{"id":4566,"date":"2022-05-18T14:44:26","date_gmt":"2022-05-18T18:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/?p=4566"},"modified":"2022-05-19T12:01:24","modified_gmt":"2022-05-19T16:01:24","slug":"the-new-la-brat-pack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/the-new-la-brat-pack\/","title":{"rendered":"LONE STAR BEACONS, HIGH DESERT DEFECTORS, AND THE NEW L.A. BRAT PACK"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow aligncenter\" data-effect=\"slide\"><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_container swiper-container\"><ul class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_swiper-wrapper swiper-wrapper\"><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-4571\" data-id=\"4571\" src=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-1-853x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-1-853x1024.jpg 853w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-1-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-1-768x922.jpg 768w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-1.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-4573\" data-id=\"4573\" src=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-2-853x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-2-853x1024.jpg 853w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-2-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-2-768x922.jpg 768w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-2.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-4567\" data-id=\"4567\" src=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-3-853x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-3-853x1024.jpg 853w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-3-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-3-768x922.jpg 768w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-3.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-4574\" data-id=\"4574\" src=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/no-seam-tle-4-853x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/no-seam-tle-4-853x1024.jpg 853w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/no-seam-tle-4-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/no-seam-tle-4-768x922.jpg 768w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/no-seam-tle-4.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-4575\" data-id=\"4575\" src=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-5-853x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-5-853x1024.jpg 853w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-5-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-5-768x922.jpg 768w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-5.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-4576\" data-id=\"4576\" src=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-6-853x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-6-853x1024.jpg 853w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-6-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-6-768x922.jpg 768w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-6.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-4568\" data-id=\"4568\" src=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-7-853x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-7-853x1024.jpg 853w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-7-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-7-768x922.jpg 768w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-7.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-4569\" data-id=\"4569\" src=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-8-853x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-8-853x1024.jpg 853w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-8-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-8-768x922.jpg 768w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-8.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-4572\" data-id=\"4572\" src=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-9-853x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-9-853x1024.jpg 853w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-9-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-9-768x922.jpg 768w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-9.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_slide swiper-slide\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_image wp-image-4570\" data-id=\"4570\" src=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-10-853x1024.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-10-853x1024.jpg 853w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-10-250x300.jpg 250w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-10-768x922.jpg 768w, https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tle-mag-10.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-prev swiper-button-prev swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-next swiper-button-next swiper-button-white\" role=\"button\"><\/a><a aria-label=\"Pause Slideshow\" class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_button-pause\" role=\"button\"><\/a><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-slideshow_pagination swiper-pagination swiper-pagination-white\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>All photographs by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/lillillillizzielillil\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Liz McGrane<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><b><br>LONE STAR BEACONS,&nbsp;<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>HIGH DESERT DEFECTORS,&nbsp;<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>AND THE NEW L.A. BRAT PACK.