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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 – Katharine Macfarlane (Redux)

It’s just one day until #TrumpInauguration, and two days until The End of the World (Party). So let’s take this last chance to settle down in the company of Katharine Macfarlane, shall we?

But not at interrobang!
The end of the world DOES lose all mirth for you.

Since we last heard from her, Katharine has added placing at the Scottish Slam Championships to her Harpies, Fechters and Quines Slam title! So we’re very excited to have her come through and give us an interesting perspective on the Trumpocalypse.

Here’s how Katharine 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).

KM: Is this your polite way of saying I’m not getting an invite to Interrobang’s Apocalypse Party??!! I’d be in my happy place; on a beach, bonfire, bottle of talisker, some lovely people playing tunes…basically  Interrobang’s Apocalypse Party but on the beach!

Beach!! GEDDIT!!!
Hi! Welcome to the INTERROBANG?! “Beach” 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?

KM: It’s all about Mary Anne.

‽: 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?

KM:  No surprise they’re all children’s books… The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Yendor – Rodney Matthews, The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien

Books for kids are a good thing: Exhibit A
(h/t @alastairmjsmith for RTing this)

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

KM:

Now, THAT’S going on the Interrobang?! EotW playlist!

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

KM: Send help (sorry)

Thanks a lot to Katharine, who’s retained her Interrobang?! Interrogation Championship! Come along and find out who Mary Anne is at Interrobang’s End of the World Beach Party at Woodland Creatures at 7pm on 21st January.

Beach not guaranteed.

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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.”

‽: 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?

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.

‽: 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?

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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The End of the World Party?!

We’re only a week away from Inauguration Day! Unless you’re really keen, and it’s still the evening of Thursday, 12th January.

Nah man, the jokes are on INTERROBANG?!
“Seven more sleeps. Joke’s on you, nasty Edinburgh people!”

And that means we’re only a week and one day away from INTERROBANG?!’s End of the World Party!!! – 7pm, Saturday 21 January at Woodland Creatures.

We were planning to take INTERROBANG?! on a wee hiatus for the first quarter of 2017. Take a moment to absorb the lessons of our first mini-season.

Dreaming of doughnuts.... Mmm, doughnuts.
Bored now…

But while we were preparing for The War on Christmas?! Heather and Laura of the endlessly awesome 404 Ink (and Nasty Women, our favourite kind) asked if we were planning a show to mark the anointment of The Donald. Well, we hadn’t been…

So. Are you ready for the New World Order, President Donald J. Trump Style? We’re not. 21 January is Post-Trump-Inauguration Day and we’d like to commiserate with you. Come along to INTERROBANG?!‘s fourth night of frivolity and fun, listen to some post-apocalyptic poetry and story-telling, and get inordinately drunk with us.

Fire onstage only
Arrive promptly and do Dr Pepper Bombs with your hosts? G’WAN!!!

Performing on this confusingly sad yet fragilely optimistic night, we have:

  • The wonderful RYAN VAN WINKLE, KATHARINE MACFARLANE, ANDREW BLAIR, and LAURA WADDELL?!
  • Edinburgh’s greatest living writer of the humorous, volunteer-performed, two-handed playlet, JACQUES TSIANTAR’s latest Big Two-Hander, specially themed with hopelessness and despair?!?!
  • Harpies, Fechters and Quines 2016 Slam Champion KATHARINE MACFARLANE travelling through to Edinburgh with a set themed on the President-elect’s mother’s island home?!?!?!

Aye, well, that’s well worth a wee Google

Your INTERROBANG?! hosts, RICKY MONAHAN BROWN and BETH COCHRANE will also offer some words of condolence on the night.

And since y’all make INTERROBANG?!, a couple of Interrobangers will be joining our performers on stage with (it says here) 5-7 minutes of apocalyptic work. It’s a ton of fun, we promise!

Come mourn, laugh and drink with us, for a charmingly small door charge of £5 – a fee which goes into paying our performers and funding INTERROBANG?!’s future endeavours. And we’ve got some YUGE, format-bending fun coming up in 2017.

Who knows what 2017 will bring, so enjoy it while you can!

Or 12-20 January, frankly
DISCLAIMER: The INTERROBANG?! End of the World Party does not guarantee the survival of the world 20-21 January.

