"Saguaro" (Excerpt)

"In this excerpt from 'Saguaro,' you'll be introduced to Bobby Bird, both the man and the legend," writes Benjamin Samuel, Co-Editor of Electric Literature, in his introduction to this issue. "Life in the spotlight can take you to some dark places, and 'Saguaro' explores the depths of depravity, narcissism, and even Satanism. Here we see Bobby's rise to fame; he becomes a legend adored by millions, only to become repulsed by himself.
"Bobby Bird may be many things—a legend in pink cotton, a living history in tattoos, the very embodiment of rock and roll—but he isn't a bad man. At least not all the time. He made his name as a crooner, revered as a singer with soul, a soul he quickly sold without ever considering the implications.
"Like Bob Dylan's Chronicles Volume One, Patti Smith's Just Kids, and Keith Richards' Life, Saguaro allows us to look behind the curtain of celebrity. Because it's an American tradition to carefully observe the legends of our time, to live vicariously through the adventures of our heroes. Just like the paths of all those who live fast and hard, Bobby's path is one better experienced second-hand, beset, as it is, on all sides by drugs, dangerous women, and fisticuffs. Now if Bobby teaches us one thing, it's that we can learn from our mistakes, and fortunately he's made enough to fill a textbook."

Saguaro was originally published as short-run paperback. Now completely sold out in print, Electric Literature is publishing the eBook edition.

About the author:
Carson Mell was born in Arizona in 1980, the son of a landscape painter and a nurse. He moved to Los Angeles in 2002 to write and work in film and television, including HBO's Eastbound & Down. Since then, three of his short films have been Official Selections of the Sundance Film Festival and many other film festivals including The San Francisco International Film Festival, Toronto’s “Just For Laughs” Comedy Festival, and Brooklyn’s Rooftop Films. He is the author of two novels, The Blue Bourbon Orchestra and Saguaro, forthcoming as an eBook from Electric Literature October 2013. His short fiction has been published in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern and Electric Literature.

About the Publisher:
Electric Literature is an independent publisher working to ensure that literature remains a vibrant presence in popular culture. Electric Literature’s weekly fiction magazine, Recommended Reading, invites established authors, indie presses, and literary magazines to recommended great fiction. Once a month we feature our own recommendation of original, previously unpublished fiction, accompanied by a Single Sentence Animation. Single Sentence Animations are creative collaborations: the author chooses a favorite sentence and we commission an artist to interpret it. Stay connected with us through email, Facebook, and Twitter, and find previous Electric Literature picks in the Recommended Reading archives.