Zachary German is an American novelist and poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

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German's debut novel

Debut novel

A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...

, "Eat When you Feel Sad" was published by Melville House Publishing

Melville House Publishing

Melville House Publishing is an independent publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. The company was founded in 2001 by the husband and wife team of Dennis Loy Johnson and Valerie Merians in Hoboken, New Jersey, a location Johnson jokingly called "the Left Bank" of New York City...

, February 2010

"Eat When You Feel Sad" is a novel about a character named Robert set in an unnamed city. Consisting of a stream of declarative sentences, (subject, verb, object), this novel has been described as minimalist in tone and editing .

Noted influences for German's writing style include: Bret Easton Ellis

Bret Easton Ellis

Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...

, Lorrie Moore

Lorrie Moore

Lorrie Moore is an American fiction writer known mainly for her humorous and poignant short stories.-Biography:...

, Tao Lin

Tao Lin

Tao Lin is an American writer. He was born of Taiwanese parents and grew up on the East Coast of the USA.He is the author of two novels, Eeeee Eee Eeee and Richard Yates ; a novella, Shoplifting from American Apparel ; a short story collection, Bed ; and two poetry collections, you are a little...

, Ann Beattie

Ann Beattie

Ann Beattie is an American short story writer and novelist. She has received an award for excellence from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and a PEN/Bernard Malamud Award for excellence in the short story form. Her work has been compared to that of Alice Adams, J.D. Salinger,...

 

Zachary German was named one of Paper Magazine's Beautiful People of 2010

Shitty Youth

Beginning in 2010, with the death of his previous internet radio show, Everytime A Police Officer Gets Shot I Throw a Party Radio, Shitty Youth generally appears on Sundays, depending on how depressed Zachary is.

Critical response

For "Eat When You Feel Sad"

Online and print response to German's debut novel

Debut novel

A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...

 are mixed and include: Bookslut, The Rumpus, Time Out Chicago, Publisher's Weekly, Philadelphia City Paper, NYLON

NYLON

The portmanteau NYLON, also spelled NYLon or, less often, NY-Lon, starts with the concept of New York City and London, England as twin cities — the financial and cultural capitals of the Anglo-American 'world' — and takes the concept a step further, treating the two cities as "a single city...

 

Dennis Cooper

Dennis Cooper

Dennis Cooper is an American novelist, poet, critic, editor and performance artist.-Career:Cooper grew up the son of a wealthy businessman in Arcadia, California. His first forays into literature came early, focusing on imitations of Rimbaud, Verlaine, de Sade, and Baudelaire...

 has said of Eat When You Feel Sad, “Zachary German’s nimble, catwalking, archeological, surface dwelling, emotionally unpaved prose is a thing of total wonder and my favorite drug, language-based or otherwise. Eat When You Feel Sad is so bright and pleasurable and full of excellence, it’s positively serene.”

Tao Lin

Tao Lin

Tao Lin is an American writer. He was born of Taiwanese parents and grew up on the East Coast of the USA.He is the author of two novels, Eeeee Eee Eeee and Richard Yates ; a novella, Shoplifting from American Apparel ; a short story collection, Bed ; and two poetry collections, you are a little...

 has said of Eat When You Feel Sad, "Moving, funny, emotional, and—in a revolutionary way—both highly-readable and avant-garde, Eat When You Feel Sad excites me very much in terms of literature and also life itself.”

Publications

German's poems and prose have been published in:

Dennis Cooper

Dennis Cooper

Dennis Cooper is an American novelist, poet, critic, editor and performance artist.-Career:Cooper grew up the son of a wealthy businessman in Arcadia, California. His first forays into literature came early, focusing on imitations of Rimbaud, Verlaine, de Sade, and Baudelaire...

's "Userland" anthology 2007, 3:AM Magazine, Bear Parade, Muumuu House, Small Distribution Press

External links

• Zachary German, website http://www.zacharygerman.com/
• Eat When You Feel Sad at Melville House http://www.mhpbooks.com/book.php?id=312