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The Interrobang Interrogation – Gavin Inglis

It’s the War On Christmas Eve!

Well, not Christmas Eve. We like Christmas Eve. It’s… well, never mind. Let’s try that again.

We’ve got another Interrobang Interrogation with a featured 404 Ink author today – Gavin Inglis.

Gavin writes games and interactive stories, contributing to fitness app Zombies, Run! and gothic tea-break epic Fallen London. Depending on your mood, you can try his sensitive mental health piece Hana Feels (http://hanafeels.com/) or wreak a blood-soaked revenge on your home town in the phone game Neighbourhood Necromancer.
(https://www.choiceofgames.com/neighbourhood-necromancer/)

His book Crap Ghosts is an ideal Xmas present for those hard-to-please relatives. You can find Gavin at www.gavininglis.com, and @gavininglis on Twitter.

"A questionnaire, you say? Sounds like fun!"
Gavin models his Christmas jumper

And here’s how Gavin answered our questions:

‽:  If you had to write a letter to ‘Santa’, is there anything you’d particularly like to say to him?

GI:  Thanks for that Fisher-Price garage; it was totally worth waiting a year for.

‽:  What film would you choose to watch at Christmas?

GI:  Trading Places

‽:  Is there a Christmas tradition you’d love to get rid of?

GI:  I’d criminalise the display of any Xmas merchandise before Dec 11th.

‽: What song would you like as your entry music at War on Christmas? Or should we just choose something?

GI: I’m Gonna Spend my Christmas With a Dalek by the [English, 1960s] Go-⁠Gos.

‽: You’re talking Ricky Interrobang’s language!

‽: What’s on your Christmas wishlist this year?

GI:  I’d just like people to be nicer to strangers this year.

Thanks a lot to Gavin for that wee aperitif! Come along to Interrobang and 404 Ink – The War on Christmas at The Bongo Club on 9th December as he delivers a quick appetizer and then a main course of his story from 404 Ink Issue 1: Error!

How to Ruin Xmas

To warm up for The War on Christmas, Ricky Interrobang has been reflecting on the inept campaign waged by his favourite band, forgotten indie stumblebums, Birds Fate…

I’ve just opened the doors on my advent calendars for the sixth of December. “Tobacco” beard oil, a jasmine green tea light ale, and a piece of chocolate bearing the countenance of an appropriately sceptical elf, since you ask.

I swear, I’m not making this up!

He sees when you don't upcycle
You better shop local/Hipster Santa’s coming to town

At this time of year, it feels appropriate to relate a particular yuletide tale of Birds Fate, the deservedly-forgotten transatlantic shoegaze band that inspired the formation of Nerd Bait. Continue reading “How to Ruin Xmas”

The Interrobang Interrogation – Christina Neuwirth

Knock-knock. Who’s behind door number 5 of our War on Christmas?! advent calendar? Why, it’s another 404 Ink featured author, Christina Neuwirth!

Aargh! Look to the left!! Krampus!!!
Christina enjoying her interrogation altogether too much. (Photo credit: Andrew Perry)

Christina Neuwirth was born in Austria and now lives in Edinburgh where she splits her time between working at Scottish PEN and the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (home of the Dangerous Women Project). She has produced and written short films, performed at the International Storytelling Festival, and dabbled in music production. Her short fiction has been published in Gutter and 404 Ink, and her non-fiction can be found on CommonSpace. Her novella Amphibian was shortlisted for the 2016 Novella Award. She is currently writing her first novel. You can say hi at @gwynn255. Find Scottish PEN at @ScottishPEN and www.scottishpen.org, and the Dangerous Women Project on @DangerousWomen_ and www.dangerouswomenproject.org.

And here’s how Christina answered our questions:

‽:  If you had to write a letter to ‘Santa’, is there anything you’d particularly like to say to him?

CN:

Dear Santa,

In my country, you don’t exist. I was never taught to believe in you. Instead, we have a little angel child who wears a nightgown and has curly blonde hair and is also Jesus.

Love,

Christina

‽: What film would you choose to watch at Christmas?

CN: My sister and I always watch the highly underrated 1998 animated feature Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie on VHS. My dad has kept the VHS player around for precisely this reason. It’s a great tradition.

‽: Is there a Christmas tradition you’d love to get rid of?

