Beach Sloth

Steve Roggenbuck as interviewed by Noah Cicero

                Noah Cicero is a depressed guy from Ohio. I’m sorry, that sentence is redundant. He is a guy from Ohio. Right now Noah is in South Korea writing chapbooks. With his limited spare time he writes posts on HTML Giant. Sometimes I do that too. Here though he ‘gets at the essence’ of what makes Steve Roggenbuck who he is today. 

                Steve talks about the 800-pound Gorilla in the room: positivity. Alt lit is not always happy. There is a ‘seems bleak’ lifestyle. I like Steve because he does put in so much time. When does Steve even sleep? Truly I have no idea. Never have I ever seen Steve sleep. Neutral tones do make up parts of the ‘i am like october when i am dead’. That is his most neutral work to me. Everything else has much stronger emotions. Personally I love the heck out of ‘Crunk Juice’. 

                I like how the negative comment on his poetry convinced Steve to become an internet poet. Haters make you great. For a while I thought about doing an MFA program but decided against it. I learn how to write by doing it every day. My style is my own. Nobody can teach you style. And as a side note, I once had a blogging assignment for a class. I got a B in that class. Yet I receive way more support from my blog than I do from my actual school. Steve follows his dreams and does exactly what he wants to do. That’s actually an unusual way to live. What’s shocking is how few people spend time doing things they hate. Do what you love every day.  

                Meeting people is easy for Steve. He sticks to the coasts. I think he’s going to do some Midwestern trips though. He has a camping trip that will be ustreamed. The way he explains the traveling is good. It almost encourages me to do the same thing. Of course I can’t do that. Sloths move too slowly to ever travel the country. 

                Memeplexes are important. You need to create a full, well-rounded discipline to your art. That takes a huge amount of time. If you do this correctly people know your ticks. Jokes become funnier. Everything is you. You aren’t anybody else. I never understood the idea of ‘imitation is the best form of flattery’. Be yourself. Make your own brand. Write the way you feel you should write, don’t copy anybody else. Copying to me is nice to the person you do it for but it feels a little like a cop out. Believe in yourself. You are a unique person. You can show the world that. Get up right now and give yourself a hug. You’re great. I care about you. Feel that? That’s you. Create, don’t simply consume. Not all art should be the same. 

                What’s weird about this culture, alt lit (sorry I know people have problems with that name) is how overwhelming it can be. I don’t have a TV. The internet is my new TV. No longer am I as passive as I used to be. Now I can interact with culture in a meaningful way. Happy Steve Roggenbuck can show others this way of interaction. 

                Noah’s questions bring out these ideas in my mind. I like this interview. Read it here.