The Oscars are two months old, which basically means they're ancient, but we just learned that the animation director of Mr. Hublot, the winner for Best Animated Short, is a San Francisco resident.
Inspired by the artwork of artist Stephane Halleux, Mr. Hublot is set in a futuristic, robotic world, following an obsessive-compulsive robot-man whose life changes when he makes a new friend.
Last fall, SF Weekly interviewed David Beaulieu, City resident and entrepreneur who, together with his wife Melissa, was preparing to launch Belle SF, a new quarterly print magazine.
The wait is over. Belle SF issue one has arrived.
Belle SF promises to resurrect the glory days of Playboy. The magazine will feature tasteful, artfully-lit photos of beautiful women in the nude. Nothing too graphic, but skin will definitely be on display. The magazine will also feature works by local artists and writers: art, culture and nudity is the motto.
The Write Stuff is a series of interview profiles conducted by Litseen, where authors give exclusive readings from their work.
Matthew Zapruder is the author of four collections of poetry, most recently Come On All You Ghosts (Copper Canyon 2010), a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and Sun Bear (Copper Canyon 2014). An assistant professor in the St. Mary's College of California MFA program and English department, he is also an editor at Wave Books. He lives in Oakland. See him read at City Lights Bookstore on Tuesday, April 15.
When people ask what do you do, you tell them... ?
If in their eyes I detect the usual understandable flicker of disinterest about the conversation, in order to let us both go on our peaceful separate ways, I say "English professor." If for some reason they seem to really want to talk, I will say "poet." More often than not something weird happens after that.
What's your biggest struggle -- work or otherwise?
My own distraction.
