Category: French literature

LE SCAT NOIR #228 HAS ARRIVED!

As you might imagine, putting out a monthly journal such as LSN requires many man-hours (that may sound sexist but the alternative sounds like crap), i.e., hours of intense labor, stress, irritation, befuddlement, blood, sweat, and farts. September’s “Cryptlipo” issue marked our eleventh month as “the only free journal of its kind in America.” Now, with number 228 heralding a year of digital thrills, LSN becomes “the only journal of its kind in America.” That still says a lot.

Alas, in order to continue publishing we were forced to stamp a small price on our cover, but  we believe you’ll find this issue more than worth the cost of admission. Why, just take a look at all the whiz-bang you get for your buck: stories by Alphonse Allais, Paulo Brito, Eckhard Gerdes, Boris Glikman, Jason E. Rolfe, David Macpherson; poetry by Jeff Begato and Paul Rosheim; sublime translations by Mercie Pedro e Silva and Doug Skinner; incomparable art and photography by Farewell Debut, Jim McMenamin, Quixote, and Gail Schneider; original sheet music by Doug Skinner; a mini-feature film by Terri Lloyd; and a special supplement by Norman Conquest. Plus the features you’ve come to rely on: News in a Nutshell, Musical Instruments, Simple Acts of Sabotage, Madame’s Wicked Pack of Cards, and Trump’s Tweetstorm.

Dig in: http://blackscatbooks.net/le-scat-noir.html

 

CHEER UP — IT’S FREE!

The June Gloom issue of LE SCAT NOIR is now available for download. We won’t bother mentioning that  it’s free because  you  already know that. #224 features an international roster of artists and writers, including Alphonse Allais, Adrienne Auvray, Mark Axelrod, Paulo Brito, Norman Conquest, Farewell Debut, Félix Fénéon, Pippa Anais Gaubert, Eckhard Gerdes, Thomas Gresham, Adao Iturrusgarai, Jim Johnson, Rick Krieger, Terri Lloyd, Jim McMenamin, Andy O’Clancy, Frank Pulaski, Jason E. Rolfe, Paul Rosheim, Marina Rubin, Doug Skinner, and Rebecka Skog.

EROS IS EROS IS EROS…

The Special “Eros” Issue of LE SCAT NOIR is now available, featuring titillating texts & images by Adrienne Auvray, Paulo Brito, Tom Bussmann, Norman Conquest, Esbey, Stephanie Gatos, Eckhard Gerdes, Georges Hugnut, Jim Johnson, Steve Katz, Michael Leigh, Terri Lloyd, Mantis Man, Derek Pell, Frank Pulaski, Paul Rosheim, Mercie Pedro e Silva, Doug Skinner, Nile Southern, Carol White. and Mihaly Zichy.  

***includes an excerpt from the novel POSH by Stephanie Gatos.

To preview and download this naughty noir,  CLICK HERE

THE IDIOT GETS A RAVE

“Every time I write about Doug Skinner’s translations of Alphonse Allais – the new one is I Am Sarcey  – I say that Allais’s humor columns and so on ought to be period pieces, historical ephemera, but are better than that, are good.  Still funny; still fun.  This is my only idea about Allais, apparently.  If anything this is even more the case with I Am Sarcey – more ephemeral yet not, but even more so.’

—Wuthering Expectations

CLICK HERE to read the complete review.

And then CLICK HERE and enjoy the book for yourself.

Just in the click of time….

We’ve done our spring cleaning. LE SCAT NOIR is sporting a new logo and masthead design. (Yes, the journal’s mascot “Scatman” has finally made the front cover.) In addition to our regular features (Adrienne Auvray’s “News in a Nutshell,” Terri Lloyd’s “Dear P.B. advice column,” Doug Skinner’s absurd musical instruments, and Frank Pulaski’s no holds barred horoscopes) this special April Fools  issue includes outstanding fiction by Alphonse Allais, Eckhard Gerdes, Jan Vander Laenen, Jason E. Rolfe, and D. Harlan Wilson; humor by Peter Gambaccini; poetry by Paul Rosheim; and sublime art by Darlene Altschul, Paulo Brito, and Carla M. Wilson.

To celebrate spring and the impeachment of Donald J. Trump, we offer readers a free ticket to the festivities. Finally, our short-lived national nightmare is over. Now we can all breathe a sigh of relief.

CLICK HERE to preview and download the issue.

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OK, that’s your freebie for today…now plunk down your coins for Alphonse Allais‘s new collection, I AM SARCEY.  This is the book Black Scat was born to publish.

Now Available Worldwide on Amazon. CLICK HERE to order.

It’s here!



The book Black Scat was born to publish!


Francisque Sarcey was the most influential drama critic in 1890s Paris — and the most conservative. He famously dismissed Alfred Jarry‘s Ubu Roi as “a filthy fraud that deserves nothing but the silence of contempt.” The brilliant humorist Alphonse Allais transformed Sarcey into an Ubuesque piñata in a series of columns published under Sarcey’s name in the newspaper Le Chat Noir.

The pseudo-Sarcey became a prattling idiot, bragging about his appetite and complaining about his impotence, a memorable comic character who often eclipsed the original. This sustained journalistic prank — compiled and translated by Doug Skinner — is destined to become a classic of black humor.

Add this gem to your collection and celebrate April Fools all year long.

I AM SARCEY
Alphonse Allais
Translated from the French by Doug Skinner
Includes an  introduction and complete notes on the text
$12.95 / trade paperback, 218 pp.,
BUY NOW

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CLICK HERE to view all the titles in our Alphonse Allais Collection.

And here’s a GIFT, the April Fools Issue of LE SCAT NOIR.
PREVIEW AND DOWNLOAD HERE

Think Spring!

idiotLooking ahead (no pun intended) to April, it’s going to be a Scatastic  month. Back in 2013, we issued a little limited edition chapbook titled HOW I BECAME AN IDIOT by Francisque Sarcey. It was actually written by the brilliant French humorist Alphonse Allais, who signed Sarcey’s name to a series of columns that appeared in the bohemian journal Le Chat Noir. Sarcey, a well-known drama critic, became the butt of jokes among the literati for his stodgy, conservative views (e.g., he blasted Alfred Jarry‘s absurdist classic UBU ROI).

Our limited edition sold out quickly, but it was just a sampler. Now Doug Skinner has compiled and translated all the columns in a delicious 200+ paged trade paperback edition: I AM SARCEY.

full-cover

These texts reveal Allais at his wicked best and the book is a must-have for fans of hilarious black humor. This volume marks the seventh title in our Alphonse Allais Collection, and our resident Allais scholar, Doug Skinner, provides a sublime introduction and notes on each text.

Only an idiot would pass up I AM SARCEY when it rolls off the press on April 1st.

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Also on tap is a special (redesigned) April Fools Issue of LE SCAT NOIR. You can download a copy on our web site (BlackScatBooks.net) on April 1st for FREE.

No joke!

Mark your calendars.

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Get it while it’s hot…

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The February issue has just launched and you can read it for free at THIS LINK.

LE SCAT NOIR #220 features works by an international cast of misfits:  Christopher Barnes, Paulo Brito, Eckhard Gerdes, Thomas Gresham, Colin James, Michael Leigh, Terri Lloyd, Samantha Memi, Frank Pulaski, Jason E. Rolfe, Merve Semsar, Doug Skinner, and  Franciszka Themerson.