Maybe you know her from one of the many stories she’s published online and in print journals. Maybe you follow her lively blog, where she chronicles the ups and downs of the writing life. Or maybe you’ve seen her wave her magic wand here on DSM, where she heads our weekly Spotlight Series. In the end, it doesn’t really matter where or how you get your Ethel Rohan. What does matter is that her contribution to the literary community has always been sincere and compelling.

In short, she’s a damn fine read.

That’s why, when Ethel sent us CUT THROUGH THE BONE, a manuscript of 30 short stories, we were both honored and terribly excited.

After reading her stories, we still feel honored and excited. But now there’s something else coursing through our veins — pride, baby.

Yes, we’re proud. So proud we’ll shout it from the rooftops. So proud we’re ready to talk shit. So proud we’ll take three paragraphs to build it up:

Ethel Rohan’s CUT THROUGH THE BONE has been accepted by Dark Sky Books and will be published in December, 2010!

Here’s one of the stories, Reduced, which Dark Sky Magazine published back in April.

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I’m speaking to the Dopamine in your brain: you want some good fiction. You want some mind-fucking, synapse popping, caffeine-induced, sleep-deprived, better-than-sex (well, sort of) flurry of letters and sounds and phrases that will set your myelinated axon ass on fire, make you drip-drip-drip down, and stick it to your Master, and make him wipe his ass with all those prominent East Coast mags the next time they come in, so Master realizes the best of today’s fiction ain’t nowhere near there.

I know you’re up for it, Mr. D. You’ve been waiting all week for more.

Mmm, the rush…

– Robert Paul Moreira

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Today, Elizabeth Ellen is on Dark Sky’s stage, afire. She’s bad. Kickass. Warrior.

I want to be just like her when I grow up [oops, too late]. When I’m reincarnated, then.

– Ethel Rohan

Writing wise, where are you now? Where are you going?

Oh my god, good question. Where am I? Fuck, I don’t know. I think I got lost, actually. I’m working on a story collection. I’m working on a new novel. I’m always working on flashes, and telling myself they’re not a waste of time.

What informs your creative process? How do you keep inspired?

I would say movies inspire me as much as anything. And then a small handful of stories and books. I was recently blown away by a Jonathan Safran Foer story in The New Yorker. Every line of it had me saying, “fuck yes!” Pretty much anything that doesn’t bore the shit out of me, inspires me. My biggest personal fear is boring other people (with my writing, I mean, though also in general).

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This Friday through Sunday, over 80 poets will participate in a weekend-long poetry reading in Boston. Each poet has eight minutes of reading time. The participants range from the up-and-coming to the well established. Such an ambitious and impressive event promises to send thousands of words into the heads of thousands of poetry enthusiasts.

This is one of those events that makes having a private plane seem like an imperative life holding. Strictly for purposes of attending far-off readings, of course…

But if you’re in the area, definitely stop by, for eight minutes or eighty, and enjoy some of Boston’s best poetry voices.

Dark Sky Books author Ben Mazer is scheduled to read on Sunday afternoon. And next week’s featured poet, Elisa Gabbert, takes the stage Friday night.

Check out the rest of the line-up after the jump. And visit the Boston Poet Tea Party for venue information and contacts.

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Often you’ll hear that a poetry reading should never run for more than 40 minutes, otherwise people start to go batty. Good advice, sure. But others disagree. These crazy people think poetry reading should be non-stop endeavors — lasting up to nine hours. Holy smokes, nine hours? That’s right, in the near future the Bay Area Poetry Marathon will explode like a word minefield, from 12-9 on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend.

Yes, poets be crazy.

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