Toadhouse's Gone Fishing with Samy Rosenstock was published by Snuggly Books in May 2016.
Information about Toadhouse:
Toadhouse, a.k.a. Allan Graham, was born in San Francisco, California, in 1943. He is an artist whose work includes sculpture, painting, poetry, and video.
Information about Gone Fishing with Samy Rosenstock:
Gone Fishing with Samy Rosenstock is a set of extraordinarily brief, side-splitting texts by Toadhouse, the pseudonym of visual artist Allan Graham, which bridge the aesthetical ocean that lies between the land of Dada fun and the flower-filled continent of Zen exceptionalism.
A REVIEW OF TOADHOUSE'S GONE FISHING WITH SAMY ROSENSTOCK
Toadhouse's Gone Fishing with Samy Rosenstock is the 5th chapbook in the Snuggly Slim edition series. It has been edited and compiled by Brendan Connell.
Toadhouse's Gone Fishing with Samy Rosenstock is something special for readers who love experimental literary fiction and speculative fiction. It's a chapbook that defies easy classification. Its contents inhabit the space between literary fiction and speculative fiction where anything is possible and extraordinary things can manifest themselves by means of sparkling and abrupt prose. It's filled with poems and texts that push and poke at the boundaries of literary fiction in intriguing ways.
The contents of Gone Fishing with Samy Rosenstock range from thrilling Dadaism to more traditional prose. Although I mentioned the words 'traditional prose', I have to emphasise that this chapbook is anything but a traditional chapbook due to its versatile and experimental contents.
This chapbook is not an easy read, because it requires a lot from readers (it's possible that it may not be to everyone's liking). It can be enjoyed as "a tasty snack between larger meals", but to fully enjoy it, readers should have an appreciation for poetry, short texts, surrealism and Dadaism. Knowing at least something about surrealism and Dadaism will help readers to understand certain things better.
If there readers out there who are not familiar with Dadaism, here are a few words about it. Dadaism or Dada was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century. The roots of Dadaism lay in pre-war avant-garde. More information about Dadaism can easily be found on the internet.
The texts in this chapbook are wonderfully creative and original. During the recent years, I've acquired a taste for this kind of fiction, because many short texts are brilliantly sharp and poignant. They may reveal hidden truths about our lives, society and emotions, and they can be gentle or savage.
The author uses words and images in an artistic way. His way of using of different words and expressions feels original, because he manages to evoke feelings of awe and wonder in the reader. For example, a list of words in this chapbook has an artistic feel to it and makes the reader wonder about it and its meaning.
If you've read Brendan Connell, I'm sure that you'll love this chapbook, because certain things in this chapbook can be compared to his works.
Gone Fishing with Samy Rosenstock is a well-edited and extraordinary collection of poems and texts that offer plenty of food for thoughts. Many of the texts can be interpreted and examined in various ways and they mean different things to many readers. When you think about their contents, you'll notice that there's a bit of ambiguity and surrealism in them.
Toadhouse's Gone Fishing with Samy Rosenstock is something extraordinary and deserves the attention of quality-oriented readers who are not afraid of reading something totally different. If you're willing to let yourself be thrilled by thought-provoking and side-splitting texts, don't hesitate to pick up this chapbook, because it is worth reading. It's a rare gem that should be treasured by those who appreciate artistic prose, surrealism and Dadaism.
Highly recommended!