CN: Krampus. He is terrifying. On 5 and 6 December, Krampus, who is St Nicolas’s friend/sidekick/nemesis walks the streets. He is a furry goat-footed horned long-tongued devil creature who, in the spirit of Christmas, threatens children with bodily harm for their sins. Festive!

‽: What song would you like as your entry music at War on Christmas? Or should we just choose something?

CN: All I Want for Christmas Is You, please. It’s the best one. (If someone’s already picked that I’m also happy with Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree).

‽: Oh, we think that can be arranged. ? In the meantime, here’s Mariah…

‽: What’s on your Christmas wishlist this year?

CN: I know I can’t actually make this happen with my wish but I’d really like some snow this year.

Thanks a lot to Christina for her banging answers to The Interrobang Xmas Interrogation. Come along to Interrobang and 404 Ink – The War on Christmas at The Bongo Club on 9th December for more of Christina being her awesome self!

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The Interrobang Interrogation – Chris McQueer

We’re in December, or in Irish (we’re told), the month of Christmas.  In Scottish Gaelic, it’s effectively (apparently) the darkness.

So let’s kick off the countdown to The War on Christmas?! with an Interrobang Interrogation of 404 Ink featured author, Chris McQueer…

A cheeky little fortified wine brewed by monks in Devonshire
Administer the truth serum!

Chris McQueer is a 25 year old writer and sales assistant from Glasgow. His work has appeared in The High Flight fanzine, The Football Pink magazine and most recently in 404 Ink: Error. When he isn’t selling shoes, busting queues or writing weird short stories, you will most likely find him spouting nonsense at house parties with a bottle of Buckfast in hand.

And here’s how Chris answered our questions:

?!: If you had to write a letter to ‘Santa’, is there anything you’d particularly like to say to him?

CM: Why did I get a VHS player instead of the PlayStation I requested when I was 8? I already had a perfectly good video player.

?!: What film would you choose to watch at Christmas?

CM: Jingle All the Way with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not only the best Christmas film of all time but the best film ever made in general.

?!: Is there a Christmas tradition you’d love to get rid of?

CM: Turkey for Christmas dinner. It’s so bland and tasteless. No wonder we only eat it once a year.

?!: What song would you like as your entry music at War on Christmas? Or should we just choose something?

CM: Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) by Edison Lighthouse is probably my favourite song ever so that would be nice to walk on to please.

INTERROBANG?! – Making Christmas wishes come true since 2016

?!: What’s on your Christmas wishlist this year?

CM: I work in retail so I’m just looking forward to the day off really. And maybe a new laptop. And loads of books.
Thanks a lot to Chris for getting into the spirit of The War on Christmas?! Come along to Interrobang and 404 Ink – The War on Christmas at The Bongo Club on 9th December for more words of wisdom from Chris!

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We Went There?!

They say You Can’t Go Back Again, but with the help of a full house at Woodland Creatures, we proved them wrong, didn’t we?!

No, not that kind!
Quick, moar booz!

Thanks to our brilliant featured guests, Allyson Stack, Daniel Shand, and Elise Hadgraft, for helping us avoid the dreaded “difficult second album” syndrome. Thanks to our excellent volunteer performers. And thanks to our intrepid “Edith” and “Harry” for submitting to Jacques’ Big Two-Hander.

Thanks again to our co-Interrobanger Jacques Tsiantar for guiding Edith and Harry through our recurring bit, and for handling the sound desk. Thanks also to Ricky’s bandmates in Nerd Bait, Stephanie and Paul, for providing music at the last minute when Katharine Macfarlane couldn’t join us through illness. We’re really looking forward to having her for series 2! And thanks to our good pal, Tonsy for these awesome photos! And finally, thanks to the folks at Woodland Creatures for taking such good care of all of us.

...without a time machine, this time
Harry and Edith, happy we’re all going to get to do this AGAIN

Most of all, thanks to our audience for equaling the enthusiasm displayed at the INTERROBANG?! premiere!

As announced at the show, the next INTERROBANG?! is going to be a very special festive episode. Bring your loudest voices, your Christmas jumpers, and five minutes of your own material on… what?! Keep checking in here, and on our Twitter or Facebook for more details as they emerge. It’s going to be super-exciting, and we can’t wait to share it all with you!

Synchronise watches for 7pm on 9 Dec!
See you… SOON!

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