Tag: black humor
LET THERE BE LAUGHTER!
Just in time for the holidays, THE ALPHONSE ALLAIS READER has arrived!
Drawn from Black Scat’s eight editions of the master French absurdist, this compendium is a sublime introduction to the wordplay and black humor that shocked and dazzled Bohemian Paris in the raucous “Banquet Years.” The READER includes the celebrated pataphysical text “A Thoroughly Parisian Drama”—a favorite of both André Breton and the Oulipians—as well as stories, plays, an excerpt from his only novel, and the classic exploits of Captain Cap and Francisque Sarcey. The translator, Doug Skinner, has added copious notes and an illuminating introduction.
Step into the funhouse! Laughs and surprises await!
CLICK HERE to order on Amazon.
.
The Three Faces of Masks
Black Scat launched its first book on July 4th, 2012. MASKS by Alphonse Allais was #1 in our Absurdist Texts & Documents series of limited edition chapbooks. The original volume (above left)—adapted, translated and illustrated by artist Norman Conquest—was limited to only 50 copies. It sold out quickly and is a prized collector’s item today.
In 2015, we issued a revised and expanded edition (center) featuring an introduction and notes on the text by Allaisian scholar Doug Skinner.
The first two editions had limited distribution and were only available directly from the printer. Today we’re launching a third edition of this mischievous pataphysical tale — available on Amazon in North America and Europe.
If you missed this little gem, CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON.
View our complete Alphonse Allais Collection
Just in time for spring…
24 tales of twisted wit, black humor, & TANGLED PLOTS by the author of SLEEPYTIME CEMETERY. Skinner’s fiction constitutes a curious genre all its own. In HIS NEW collection, THE SNOWMAN THREE DOORS DOWN, you’ll discover a vision that may startle and confound, but is guaranteed to entertain.
or
TRY BEFORE YOU BUY — CLICK AND DOWNLOAD A FREE SAMPLE
“In” Tunes for the tuned in
THE DOUG SKINNER SONGBOOK has arrived!
Black humor hits a high note in this grand collection of music & lyrics. “Buenas Noches, Little Roaches,” “Breeders Can’t Be Choosers,” “My Pal Satan,” and many more of Skinner’s greatest hits in one snazzY large format paperback EDITION. This compilation of hand-crafted sheet music makes the perfect accompaniment to every nuclear family gathering. SO huddle round the piano and rev up those vocal cords!
CRITICS RAVE FOR DOUG SKINNER’S TUNES
“Chillingly zany” —The New York Times
“Deceptively dark and satirical” —Cover
“Very witty and well-written jeux des mots” —Woodstock Times
“Scathingly witty… lullabies etched in acid” —Metro Magazine
“Clever and delightfully barbed” —Paper
AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE ON AMAZON — CLICK HERE TO ORDER
About Doug Sinner
Doug Skinner has contributed articles and cartoons to Black Scat Review, Oulipo Pornobongo, The Fortean Times, Strange Attractor Journal, Fate, Weirdo, The Anomalist, Nickelodeon, Cabinet, and other fine publications. Black Scat has published several books of his stories and cartoons, as well as his translations of the French humorist Alphonse Allais.
He has written music for several dance companies, including ODC-San Francisco and Margaret Jenkins; his scores for actor/clown Bill Irwin include The Regard of Flight, The Courtroom, The Regard Evening, and The Harlequin Studies. He has performed his songs (the ones inside this book) in many theaters, clubs, and cabarets. His puppet shows with Michael Smith have been seen everywhere from Caroline’s Comedy Club in Manhattan to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
TV and movie appearances include Great Performances, The ‘90s, Martin Mull’s Talent Takes a Holiday, Ed, Crocodile Dundee II, and a smattering of commercials.
He lived for decades in Manhattan, but has moved to New Paltz, a few miles to the north.
Click here for a Free sample.
Chat on a Hot Tin Roof
Things are really heating up and the August issue of LE SCAT NOIR has arrived just in the nick of time. #226 has an all-star international cast of cool characters, hot fiction, art, poetry, and news you won’t find anywhere else. Featuring Alphonse Allais, Mark Axelrod, Suzanne Burns, Michael Cina, John Diamond-Nigh, Ian Dooley, Rose Knapp, Terri Lloyd, Amit Nayak, Frank Pulaski, Doug Rice, Paul Rosheim, Jason E. Rolfe, Gail Schneider, Doug Skinner, Dominic Viti, Tom Whalen, and Carla M. Wilson.
As always the new issue is free and you can download a copy at this LINK.
If you enjoy LSN, please considering making a small donation and help keep your monthly dose of sublime art & lit free for all.
Cheers!
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
***
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!
Looking 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.
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.
****
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.
Get it while it’s hot…
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.
Come One, Come All
blackscatbooks.com 