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>One reason I moved to The Last Estate was to write exactly what I want, at my own pace; no one telling me what to do, when, or how to do it. I find it difficult to even celebrate my writing, because nothing is ever finished; our work a river, overflowing, ever-replenished.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><br>Now that I\u2019m on the other side of the pitch desk, of course it\u2019s already getting kind of old. Publishers and writers often ask me to review a book the week of its release, or to set up a reading for them with little notice. On one hand, I can\u2019t blame the hustle, but I wish many young authors \u2013 and older ones who should know better \u2013 would contact me three months in advance like they might actually care about my time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><br>But one young writer I\u2019m always glad to hear from is Chandler Morrison, the \u201cextreme\u201d literary-horror author who is so much more than that. Style-wise, Morrison takes more cues from Bret Easton Ellis than Stephen King, and while he\u2019s created a \u201cbrand,\u201d he constantly subverts expectations from his fans\u2014or his detractors, when they think they\u2019ve got him nailed to the cross.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><br>In fact, I sort of owe the journalism I do to Morrison being such a compelling figure, enough for me to track him down for an interview back in summer of 2020. I had just read his depraved, smog-veiled neo-noir <i>Along the Path of Torment <\/i>and couldn\u2019t get it out of my head; under my skin like scabies. Through the book I felt a sort of kinship with him, and once I found out he was only 26\u2014in the midst of being heavily maligned and misunderstood by the horror community \u2014 I felt protective of him, compelled to put him in correct and deserved light for our culture\u2019s sake. So, I interviewed him first without giving it any thought to where I would place it, until Lit Reactor published it, and I\u2019ve been with them ever since.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><br>While typically stoic, choosing even his most casual words with surgical precision, Chandler recently messaged me with atypical enthusiasm, bordering on unhinged with a unique pitch:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cGabe, hear me out\u2014there are so many hot authors in L.A. right now and literally no one is talking about this. It\u2019s literally a Hot Author Renaissance. We\u2019re, like, Making Literature Hot Again. Someone needs to be shedding light on this and I think it should be you.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cHey Chandler, great to hear from you, though I haven\u2019t a clue what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cYou just kinda crossed my mind this weekend \u2014 I was out with Tea Hacic-Vlahovic, Jon Lindsey, and Allie Rowbottom, and Tea\u2019s husband made a comment how we were \u2018like the Brat Pack.\u2019 It got me thinking, that would be a cool article: The New Brat Pack. Hot young authors who buck the writer stereotype and embody the antiquated idea of the glamorous literary crowd. There\u2019s a bunch of a cool writers you could include \u2014 Eris, DuVay, Elle Nash, etc. Could be something cool, like the types of articles Vanity Fair used to publish in the Tina Brown era.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>My mind ignited \u2013 I was totally picking up what Chandler was throwing down. Visions of classy, full page glamor spreads of L.A. authors who live like rock stars, exuding so much style and personality that you almost didn\u2019t even need to read their books \u2014 but you might feel very left out of the conversation if you hadn\u2019t. No doubt this coming brainstorm was also informed by the <i>Once Upon A Time at Bennington College<\/i> podcast, which Chandler and I had recently gushed about to one another. Lili Anolik\u2019s salacious, no-stone unturned series tells-all; where Ellis, Donna Tartt, and other young writers converged at that cultural axis, their paths overlapping, back when the media still embraced literature as its deserved exalted art form.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cI like this, Chandler. Since none of us can expect to get that Fuccboi money, we can at least \u2018become\u2019 the media at this point of our careers: inform the legends, have full control over the information, how our personal stories are presented \u2014 the Malcolm McLaren approach.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cExactly, Gabe. With the media being what it\u2019s become, and all the ways it\u2019s beholden to nefarious influences that really don\u2019t give a shit about art that doesn\u2019t also function as policy-enforcing propaganda, it\u2019s easy to get disillusioned. But journalists who do the type of things you do just prove that it\u2019s actually time for something new and better, which is exciting.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Then, I nosedive, suddenly self-conscious; how my accidental journalist reputation often overshadows my priority as an author, that I only write criticism\/conduct interviews for the money and for the exercise \u2014 strictly, so I\u2019ll be a better novelist. Yet, my agent recently sent me an email saying my novel was rejected by 23 of the biggest publishers in America, so maybe I should just accept my fate as an aging, bitter literary journalist who at the very least, has his finger on the pulse of some of the most brilliant young writers out there.