Hi.
Giovan Alonzi here. Welcome to my newsletter, e-honda. I am a writer and educator based in Los Angeles, CA. I teach writing composition at East Los Angeles College and California State University, Northridge in the Department for Central American & Transborder Studies. I also lead creative writing workshops for Great Books Summer Program and have taught creative writing in various parts of Los Angeles—from Loyola Marymount University to Barry J. Nidorf juvenile hall through WriteGirl's 'Bold Ink Writers' program, as well as in other high schools & community centers. My published work is comprised of poetry, interviews, and book reviews; feel free to check out my work on my website.
Something tells me none of this has answered your questions—something still isn’t adding up, is it?
Is this a Street Fighter fan page?
No.
Ok. Will the content here relate in any way at all to that one Japanese automaker?
Probably not. Maybe sometimes, but not with any automotive expertise. Though I do miss my old EP3.
& the art?
I make reductive monoprints. Meaning: I add paint to a large plastic surface, wipe ink away and transfer the image I’ve created to a piece of paper.
Each print is one-of-e-kind and, lately, very rich and moody. See the print at the top of this page.
& one may purchase said art?
Yes. I’m currently setting up the e-shop for this.
Why is it called e-honda?
e-honda is primarily a place for me to share an extended writing exercise. I love writing on my Hermes 3000 typewriter. I love it so much I’ve started recording videos of my fingers pushing my heart through it.
You may be familiar with those ASMR/Pomodoro videos on YouTube? My videos are kind of like that, but you see what I’m typing. Feel free to leave the videos on in the background while you do your own thing. (Be warned: the sound of the typewriter is much more energetic than the typical ASMR-keyboard video).
Anyways: The drafts I start there typically end up here in my newsletters.
What do you write about?
I don’t know about you, but it’s difficult for me to find simple states of mind or feeling without using layered, somewhat intricate rituals of expression. For instance: why not just answer the above question with something like “I write creatively”? Because, to nobody’s surprise, this very direct answer robs itself of its own creativity. Please don’t be surprised if you find me meditating on contradictions like this—I find them rather hypnotic & very much in need of creative treatment.
I do have some categories in mind for e-honda posts, though.
Narrative Essays. I love parables and allegories, though, sometimes, these categories feel stale and rarefied; often their relevancy seems limited to matters of beginnings and endings, of celebration and mourning, of life and death. Yet I love reading parables and allegories in between these times, and so love to write them. For the sake of my own authorial gravity, I’ll call be calling these exercises “narrative essays.” That is, essays sharing experiences I would call fiction in a court of law.
Translations. Since my compulsion to read often crowds out the call to write, I’ll be playing a trick on myself: English-to-English translations of short written works. At least one thing I read (weekly? bi-weekly? e-weekly?) will be translated into my own English. This exercise will primarily use folktales as source material. Maybe some news too—this is a newsletter, after all. Maybe we can Chat about ideas for this here on Substack.
Requests. If you have a request for something you’d like to see me write on my YouTube channel, send me a message. Perhaps you’re wondering what the typewritten transcription of a scene from Law & Order SVU sounds like as it’s being typed? Perhaps you have a message you’d like to send someone via YouTube and via snail-mail? The epochal overlap of the typewriter and social media is not to be underestimated. Let’s communicate weirdly.
The Quick & The Massives. My hopes & fears; my joys & doubts; some thoughts on art & literature in general. If the majority of my posts carry a quickness and mind a massiveness, then I have done what I seek to do here.
Wait but why is it called e-honda? You never answered that question.
Yes, it is free to subscribe to e-honda. Free subscribers will have access to basically all of my posts. Paid subscribers, however, will be cherished and complimented handsomely in various spirited chats I launch. Also, paid subscribers have early access to batches of prints I release for purchase.
You’re not going to tell us are you?
I’m very much looking forward to connecting with you here on Substack. Thanks for taking a moment to see what e-honda has to offer.
