“In How to Disappear and Why, Kyle Minor turns his penetrating intelligence inward, battling his ambitions, his desires, and even his own admirable talent in an attempt to exhaust himself of whatever lies in the way of truer connection with others. What begins as a radical escape from the self soon becomes an even more striking magic trick, a moral and artistic undertaking of the highest order, a sincere attempt to eradicate the distance between the individual and the world. This book will provoke you and challenge you: it will not save you, but it will make you want to save yourself.”
—Matt Bell, author of Appleseed
“A ferocious, tenderhearted, plucky, contemplative, loud, inspiring, marvelous collection of essays—the kind of book that makes you want to lock the door behind you, so you can gobble it up all by yourself.”
—Daniel Handler, author of Bottle Grove
how to disappear and why, a new book of essays, is now available for preorder from sarabande books, bookshop.org, barnes & noble, target, and amazon.
release date: august 27, 2024.
“From the first page of Kyle Minor’s extraordinary sequence of essays, the voice of this book—nerve-wracked, radiant, self-flaying—soars out to the edge of what’s possible, and necessary, to speak aloud. And stays there, out on that edge, speaking truth to various powers, including the power of shame. The result is a triumph.”
—Jonathan Lethem, author of Brooklyn Crime Novel
“How to Disappear and Why is a sui generis—one can rarely use the Latin honestly—collection of essays excavating narcissism, what it is and isn’t in today’s unapologetically self-referential culture. Most compellingly, these essays anatomize what narcissism is with respect to making art, to writing, to erecting ‘junk temples,’ and even what it might mean to set out to win something, a yacht race, say. Kyle Minor understands profoundly that ‘every expressive pursuit must hazard a landscape full of traps.’ How to Disappear and Why is a collection of essays as original as Festival Days by Jo Ann Beard. Read How to Disappear and Why, and then read Festival Days, if you haven’t already. Your sense of American belle-lettres will immediately improve.”
—Michelle Latiolais, author of She
“I’m imbued with the notions, via E.M. Cioran and John Hawkes, that there is only one subject (failure) and that only one thing matters: learning to be the loser (we all lose everything). How to Disappear and Why is about nothing less (nothing more) and, thereby (paradoxically), is a wildly successful work of essayistic art, which has my deepest admiration.”
—David Shields, author of The Very Last Interview
scott county, indiana
fire prayers at hiroshima
fireworks in missouri
objects, shadows, abstractions
the vogue
faces in indianapolis
bicycles in hiroshima
the orchestra
ghosts wearing clothes in a tunnel a mile from hell
older books in print
- praying drunk, winner of the 2015 story prize spotlight award
- italian edition of praying drunk (mentre cado, ricordati di me, translated by susanna bourlot, 2016)
- in the devil’s territory (2008)
bio
kyle minor is the author of praying drunk, winner of the 2015 story prize spotlight award. recent stories, essays, interviews, and reviews appear online and in print in best american mystery stories, best american nonrequired reading, esquire, the atlantic, salon, iowa review, missouri review, story magazine, and the new york times book review.
selected post-praying drunk work in print
- “a kidnapping in koulev-ville,” a short story, in the normal school, reprinted in best american mystery stories, and streamed through the new york public library subway stories series
- “the uber diaries,” an essay, in new ohio review
- “the secret to happiness,” a novella, in missouri review
- “notes on harm reduction,” an essay, in make magazine chicago
- “night at the fiestas,” a review of kirstin valdez quade’s terrific story collection, in the new york times book review
- “soldier,” a novella co-written with james yoder, forthcoming in booth
- “mild blue dream,” a story, forthcoming in gulf coast
- “suspended,” a reprinted story, forthcoming in best of brevity
- “junk temples,” a long essay, forthcoming in new england review
- additional stories, essays, poems, and miscellany in bennington review, outlook springs, hobart, relief journal, ocean state review, saw palm, arkansas international, acm: another chicago magazine, the believer logger, and tin house online
some recent preoccupations
lynsey addario, it’s what i do: a photographer’s life of love and war.
bong joon ho, parasite.
denis johnson, angels.
ryszard kapuscinski, another day of life
konagada, vimeo video essays.
olivia laing, the lonely city
yiyun li, what has that to do with me.
peter morgan, the crown.
murch and ondaatje, the conversations
katherine anne porter, pale horse, pale rider.
dee rees, the last thing he wanted.
josh and benny safdie, daddy longlegs, goldman v silverman, good time, heaven knows what, and uncut gems.
fifty favorite jazz albums
- ole, john coltrane
- black saint and the sinner lady, charles mingus
- brilliant corners, thelonius monk
- sketches of spain, miles davis
- the shape of jazz to come, ornette coleman
- bitches brew, miles davis
- time for tyner, mccoy tyner
- song for my father, horace silver
- kelan philip cohran & the hypnotic brass ensemble
- blues and the abstract truth, oliver nelson
- thelonious monk, thelonious monk trio
- cubana be, cubana bop (compilation), dizzy gillespie
- gulag orkestar, beirut
- time out, dave brubeck quartet
- somethin’ else, cannonball adderley
- moanin’, art blakey and the jazz messengers
- kind of blue, miles davis
- out to lunch, eric dolphy
- pastel blues, nina simone
- head hunters, herbie hancock
- mingus mingus mingus mingus mingus, charles mingus
- sahara, mccoy tyner
- mingus ah-um, charles mingus
- back at the chicken shack, jimmy smith
- monk’s dream, thelonius monk
- electric bath, don ellis orchestra
- ascenseur pour l’echafaud, miles davis
- the clown, charles mingus
- pithecanthropus erectus, charles mingus
- root down, jimmy smith
- the sidewinder, lee morgan
- blue train, john coltrane
- a love supreme, john coltrane
- in pursuit of the 27th man, horace silver
- the real mccoy, mccoy tyner
- live-evil, miles davis
- jack johnson, miles davis
- unit structures, cecil taylor
- big band bossa nova, quincy jones
- oh yeah, charles mingus
- underground, thelonious monk
- money jungle, ellington mingus & roach
- blow-up soundtrack, herbie hancock
- saxophone colossus, sonny rollins
- illumination!, elvin jones
- self-titled, clifford brown and max roach
- study in brown, clifford brown
- the sermon, jimmy smith
- afro-cuban, kenny dorham
- jazz advance, cecil taylor
*updated monthly
kyle minor - stories, photographs, films 
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