Reader Meet Author: Michael Bible

When Oxford's Dent May sang, "College town boy, get off your a** and do something" (check out Dent's recent Daytrotter Session), his roommate Michael Bible listened. Just in the last few months Michael has released a chapbook through Achilles Chapbooks, co-launched an incredible magazine called Kitty Snacks, and now is working on his next collection. Much like Dent, Michael likes to keep his efforts local, but with each new project and collaboration this Oxford resident is making presence felt on a national and global level.

Kitty Snacks is a literary journal on the surface, but also provides an interesting look art and music through illustrations and interviews. There are limited copies of the first issue still available and a copy or two was recently spotted at Quimby's here in Chicago. The cover was designed and illustrated fellow Mississippi native and long time Orange Alert friend Will Bryant.

With this flurry of activity I thought it was the perfect time ask Mr. Bible about Kitty Snacks, Dent May and more.

Orange Alert (OA): The first issue of Kitty Snacks turned out great, and seeing that it combines lit, art, and music I feel in love instantly. How did you decide to start a print journal and are you pleased with the how the first issued turned out?
Michael Bible (MB): It was my good buddy David Swider's idea. He wanted to have a lit zine in Oxford, Mississippi a long time ago to showcase local talent. We would talk about the zine all the time. It was major excitement for me. Then he was having trouble getting everything done on time and I said, "Hell, I'll help you edit." Things started to take shape pretty quick after that because we pushed each other. David does most of the art and design and I pick the stories and poems, but we always talk about everything. I'm jazzed about the first issue, for sure. A lot of the content was from people we knew from Oxford or had some Oxford/Mississippi connection. King Khan has a 7 inch on Fat Possum, Animal Collective recorded their last album here and signed my buddy Dent, Jack Pendarvis lives in Oxford etc. Except for Sam Pink. I've just been a huge fan of his stuff for awhile. We want to expand Kitty Snacks, always. I want it to have more content in the next issue, as much as we can pack in.

OA: You are located in Oxford, Mississippi, which seems to be a hot spot for talented people right now, and in Oxford there seems to be a movement to keep production local and distribute nationally. Where do you feel that idea comes from and do you find yourself looking locally first before reaching out? What is the scene like in Oxford?
MB: The best thing is when people get weird in their own backyards. I have a lot of talented friends who write and sing and make films and do visual art, so it seemed natural to ask them for stuff first. I'm also a big geek for art and writing. It's fun to reach out to people I admire.

Oxford's always changing cause it's a college town. There are tons of good-time guys and gals but there are also plenty of amateur snobs and ponytail eggheads like everywhere else. We have a fine bookstore, Square Books, and Fat Possum Records is here and the Lyric Theater attracts a lot of big music. I live out in Taylor now, about ten minutes south of town, and love it out there.

OA: You through what looks like a big party for the release of Kitty Snacks, do you plan to do that for each release?
MB: We plan to throw a big party for every issue, yes. And many parties in between those parties. Yes, yes, yes. Lots of parties.

OA: The first issue is almost sold out, do you think you may print more or just move forward to what sound like a great second issue?
MB: I doubt we'll do a second run of the first issue. Printing is expensive and I think we always saw the first one as a kind of limited edition thing. We've got most of the content done for the second issue so we're going ahead with that. We're shooting for the first of the summer for the release date.

OA: You also recently released a chapbook through Achilles Chapbooks. What can you tell us about My Second Best Bear Rug?
MB: It has a brown cover with bear claws on it. It came out in February. It's flash fiction or micro-fiction or whatever you call it. Little stories, all about a page long.

OA: What was it like working with Barry Graham?
MB: Barry is the man. I didn't know anything about him when I sent him my stuff. I found his press by accident. I'm glad I did because now I'm a big fan of his writing and of Dogzplot and the stuff he's published on Paper Hero Press and Achilles. He was awesome every step of the way with my chapbook. It was my first real publication and he answered all my annoying questions with kindness. I've never met him in person but he's doing a reading down here in the fall and I'm excited about getting to have a drink with him.

OA: You are also a musician, and played drums on the debut full-length album from Dent May. I am extremely happy to see Dent finally getting the attention he deserves, what was it like to work on his album? Do you also tour with him?
MB: Working on Dent's record was crazy. I was finishing my MFA thesis at the same time I was working on the record. It was great to go from one thing to the next. I would listen to the play backs while I copy edited. Rusty Santos was the producer and we recorded it in the trailer we were living in at the time in Taylor. Rusty came down from New York and he got us into shape. We built a working studio in the trailer in like two days, which wasn't easy. He made me dig a fire pit in the backyard and we cooked all our food over it the whole time he was there. He was unfortunately destroyed by chiggers which often happens to visiting Yankees for some reason.

I went on Dent's first tour which was only a week long, but it was a blast. He's got a tour of the states coming up I'm thinking about going on. Touring is fun but exhausting and I'm kind of a homebody. We'll see. Dent and I first started playing music together in a classic country band a la Gram Parsons/Ray Price called Cowboy Maloney's Electric City. I'd planned on writing extensive liner notes for the album telling the story of Cowboy Maloney. We talked about it being this unfinished country-rock opera that this kid, Cowboy Maloney, writes in his basement for his English teacher. There's a story in my chapbook that came from working on that and Dent's songs for Maloney's are still some of my favorite he's written. Right now the project's on hold cause we're both busy with other stuff, but I'd love to get back to it someday. I think we will.

OA: What's next for Michael Bible?
MB: I have chapbook of longer stories coming out in August on Greying Ghost Press called Gorilla Math. I also have a book of plays (and maybe some fiction) called Your Ashtray Tastes Like a Mouth I'm working on publishing with Mike Bushnell, but I don't think I'm supposed to talk about it yet. And I will keep pressing on with Kitty Snacks, of course.

For more information on Michael Bible and Kitty Snacks please visit their website.