Episode 51: with Charlie Zacks! @earthopensup
GD Charlie ran downhill with this one! I think I gotta put a longer version up on youtube cus there was a lot more to what Charlie had to say, though I still think this gets to the core of his beliefs about books. Beliefs which extend well beyond books. Charlie talks about books so that he can talk about other things. Big things. Godly things!
Humanity! I like the way Charlie always brings it back to the people. He reasserts that the impact of good fictional narratives should be very much non-fictional. That good stories should be about real people. They should be about me and you and you and you and you. By being small we are big. By not knowing, we know a lot. But Charlie says it better.
Charlie is a poet and writer and the editor of the impeccably designed, very original @newpubonline . One of those writers who you don’t know how they do it all so well, so make sure you stay up on all that he is up to.
Thank you so much for making the time Charlie. Such a nice time chatting, for real.
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#readersofinstagram #peterbooksnyc #booksonthestreet #whatareyoureading #streetinterviews
New interview up on our site with @earthopensup
We talk about Christianity, Silicon Valley, Gus Van Sant, Chief Keef, "alt lit," "alt right," really most of the alts, and, most of all, Love.
Interviewed by Ed Komenda
Link to purchase in the bio
EK: In terms of words-to-meaning, Who Will Find My Body packs a lot of punch with poems that tend to be very short and raw, yet sharp in how you use language to deliver an image. There’s a lot about death and destruction in this book. You even mention Mark Fisher, the late cultural critic who wrote Capitalist Realism and tragically took his own life in 2017. There’s a consciousness to these poems that makes me wonder: Where were you in your life when you wrote these lines? And perhaps a more unruly question — with everything happening in the world today, in this late-capitalism dumpster fire, what role does writing play in these times? Why do you do it?
CZ: I began writing Who Will Find My Body in July/August of 2025 in my last months in Montréal. My life there was so pleasant and easy, surrounded by my friends in a city built for young people. Looking down the barrel at a move back to the U.S. — at a time when it sucks to be an American with a rational conscience — I was scared to upend this comfortable life away from the chaos of the U.S. I started this book as a way to deal with those emotions. I guess the project began as a political one, only because everything felt (and feels) so apocalyptic. The politics were inescapable. But my writing always seems to dig into my body in some way. I’ll start trying to write about the state of the world and inevitably end up writing about myself — my body, sex, whatever. I think that’s how I process the world. Writing in this current world feels like one important way to look inward — to hopefully reorient yourself toward something beautiful and transcendent so you can then look outward. There is so much beauty left in this world, but we have to train ourselves to recognize it. I hope art can continue to teach people to see that beauty and the virtue in sharing it.
Interviewed by Ed Komenda
EK: I first heard about you through Stimulant. My buddy Sam Pink told me it was the magazine of the future and to keep an eye out. You’ve also published a couple of Sam’s books. You both share what I’d call a renegade spirit, which is refreshing — at least to me — in a world where all the book covers on big presses look like they’re terrified to offend in any way whatsoever. First, what was the genesis of Stimulant? And second, how did you connect with Pink? Would you consider him one of your literary antecedents? Who else inspired you to do this writing thing?
CZ: I started Stimulant before I really even started publishing my own writing. I was studying in Montreal at the time and had spent a few months in late 2023 kind of putzing around art and literary events, trying to find a space I felt welcomed in. Over time I realized I had to make my own world, so I did. Stimulant started, like most mags, as just a way for me to print my friends’ work. Over time it developed into a bigger scene and we created a somewhat sizable digital presence, which was awesome, but the heart of it never changed all that much. It’s still about publishing my friends — which I think is a kind of love. I first met Sam Pink when he was looking for someone to help him design a chapbook. We connected, and he’s since hired me several times to design re-releases and new material. Before becoming his friend, I’d only read Witch Piss and a few of his poems. Some scattered short stories, probably. I was always enamored by how much beauty he was able to pack into such deceptively simple prose. He’s probably the writer with the best ratio of words to meaning in the game. I guess I’d consider him an antecedent in that his work continues to inspire me, but I don’t feel right comparing myself to him in any real capacity. He’s a maestro. I’m a student. And I mean that. My other literary inspirations include the late Edmund White and Dennis Cooper. Edmund was a friend and somewhat of a distant mentor. Dennis I’ve chatted with online a few times, but he’s mostly disappeared from my orbit. I’m also heavily inspired by theological writings, as I study theology formally.
Who Will Find My Body by @earthopensup is now available for purchase.
Link in bio.
“Tender, raw, and often apocalyptic, the poems in this book—some less than a single sentence long—were written by Charlie Zacks in a period between July and October of 2025.
Charlie asked that I don’t use the word TRAUMA when describing the book. He said the word is almost meaningless now, neutered. Words sometimes fail us. In Charlie’s poems, Montreal is burning, loneliness is bitter, and death seems to be around every corner. But Charlie is hilarious, too. There’s so much humor in his work that, as a fellow writer, it almost feels unfair. This book is a perfect gem.” – JKS
Charlie Zacks is a writer and editor from Atlanta, Georgia. In 2024, he founded @stimulant0 an independent literary magazine based in Montréal, QC. Since then, he’s moved to Cambridge, MA where he studies theology and runs @newpubonline a contemporary publishing company he founded. He believes in all the right things and hates all the things you hate. You can reach him on his website 852002.xyz.
“Who Will Find My Body”, poems via @sand_and_gravelpress
Coming quite soon!
At risk of sounding sentimental, I cannot overstate how much this little book means to me. These poems are small but heavy. And I only ask that you handle with care. And that you find a little bit of something to love for your own sake.
Cover photo by @morningchaosbeddingchaos ❤️
Thank you to the wonderful @james_keith_smith for making this happen.
#poetry
Here, revisiting some @stimulant0 POEM TEE images (08/01) in b&w because I’m eager to play again. Something clicked into place that day for me, idk, it was just a really special shoot. I’ll never forget it. Anyways, STIMULANT FOREVER. Grab a tee (at /shop) & be sexy.
Here, some good news : BASIC WRITINGS by Charlie Zacks (@earthopensup ) is now available to order in CANADA ♥️ Just look at the wear on my copy here and take that as a solid recommendation. Link in Charlie’s bio to get your own. The perfect gift, but you truly don’t need any real occasion to give it (or keep it for yourself). Front and back cover images shot by me :’)
