Category: Bad Survivalist

Bad Survivalist Poem: “Let nothing touch the ground” by Sam Rush

The best way to treat bedbugs scream while screaming wait until you die / The best way move drive fast enough to outrun them they can’t fly if you run out of gas scream while you scream wait wait until you die let nothing touch the ground / The best way to treat bedbugs diatomaceous…
“Accepting Your Planethood,” a guide by Carolyn Supinka for Bad Survivalist

1 You have just received your diagnosis. At this stage, we advise you try not to think about it too much. It is no small thing to become a planet. Take three deep breaths. If you are near a window, look outside. Do not look directly at the sun, but think about the sun. Feel…
“‘Survivor Lit vs. Adventurer Lit’: The Varying Aesthetics of Forced Migration vs. Voluntary Travel” by Cristina Deptula for Bad Survivalist

More people are refugees than ever before, and more people are able to publish and read books than ever before. Many other brilliant essayists have looked at how the dislocation of migration has showed up in the form as well as the content of literature. Here, in this piece, through interviews with three emerging authors…
“Targets,” a Bad Survivalist essay by Kay Smith-Blum

Who breaks their arm planting bulbs? Well, technically, I was retrieving bulbs, from a box on the other side of the low-rise-industrial-wire fence they put up around small urban gardens at street level to keep out the dogs that don’t keep out the dogs. Why build a fence just high enough for me to trip…
“‘The Will to Survive Is a Force That Never Discriminates’: Literature and Global Environmental Refugees and Other ‘Forsaken’ Peoples” by Cristina Deptula for Bad Survivalist

More people are refugees than ever before, and more people are able to publish and read books than ever before. Many other brilliant essayists have looked at how the dislocation of migration has showed up in the form as well as the content of literature. How can writers most effectively craft pieces that inspire people…
“The Things You Think When Not Taking a Dump,” Bad Survivalist list fiction by Steve Gergley

1. Jesus 2. Shit 3. Goddammit 4. This is ridiculous 5. Two more sets of push-ups and then it’s on to the squats 6. But seriously why is this even happening? How the hell can food keep going in when nothing comes out? 7. It’s not like you’ve skimped out on your workouts or eaten…
“Survival Kit,” an executive summary by Craig Foltz for Bad Survivalist

I. Large bodies of water intrude into every sentence. Somewhere, over the horizon, a burst of mist; particles whose surfaces bristle with the memory of daytime. It’s night, the moon will not relent and pulls the ocean along after it. Up and down your street, power-walkers of all shapes and sizes parade past your porch.…
Bad Survivalist: “Born Again,” a flash fiction by Victoria K. Gonzales

Five years ago, I decided I would have sex with every man I could before I died. This meant long euphoric nights, giving and getting sultry kisses. This meant deep, sweaty moans, and, don’t stop, whispering in my ear. It meant giving my heart to lonely, scared men, but never allowing my heart to break.…
Bad Survivalist: “Hobby,” microfiction by Tyler Dempsey

I’m not even sure you’ll get this. They’ll convince you it’s from Earth, ancient. They (those in power). History’s changing. Eventually, no philosophy (maybe there already isn’t) suggesting we were a species of action. It was politics. Started in politics. Create emotion. Reactionary. Like a soccer game. Left, Right, hobbies. The home team. Candidate most-viral…