Space Bar Continuum defies memoir tropes, presenting a candid love letter to writers everywhere—one that blends wit, vulnerability, and sharp cultural critique in equal measure. Rather than a mere chronicle of past events, Kenney offers a layered, immersive dialogue—part manifesto, part introspection—exploring the challenges of navigating life as a headstrong creative in a world that demands conformity. With every page, Kenney blurs the line between personal reflection and cultural commentary, crafting a narrative that is as intellectually provocative as it is deeply human. In one biting moment, he even details a near ill-fated end.Structured as a series of essays, Space Bar Continuum moves fluidly between personal, professional, and societal critiques. Kenney deftly shifts from reflections on his early days as a copywriter for hire and ventures into more demanding creative pursuits, to deeply personal accounts of struggles with identity and the chaotic search for meaning. There’s a refreshing rawness here: Kenney doesn’t sugarcoat his experiences or craft a conventional success story. Instead, he offers a plainspoken—sometimes brutally so—look at the uncertainty and absurdity of pursuing a creative career in a world that values practicality over passion.
The memoir is punctuated by Kenney’s distinctive voice: a blend of book-smart sophist and streetwise raconteur who refuses to be boxed into any writerly category. His ability to move between the deeply intellectual and the humorously relatable gives the work its edge. Whether reflecting on New York City’s literary legacy or recounting the existential crises that mark his journey, Kenney remains disarmingly authentic.
Kenney’s gift lies not only in his ability to render vivid scenes with hyperreal acuity but also in his knack for finding meaning in the mundane. His explorations of modern professional life, gentrification, the gig economy, and cultural evolution create a work that is as much a meditation on contemporary society as it is autobiographical. It’s a memoir for creatives, yes, but also a guide for anyone who has ever questioned their purpose or felt adrift in the modern world.
The title, Space Bar Continuum, cleverly encapsulates both the literal and figurative spaces Kenney navigates—physical, emotional, and intellectual. He writes for those of us trying to compose our own narratives in a world that often feels fragmented, unclear, or indifferent to our efforts. Yet, there is hope here too: a subtle, persistent belief in the transformative power of creativity.
The Harder I Faux is not simply a collection of stories—it is a philosophical statement, a vivid foray into the gray zones of existence. Each piece pulls you deeper into a labyrinth where reality and surreality fold into one another, forcing a reckoning with the very concept of identity, truth, and the future. This is existential fiction in its highest form, reminiscent of the sharp introspection of Kafka, the world-building of Octavia Butler, and the socio-cultural playfulness of Vonnegut.Kenney’s writing is both cerebral and accessible, with prose that glides effortlessly between elegant lyricism and hard-edged critique. The Harder I Faux challenges its readers—not by making them question a particular moral or cultural convention, but by prompting a more fundamental inquiry: what does it mean to be “real?" At the heart of this anthology is a struggle for wholeness, a search for meaning in a world that constantly redefines itself in increasingly bizarre and often alienating ways.
Each story in the collection—whether it’s the dystopian detachment of “Mass Half Full” or the beautifully tragic intimacy of “Touchy Fealty”—probes the boundaries of what it means to be alive. The characters are not just protagonists; they are metaphors for our collective desire to find coherence in a fragmented, post-modern world. They wrestle with their incompleteness, sometimes literally, as they navigate worlds that mirror our own in unsettling ways. Kenney’s depiction of these worlds—whether set in a cosmic dystopia or a suburban neighborhood—are alive with philosophical undercurrents, addressing themes like technological addiction, societal decay, emotional detachment, the shifting nature of identity, and the tension between truth and illusion. Each story confronts the complexity of modern existence with a sharp, reflective gaze.
Yet, even as these themes threaten to overwhelm, Kenney maintains a delicate balance between intellectual rigor and emotional depth. There is humor, tenderness, and even optimism tucked into the nooks of his narratives, offering glimmers of hope amidst the existential dread. The real triumph of The Harder I Faux lies not only in its rich themes but in its tonal agility—it can be melancholic, absurd, and profound, often in the same breath.
This is a work for readers who crave a book that demands something of them. It is as much about engaging the mind as it is about engaging the heart. Kenney's sentences are crafted with a precision that makes you want to linger over them, not just to appreciate the prose but to fully absorb the layers of meaning beneath. For anyone willing to take the intellectual leap, The Harder I Faux is a transformative reading experience.
About the Author
King Kenney is a multi-hyphenate writer whose career spans cultural criticism, music journalism, and copywriting for aspiring tech unicorns. His memoirist work, Space Bar Continuum, and his recent collection of reality-blurring existential fiction, The Harder I Faux, are refreshing contributions to contemporary literature and the struggles of creatives writing to live.For more information contact All About Jazz.
