The Rolodex Happenings
Stillhouse Press, 2024
Winner of the Stillhouse Press Novella Prize
Finalist for the Clay Reynolds Novella Prize
Guy Sutter Jr. thought he knew his parents. But as he flips through a seemingly innocuous Rolodex discovered among his late father’s effects, he finds the yellowing typewritten cards recount moments of play, odd joy, sexual awakening, jealousy and fear that comprise both a secret history and a startling new window into Guy’s own childhood. Whether floating a boat down a city street, staging a nap-in, or sabotaging a friend’s Vietnam War draft exam, these unforseen revelations– these “happenings”–become, for Guy and for the reader, an elusive and tantalizing set of clues pointing towards the most intimate revelations of all.
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Praise for The Rolodex Happenings:
“Smart, funny, playful, Dennis Sweeney’s The Rolodex Happenings is a brilliant book from a truly original writer. Exploring the nature of protest and performance, it asks essential timely questions about the meaning of truth and the boundaries between fact and fiction. It’s also the poignant story of a son connecting with his father by following the powerful, mysterious movement of art through our lives. This is a beautiful, intricately crafted book. You’ll want to read it over and over.”
—Keith Scribner, author of Old Newgate Road and The Oregon Experiment
“Composed of a deceased father’s poignant descriptions of the series of performance art happenings he performed in his youth and his grown son’s tender, insightful musings on family photos he finds filed away with those happenings, The Rolodex Happenings is a gorgeous meditation on art and life. This inventive, hybrid novella is also a moving family love story. As soon as I finished reading it, I started again from the beginning.”
—Michelle Ross, author of Shapeshifting and They Kept Running
“Dennis James Sweeney has created something extraordinary in The Rolodex Happenings. His dynamic aesthetics and command of hybrid form make this narrative about art, family, and legacy poignant and resonant. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book in one sitting, but I’ve also never encountered one like this before.”
—Ashley Marie Farmer, author of Dear Damage: Essays