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cSo, Chandler, if I did this, it would be a mainly photo-driven piece, right? Like, captions listing all the designer brands the authors are wearing, maybe an irreverent quote, something visually iconic, unforgettable, yes?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cOh, totally. I knew you\u2019d know what I was talking about. There\u2019s this whole group of us who have similar aesthetics and sensibilities and something like this could contribute to placing authors back in the cultural conversation in a really cool way.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cCool, cool. So who, besides you, were you thinking?\u201d <\/i>Rather than volunteer myself, I gave him ample chance to include me in the short list.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cOh, you know\u2026 like I said, Jon Lindsey, Allie Rowbottom, Eris, maybe Marston Hefner if we could get him\u2026 Oh! Autumn Christian and Stephanie Yue Duhem are going to be in town too\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>Chandler?<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>Yeah, obviously me too\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>No, Chandler\u2014listen to me\u2026 I <\/i>am going<i> to be in one of those photographs, okay?<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cOh, okay? I guess I don\u2019t really see the harm in that\u2014\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cWell, uh yeah? Why would you? I used to really be someone in Los Angeles, you know?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cYeah, but that was more for like, music stuff, and you moved away almost eight years ago.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cYeah, but then why would we have Autumn and Steff in this piece, they\u2019re from fucking Texas?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cWell, because Autumn is like the sister I never had, and Steff is like a sister to Autumn\u2026\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cYeah, but we\u2019re all in a group chat together\u2014 what does that make me?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><i>\u201cThat makes you, like, cool, literally; charitably hot, maybe, but also just\u2026 kind of old. Like the father we never asked for.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<p><br><br><\/p>\n<p>I booked the night April 14th at Stories Books in Echo Park so we could all be at the same place to read our latest works, then peacock in front of Liz McGrane\u2019s camera. To make things weird, I put science fiction poet Jean-Paul Garnier on the bill, another L.A. defector I would ride down with from the desert. To make things even weirder, my new girlfriend would not only drive down there separate, but with her mother, who I\u2019d be meeting for the first time\u2014her sweet, down-to Earth mother, whose first impression of me would be hosting a reading where we\u2019d be romanticizing drug use (me, Eris, Jon Lindsey), flirting with beastiality (Marston Hefner), satirizing anorexia (Chandler Morrison), fetishizing extreme violence (damn, me again), and chronicling homicidal jealousy\/infanticide (Autumn Christian). The gravity of this didn\u2019t hit me until Garnier and I were already in route, a two-hour trip, now with the sudden feeling I had passed the point of judgment, of no return; and all I could do was pray she\u2019d still be my girlfriend when it was all over.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><br>Garnier and I arrived at Stories early, just in time to see two old friends of mine sitting at one of the tables outside the patio.<\/p>\n<p><br>\u201cNo way, what\u2019s up Gabe? I hear you\u2019ve got an event here tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><br>\u201cYeah, should be really great\u2014 are you coming?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><br>\u201cOh my God, totally!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><br>\u201cSweet, see you then,\u201d I say, a quick salute, relieved that at least two people planned to show up. I walk past the patio into the bookstore\u2014Jon Lindsey has just arrived. We wave, embrace, mutually stoked, Surfer Boy meets Desert Island Shipwreck. Jon asks me if I\u2019m going to the <i>Forever Magazine<\/i> launch party after our event. It\u2019s sort of exciting the way L.A. is having a bit of a literary moment; our two gatherings back-to-back, then Jon must return to Stories tomorrow evening to host his own reading.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><br>\u201cMan, I totally would, but I have to get back to the desert, got an interview to get on food stamps early tomorrow morning.\u201d I regret saying this immediately, despite its harsh truth. \u201cAh, bummer,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p><br>I see my girlfriend walk in with her mother. I run to them, show them to a seat, panicked but doing my best not to reconsider what we are about to put this woman through.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><br>Chandler has yet to show, yet he\u2019s already the hero of the night\u2014he\u2019s picking up Autumn and Stephanie from LAX, then driving directly to the event. While the girls possess two of the sharpest minds in our landscape, they\u2019ve yet to learn you never ask any Angeleno to pick you up from the airport. Because there\u2019s no other way to teach your guest this rule other than simply retaliating: the Angeleno will then obsess over this grand sacrifice they made for your arrival, often using it as blackmail leverage for the rest of your stay.