam Levin is reading, he behind the gigantic and unanimously adored The Instructions, and Marcus Sakey, a man I do not know from Adam(s) but look forward to meeting, and Jon Baskin, whose essay on Wallace I taught the shit out of a year ago in my large, terrifying Infinite Jest class at SAIC.

The event is free and will surely be full of laughter and insight, our Chicago take on events scheduled around the country to celebrate this rather phenomenal piece of literature (see extensive thoughts on the book below). Hope to see you.

The Pale King

admin — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:21:14 +0000

I was fortunate enough to get a copy of The Pale King a few weeks back. Once finished, I began writing a review that, in addressing less the content of the book as its place in our larger understanding of Wallace and his work, became quite long. Meaning, that is, the book’s place in this particular reader’s (my) understanding of his work. Thank you to everyone who’s read it already and those who’ve circulated it. It’s a very good book, but not a novel, I don’t think, and to write about it was a hugely satisfying and challenging thing to do. Thanks, too, to St. Louis Magazine for continuing to give me a venue for these reviews.

Here is the review.

On a related note, this Leland de la Durantaye piece in the Boston Review is incredibly insightful and smart and certainly worth our time.

Iowagain

admin — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 04:42:29 +0000

This Saturday I’m following Quickies! to Iowa City, town of towns, for a reading that’s part of this year’s Mission Creek Festival. Part of a lit crawl format, I believe? Some fine fine people will read, and none of us for more than four minutes. Then I’ll just post up at George’s for the remainder of the time, loving it.

Tamale Tamale Tamale Tamale

admin — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 14:37:00 +0000

Friends, this Saturday night I’ll read at The Tamale Hut Cafe, which if you’re a Chicagoan here’s proof it’s not all that far, so what say you we hop into the Jetta, crank some whatever it is this week, and have us a jaunt! I will read from The Slide and also from the novel in progress, a new chapter. Looking very much forward to it…

And there’s news to share and a schedule of upcoming interesting events, good times, all of it coming real soon. For now let’s focus on tamales…

Folks on Backs

admin — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 00:23:56 +0000

Here is the photo I used for the essay that will appear in the the My Parents Were Awesome book in a couple months. The point here is give folks a chance to revel as I reveled in the photo, staring deep into it and noticing whatever I could.

Also, there’s this thing here: The Most Fun Thing.

I Have Been Thinking About Albert Pujols Frequently and With Vigor

admin — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 04:44:45 +0000

A calculated risk: allow the man to go to free agency on the logic that there’s little chance he’ll be seen next year as worth somehow more than he is currently. He could suffer from the pressure and see his average fall, or he’ll boot some grounders in the field, but the latter seems only slightly more likely than the former, and neither will will happen. His elbow could sit him eight or nine games and raise vague but nagging concerns, little voicelets in the ears of the moneymen. Birds swarm over his head and confuse him, and they’re birds only he can see, so those among us who aren’t true believers begin to wonder if he’s actually been crazy, and indeed it happens before our eyes, his beard growing long and feral. Finally it could be a different year financially. I have no idea who other free agents there’ll be. But perhaps they’ll command smaller figures than Werth and Howard and Crawford. Gonzalez is a factor, I guess.

I think about Albert Pujols in the morning and sometimes late at night. Bower says, “nothing will be done, only speculation / by a lot of idiots / myself included(.)” Then he’ll end up right where he is.

Take Pictures of Your Food

admin — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:31:45 +0000

After many helpless hours dragging and trimming and wishing I had any idea what I’m doing, I am happy and just a sliver short of proud to present to you the second of what is certain to be three or maybe four skateboarding videos made by me. I’ve titled it, “Take Pictures of Your Food,” and I hope you enjoy.

Take Pictures of Your Food from Edsel Denk on Vimeo.

The Extent of Our Decline

admin — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 16:40:04 +0000

I’m grateful to Matt Bell for including my essay, “The Extent of Our Decline,” in January’s issue of The Collagist, their 18th issue and a very good one, full of very good stories and poems and reviews. My contribution takes on Tom Junod and David Shields and their rather silly shared notion that “the” novel can no longer capture the essence of our epoch.

Here is a link to the essay, which will also appear the anthology The Late American Novel: Writers on the Future of Books, edited by C. Max Magee, of The Millions, and Jeff Martin, of this. The anthology appears in March of this year and features a whole slew of names I won’t list, but rest assured are far more impressive than my own. Enjoy them all. Enjoy enjoying them. Enjoy everything.

Buddy’s Body

admin — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 18:16:03 +0000

The second of my Wigleaf stories has gone live, this one called “Buddy’s Body,” a case of the title itself playing the starting point for all that appeared after. Hope you enjoy…