{"product_id":"ithoarw","title":"i thought this would be cooler, by Amber Ridenour Walker","description":"\u003cp align=\"justify\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eProse, chapbook, 28 pages, from\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b00ff;\" data-mce-style=\"color: #2b00ff;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/bottlecap.press\/collections\/bottlecap-features\" style=\"color: #2b00ff;\" data-mce-style=\"color: #2b00ff;\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\" data-mce-href=\"https:\/\/bottlecap.press\/collections\/bottlecap-features\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBottlecap Features\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"justify\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem\u003ei thought this would be cooler\u003c\/em\u003e is a collection of sadly true, hilariously awkward tales of growing up as a queer art kid in a small town in the 1990’s and then fleeing for bigger cities. Through this series of flash memoir pieces, the protagonist trails her ill-fated romantic escapades and artistic hopes behind her through cities in the Pacific Northwest, documenting hangovers and heartbreak, failure and casual terror, broken bottles and busted bones, from age 15 to 25. \u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eObsessively edited and polished over nearly a decade, \u003cem\u003ei thought this would be cooler\u003c\/em\u003e is a gritty little swan song to the Pacific Northwest Art Scene of the early 2000’s, as well as a bildungsroman that taps into the anxieties that come with bisexual invisibility and denial. Modeled after the casual tone of Diane di Prima’s \u003cem\u003eDinners and Nightmares\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ei thought this would be cooler\u003c\/em\u003e takes the reader through Polaroid-like flashes that sometimes illuminate, and other times burn.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp align=\"justify\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eAmber Ridenour Walker was raised on a 100-acre orchard, in a rural central Washington town, and left for other parts as soon as she was able to. Her poems and short stories have appeared in \u003cem\u003e20 Minutes in Portland: A Special Edition of The Portland Review\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eGumball Poetry\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eWord Riot\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Clementine Zine\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eJuniper Literary Review\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePile Press\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eJaden Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e (UK), \u003cem\u003eLocal Smoke\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eelimae\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eALARM Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eFast Forward\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003e580 Split\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eTiny Spoon\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Corvus Review\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eWisdom Body Collective\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eLEON Literary Review\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eBombay Gin\u003c\/em\u003e, among others. Her first full-length book, \u003cem\u003eSurfacing\u003c\/em\u003e, was published by Free Lines Press (France and UK) in August of 2021. Amber holds an MFA from The Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics, and she lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. You can find her at amberridenourwalker.com, on the Free Lines Press website, on Goodreads, or scribbling away at her favorite local coffee dive.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Amber Ridenour Walker","offers":[{"title":"Chapbook","offer_id":39799641243719,"sku":"ITHOARW","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital Download (PDF)","offer_id":39799641276487,"sku":"ITHOARWe","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0062\/4420\/4614\/products\/coolercardstockfront.png?v=1677530195","url":"https:\/\/bottlecap.press\/products\/ithoarw","provider":"Bottlecap Press","version":"1.0","type":"link"}