<\/p>\n<p><br>They arrive with no moment to waste. But first things first\u2014Chandler is urgent to let me know his red tie is \u201cactually\u201d vintage Virsace. Autumn is pregnant, glowing and starting to show; it\u2019s our first-time meeting in real life, and she\u2019s charmingly shy and smiley, out of character for the outspoken shitposter. Stephanie and I met over Zoom two weeks ago when she hosted the online release for my poetry book, so she feels comfortable enough to warn me: that if I post one of tonight\u2019s photos without showing her first, she will fucking kill me.<\/p>\n<p><br>I see Marston out of the corner of my eye, impossible to miss, his towering, shadow-casting presence bee-lining right towards me. \u201cAre you Gabe?\u201d he asks. I confirm my identity, we chop up pleasantries. Then, I remember Eris is in court today, for the stabbing incident or for drugs again, no one can keep track \u2013 not even her. \u201cHas anyone heard from Eris?\u201d I ask my star-studded huddle, who collectively sigh, like they\u2019re \u201cshocked\u201d but totally not surprised. I scheduled her first on tonight\u2019s bill just in case she got popped, so we\u2019d be able to start later, or read longer, whatever.<\/p>\n<p><br>I check my phone\u2014 there\u2019s a video text she sent me an hour ago where she\u2019s dancing, or more like Vogueing, in a Lyft, thank God\u2014then, she waltzes into the cafe, the world her runway. \u201cOh my God, hi!\u201d she screams to all of us, no one in particular. I\u2019d be mad she\u2019s late, but I\u2019m too relieved she\u2019s not in jail. Since she constantly endangers herself, we must casually protect her, because Eris is the scene\u2019s Edie Sedgwick, only Eris is actually talented; and on further thought, never mind\u2014there\u2019s totally no one else like her.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><br>\u201cYou ready, Lizzie?\u201d I ask. She nods her head, slurs something, sits down, implying her mark, get set. I jump on the stage, do my opening bit, begin her intro, but I look down where she <i>was<\/i> sitting\u2014she\u2019s fucking gone. <i>Hold on, can you stall? I\u2019m in the bathroom! <\/i>we hear her scream. She\u2019s already making the audience lose their minds without even hitting the stage. Eris is not so much a girl on her ninth life as much as she\u2019s nine cats when trying to herd her, and to amplify her psychic incongruence on no sleep, she chooses to read one of her longest pieces (\u201cPeter,\u201d published online by <i>Tragikal<\/i> back in 2020). Her chaos contagious, I forget to press play on my recording device until half-way through her reading, mostly because I keep checking on any visible expression on the face of my girlfriend\u2019s mother, the real indication of how this night will go.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-4566-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/4-14-The-Last-Estate-Presents-.m4a?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/4-14-The-Last-Estate-Presents-.m4a\">https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/4-14-The-Last-Estate-Presents-.m4a<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I hear my two old \u201cfriends\u201d who first greeted me\u2014they\u2019re still outside the patio, where they\u2019ll remain, talking too loud, audibly invasive over every author who reads, until I walk outside to tell them to shut the fuck up. Busted: they realize I now know they were never actually planning on coming inside to join us, and for the night\u2019s hyper-focus on Los Angeles, this would be my most personal L.A. moment of the evening.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><br>After we give our words, there\u2019s photos to take. Liz McGrane tells us where to go, what to do. When it\u2019s time for the group shot, Eris has disappeared. \u201cWait, where\u2019s Lizzie?\u201d I ask. Chandler cringes, \u201cI think she left?\u201d We take the photo just in time for her to re-enter. \u201cWhat? I was looking at books! What, you think we\u2019d be at a bookstore and I wouldn\u2019t be looking at books?\u201d she says, trying to impregnate herself with Autumn\u2019s impressive thigh-high boots. McGrane captures her and everyone else perfectly at the zero hour.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><br>The night is young, there\u2019s a whole other lit event downtown everyone\u2019s going to, where Autumn and Stephanie will get all their luggage stolen out of Chandler\u2019s smashed car window, but their event is still more glamorous than our event, so I\u2019m glad they\u2019re all going; I have food stamps to score, and a girlfriend\u2019s mother to redeem myself with on our ride home to the desert. We merge north onto the 10 freeway when she catches her mother\u2019s eye in the rear-view. \u201cWhat\u2019d you think of the reading, Mom?\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><br>\u201cIt\u2019s fine, it was fine, I just need a nap, I think\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One reason I moved to The Last Estate was to write exactly what I want, at my own pace<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4566\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beyondthelastestate.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}