Cover / Praise for 'Pseudo-Masochism' (Medulla Publishing, 2011)

Here is the cover for my forthcoming chapbook, Pseudo-Masochism (Medulla Publishing, 2011). The cover was designed by my friend, a tattoo/graphic artist named Kenny Dumas. He playfully titled the image "Sado-Mechanism." (Kenny and I have the same birthday, which is neat.) Here are some nice things people I admire said about Pseudo-Masochism:

“Pseudo-Masochism blends bodies together—sexually, cognitively, playfully—to express insecurities, joys, and hopes. The word weapons in Beeny’s arsenal are on full display here, and his greatest feat—and finest irony—is exposure: Beeny blasts the spotlight on his timid narrator who then raises his shyness like a gold crown, flinching, unflinching, eyes adjusting to the brightness.”

—Mel Bosworth, author of Grease Stains, Kismet and Maternal Wisdom


“Yes, there is some sex in Pseudo-Masochism, but it is writhing with themes of love, hate, self-worthlessness and a smattering of oedipal undertones. Beeny’s hand is steady and delicate and writes with penmanship that punctures like a tattoo artist’s needle. This collection made me want to tell someone, everyone, that they are worthy of love—my hands shaking their shoulders.”

—xTx, author of Nobody Trusts a Black Magician


“Eric Beeny says loads in a small space. His writing amasses more and more meaning through the repetition of objects and themes, culminating into something that speaks to the difficulties of sexual intimacy, any sort of intimacy, and maybe just intimacy with himself. Eric Beeny is a goddamn delight.”

—Brandi Wells, co-author of the chapbook collective Fox Force 5

Here is the first story from this collection, "Interpreting Their Genitals," which originally appeared in LITnIMAGE.