Shannon Neale lives in Ypsilanti, MI. Tao Lin lives in Brooklyn, NY. This interview was done on Gmail chat then edited a little by Shannon and Tao. /’s indicate line breaks.

PEANUTS

TAO: what did you eat last night
SHANNON: mushrooms and nutritional yeast and peanuts on this couch
TAO: peanuts…wha… / weird combination
SHANNON: i felt like i still had peanuts in my stomach when i woke up / so i ‘went jogging’
TAO: when my dogs ate peanuts they shit peanuts i think
SHANNON: haha
TAO: might be thinking of corn
SHANNON: peanuts is funny / once i found a thong in my dogs shit

SLEEP

TAO: are you normally up ‘at this hour’
SHANNON: lately i have woken up every morning at 6 but i havent slept yat / u?
TAO: lately you’ve woken up every morning at 6 AM…but today you are still up at 6 AM, is that what you mean / i’m usually up until 7 AM
SHANNON: yeah / i think i mean / i am often awake at 6am
TAO: so have you been up for 24 hours then
SHANNON: not yet, at noon / something / is fucked up
TAO: i’m confused…bro
SHANNON: i dont have a regular… thing…
TAO: oh ok

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

TAO: why are you reading 2killa mockinbird
SHANNON: i am reading it because i want to see it screened this week / and i dont know the story and i think the movie is supposed to be good
TAO: have you ever seen the movie for ‘where the wild fern grows’
SHANNON: no
TAO: what happened in chapter 1 of 2killa
SHANNON: googled ‘where the wild ferns are’ / in chapter 1 they met their neighborhood bro ‘dill’
TAO: i’m confused…i think it’s actually ‘where the red fern is’ or something
SHANNON: yeah…
TAO: i’m confused
SHANNON: where they are

HTMLGIANT

TAO: do you ever read htmlgiant
SHANNON: only when i am linked to it, i never remember to navigate to it myself
TAO: is that how you view yourself on the internet, ‘navigating’ your way through it / like a sailor
SHANNON: yes….
TAO: cool
SHANNON: said no and then said yes / i make the rounds / is what i think
TAO: sounds good / hm making the rounds / sounds sexual / or…just like a gang bang / to me
SHANNON: i think it sounds like going shoplifting and hitting all the good spots
TAO: gang banged by websites
SHANNON: makin the rounds
TAO: interesting
SHANNON: gang bang

WATERMELON

TAO: would you rather have an unlimited supply of raisins the size of watermelons or watermelons the size of raisins
SHANNON: watermelons the size of raisins
TAO: but the watermelon shells would be, like, bigger than the watermelon itself…whereas with the giant raisins you can eat the shells
SHANNON: probably could bite through them
TAO: there would be so little edible watermelon
SHANNON: one raisin would last for weeks
TAO: yeah, but you chose the raisin-sized watermelons
SHANNON: what can you do with a raisin that big
TAO: pies…or just as a jam
SHANNON: shitty… / thinking about touching it / no / i dont think so / lil watermelons, i think they would have a burst when you gottem / like filled candy shit / only melons…

ANN BEATTIE

TAO: what is the first memory of ‘distortions’ by ann beattie you have, the first thing you think after reading this question, be honest
SHANNON: midgets
TAO: what is the first memory of ‘foo fighters’ you have
SHANNON: my dad playing looking to the sky on repeat / wait / learn 2 fly / laughing…
TAO: i just googled ‘looking to the sky,’ it’s a song by ‘c-block’ / what do you think about nirvana
SHANNON: i like nirvana
TAO: do you know anyone that doesn’t like nirvana
SHANNON: no… my mom… might not / when i was trying to get in2 nirvana in middle school my dad told me 2 check out ‘heart shaped box’
TAO: haha

***

Read “The Rumpus Mini-Interview Project #1: Deborah Hampton in Conversation with Kellesimone Waits”

Tweet

Related Posts

• Repaired Circuits
• The Drugs Do Work
• The Rumpus Interview with Marie Calloway
• If Hemingway Were a Poet
• Tao Lin/ Ben Lerner Conversation on Poetry/A Novel About Poetry