Eagle-Eyed Ink

In an era when seemingly every writer has multiple graduate degrees and the publishing industry is declaring the death of books, Matt Gajewski is a model for the future. As an undergraduate at the University of Miami, he began reading his weird short stories late at night on WVUM-FM (90.5) Why? Because it was fun. His show, Pure Imagination, has now survived graduation and is poised for world domination, with a side of adulation. Adhering to a delivery model that went out of date in 1930, Gajewski reads his stories to a live audience as he records them for distribution on 78-speed records. OK, well that last part is a lie — he uploads them to a podcast, but otherwise, Gajewski has succeeded as a fiction writer by forgoing the supposedly necessary step of print publication in favor of a medium he excels in.

This Saturday’s Pure Imagination will be his tenth at Sweat Records, which must be some kind of record somewhere. It’s at least an occasion for celebration. He’s even given us the first few lines of his new story “Cortez” as a teaser: “I used to work for the city, in Novelty Parking Enforcement. I drove a three-wheeled vehicle with government plates and a built-in freezer, issuing parking citations and dispensing waffle cones, Klondike bars, and Creamsicles.” All hail Gajewski!
Sat., Jan. 16, 9 p.m., 2010