End of the World Party Archives

The Interrobang Interrogation – Laura Waddell

We promised a treat for everyone who came to keep us company at the End of The World (Party), and here it is. She entertained and enlightened us at the show – it’s LAURA WADDELL’s Interrobang Interrogation!

Laura Waddell enjoys the Interrobang Interrogation — “Just one sip of water? This is the worst!”

Laura works in publishing, specialising in PR, marketing and editorial for indie publishers. She runs the poetry newsletter Lunchtime Poetry. She’s a writer and reviewer, with articles and short stories published in The Independent, Sunday Mail, 3:AM Magazine, Parallel magazine, Gutter, Glasgow Review of Books, and others, and is a contributor to the forthcoming books The Digital Critic and Nasty Women. Phew!

‽: So, it’s the end of the world. If you weren’t at Interrobang’s apocalyptic party, where would you be and what would you be doing? (Don’t be afraid to give us the juicy details).

LW: Eating junk food in the bath.

Ask Ricky about his "Quadrophenia" if you like The Who — No, Roger Daltrey, beans are too healthy!

‽: No reason for salads at this point. Without giving too much away, could you tell us a little about the inspiration behind the pieces you’ll be sharing with us at Interrobang?

LW: One of the pieces was written for the Dangerous Women project. Responding to statistics that show the world is often hostile to women’s speech, it’s a manifesto encouraging us to push through and speak up.

‽: Picture it – all around the world, books are being taken and destroyed, except literature that upholds our new President’s literary sensibilities. You have the chance to save three books from this Reign of Terror; what would they be?

LW: To bolster resolve, Rebecca Solnit’s Men Explain Things to Me. To find meaning and beauty in everyday surroundings, the Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams. To encourage writers to push through censorship, a blank notebook.

Also, white chickens — A beautiful thing.

‽: Pick a song or piece of music that you would have played as your personal soundtrack as the world crumbles around you.

LW: This is a great resistance song. Might as well go out fighting and dancing.

YES IT IS!!!

‽: Describe, in three words if possible, your feelings on Trump’s Presidency?

LW: Resist. Deny. Refuse.

________________

Thanks a lot to Laura for providing the fuel we need to get us through the bleak post-apocalyptic landscape. If you caught her at Interrobang’s End of the World Party at Woodland Creatures at 7pm on 21st January, you’re a lucky bunny.

For a little more Laura, sign up for Lunchtime Poetry here.

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The Interrobang Interrogation – Andrew Blair

Is it just us, or does that asteroid look bigger? Better get some more INTERROBANG?! Interrogations out before the End of the World!

Ricky Interrobang is still confused about how to feel about the sweet, sweet release of the apocalypse. So we’re subjecting another guest to the anglepoise treatment. ANDREW BLAIR writes things. Sometimes he says them too. He says it’s going alright, actually. Thanks for asking.

And here’s how Andrew answered our questions…

Can you spare the price of 5 loaves and 2 fish?! — A guy who looks this messianic MUST have some answers. Right?!

‽: So, it’s the end of the world. If you weren’t at Interrobang’s apocalyptic party, where would you be and what would you be doing? (Don’t be afraid to give us the juicy details).

AB: I’d probably be at home, not really doing anything. If the world was going to end I’d probably put the heating on.

She's just like us, y'know — One’s got the two-bar fire on. Andrew will be here in a minute.

‽: That should move things along. Without giving too much away, could you tell us a little about the inspiration behind the pieces you’ll be sharing with us at Interrobang?

AB: You guys came up with a theme and fortunately I already had a lot of poems about futility and disappointment.

Oh, you're gonna fit right in. — “Here’s one I wrote earlier.”

AB: The Handmaid’s Tale, The Crow Road, and Robert Pattinson (The A-Z)

‽: Pick a song or piece of music that you would have played as your personal soundtrack as the world crumbles around you.

AB: Halcyon (Beautiful Days) by Mono. Or if time is an issue, Girl From Mars by Ash.

We have all the time in the world (8m 09s)

‽: Describe, in three words if possible, your feelings on Trump’s Presidency?

AB: I am terrified.

Thanks a lot to Andrew for making us think that the end of the world might be a good thing, on balance. Come along and hear more from him at Interrobang’s End of the World Party at Woodland Creatures at 7pm on 21st January.

We think it’ll be a good thing, on balance.

The Interrobang Interrogation – Ryan Van Winkle

There ain’t no party like an End of the World Party!

But the problem with an End of the World Party is that, while there’s frivolity and fun and drinking and stuff, it’s… well… y’know, the end of the world. It’s all very confusing, so we’ve decided the enlist the help of our awesome guests to get us in the right mindset. First up is RYAN VAN WINKLE!

Incoming! Brace. Brace! BRACE! — Ryan’s tip #1: Adopt the foetal position.

Ryan is a poet, live artist, podcaster and critic living in Edinburgh. His second collection, The Good Dark, won the Saltire Society’s 2015 Poetry Book of the Year award. His poems have appeared in New Writing Scotland, The Prairie Schooner and The American Poetry Review.

As a member of Highlight Arts he has organized festivals and translation workshops in Syria, Pakistan and Iraq. He was awarded a Robert Louis Stevenson fellowship in 2012 and a residency at The Studios of Key West in 2016. You can find his website at www.ryanvanwinkle.com.

And here’s how Ryan answered our questions:

‽: So, it’s the end of the world. If you weren’t at Interrobang’s apocalyptic party, where would you be and what would you be doing? (Don’t be afraid to give us the juicy details).

RVW: I would gather as many friends & fireworks as I could in one place and we’d go out with a giant bang.

Any chance of a ride? — Hi? I’m looking for Ryan’s party?

‽: Without giving too much away, could you tell us a little about the inspiration behind the pieces you’ll be sharing with us at Interrobang?

RVW: The inspiration for Untitled (Snoopy) was an essay on the ‘worst opening line in English literature’. I wanted to play with the very purple and cliched expression It was a dark & stormy night and this poem grew from that experiment.

Snoopy and Lucy Van Winkle — Everyone’s a critic.

RVW: George Saunders – Civilwarland in Bad Decline, Brian Stevenson – Just Mercy: A Story of Redemption & Justice, and Mary Ruefle – Trances of the Blast.

‽: Pick a song or piece of music that you would have played as your personal soundtrack as the world crumbles around you.

RVW: Hanson – MMMBop

Fair enough, really.

‽: Describe, in three words if possible, your feelings on Trump’s Presidency?

RVW: sensitive, surreal, stoic

Thanks a lot to Ryan for getting us in the mood for the end of the world! Come along to Interrobang’s End of the World Party at Woodland Creatures at 7pm on 21st January and see if you can bear his sensitivity, surrealism, and stoicism (and acclaimed work!) in the flesh.

If it really is the end of the world, it’ll be one hell of a way to go out!

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