Art by Claude Serre
I can’t believe it’s November. I spent Halloween night drinking mold wine at the pumpkin patch with a few friends. We talked about conspiracy theories, masculine & feminine energy, bumble skunk courtship, flat earth, bunnies, and more. A pleasant way to enjoy the rare time when the veil becomes the thinnest.
I had a dream last night that I was supposed to be a male lead in a play (something surrounding Caligula or Dr. Caligari) and I didn’t rehearse any of my lines. So this woman directing the play called me and I didn’t remember any of the lines and she was pissed. I scrambled to remember these lines, pacing around the house, and I didn’t want to let my friend down. I was so relieved when I woke up today.
The writing community is always up in arms about something trivial. Shoutout to Sarah Rose Etter though (one of my favorite writers/Pisces) came through and echoed similar sentiments I’ve been harboring. The catalyst for this craziness was Laura Miller who has a narrow-minded view of the reason why writers write books in the first place. She was confused by Cormac McCarthy’s brutality in his old age mainly because it doesn’t line up with her view of writing as a hopeful act in itself.
Why do you write? That’s a question every writer hears like a broken record.
Everyone has their own reasons for writing, but it’s not always sweets and sugars. Why do I write you may ask? Well I’ll tell you…
I grew up in an abusive household and didn’t have much of a voice growing up. I was quiet, shy, and scared of being hit if I said the wrong thing. I started out writing as a safe space, carving out my own special dimension, somewhere I could truly speak my mind without fear of judgment or physical pain. My writing couldn’t be twisted, manipulated, and used against me if I could convey my vision clearly and concisely enough.
My writing began in the form of poetry and rap. This evolved into prose poems, comic book scripts, short screenplays, and eventually novellas. I had to write. I didn’t have the proper channels or outlets to express myself. I would explode or self-destruct if I continued holding in my emotions.
I could write about my pain, happiness, beauty, strife, and yell on the page with no persecution. I could write about hippos, a gentleman with a lightbulb for a head, gangster disciples, lean-drenched friendships, hippie cannibals, oil-addicted robots, the music of the spheres, and so much more. And overtime, I was surprised to learn that people fuck with my writing and publishers want to turn my stories into physical books.
What I write isn’t always pretty or hopeful. You know this if you’ve read my books. It’s an all-consuming urge, a drive, a passion, which started out as a survival mechanism and blossomed into something so much more beautiful. But here I am years later doing this shit professionally and paying bills with my royalties (on occasion).
My name’s Grant Wamack and I write dope books. Welcome back to my weekly newsletter Literary Loud. I hope you’re enjoying the show. It’s only up from here.
I stopped by the Soapbox podcast last week and talked UFOs, shrooms, and Mad God. I feel like I’ve been doing a different podcast every week for this last month and this was a fun one. You can listen to me talk that talk on episode 22 here.
On the writing front, my focus is purely on Project Bullet Baby. I had an idea for another book the other day and of course the group chat encouraged it, but I need to clear my plate. Project Melancholy has been looming in mind and I can’t forget about Project Colour, and Project Altar (idk if I’ve mentioned this one up here. Plus, the secret prequels and sequels I’m working on. Oh and the collaboration projects too…
Currently Watching: Moon Knight & Ozark Season 1 & Atlanta Season 4
Currently Reading: God Damn Chainsaw Murderer by Sean M. Thompson & Nudes by Elle Nash & Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto & Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
I finally finished Ill Behavior by M. Steven S. It’s a book revolving around a graffiti artist named SOBR who gets framed for a crime and becomes this larger than life figure in LA. However, this is set in a world where we still worship Greek Gods and cell phones are god devices. It’s heavily political, but not in a preachy way. The prose is rich as high quality cheesecake with a side of fresh grapes imported from Italy. Ill Behavior is a powerful debut, brimming with gritty realism, a revolutionary attitude, and dripping with mythic cords.
Currently Smoking: Cat Piss
Currently Listening to: Black Tapes Podcast & The Danny Brown Podcast
This is my favorite type of Lil Durk. No autotune, just talking greasy and making threats to the opps over a menacing drill beat. Shoutout Durkio.
“I’m on a different magnitude, I maxed out my attributes…”
The Shittyboyz MVP BabyTron details his come-up over an inspirational Detroit beat. Has me feeling motivated to go write a book right now. Plus, there’s a Chicago food reference that’s a deep cut.
Killer Mike’s been dabbling amongst politicians as of late, but something inspired him to step back in the booth and drop this impressive cut. Slowed & throwed, dope beat switches, and apparently the black boule hate him. I need an entire album asap with DJ Paul production.
Duke Deuce proudly carries the crunk flag with bombastic energy on “Mr. Memphis Massacre.” The Halloween themed visuals and the little creepy doll only enhance the experience. I hope Deuce’s ancestors continue protecting him because this is fire.
Until next time…
That whole hope in writing thing reminded me that one of my writing groups became distressed over the fact that one of my main characters put herself in danger by getting into a stranger’s car. In a weird way, it validated the scenes but man, did it piss me off.
These newsletters are becoming my favorite thing to look forward to! 💯