The fine people at HTML Giant are again running an indie-lit Secret Santa program. The basics: On the sign-deadline, you will find out your recipient and her or his address, and by Christmas (it’s December 25, this year, I think), send them a book from an indie press or a subscription to an indie mag. … Continue reading
Category Archives: Books
Some interesting words from John Crowley about a recent Javier MarÃas appearance at Yale: He writes with a typewriter, beginning with the first page, with a situation he has been brooding about, and some sense of the implications or characters involved, but no real storyline. He probes forward with this, discovering as he goes (he … Continue reading
November 19, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
In Which Books Are Purchased Via Dalkey Archive Press
Categories: BooksVia HTML Giant came news of Dalkey Archive’s “buy 10 books for $65″ deal, running through the 22nd of this month. I decided to take advantage of it this year; below is what I ended up ordering, based on reviews, recommendations, or a feeling of “hey, this looks interesting”. I’m about a quarter of the … Continue reading
I’ll be taking part in Vol.1‘s regular reading series this month — tomorrow (i.e. Nov. 19th), in fact. More information can be found here, and below. Come wish us a happy winter break as we present our final Vol. 1 Brooklyn Storytelling of 2009. This month, we present two contributes to our site, and three … Continue reading
A little while ago, I linked to my review of David Ohle’s chapbook Those Bones. In the time since then, Calamari Press has released a collection of two novellas from Mr. Ohle: Boons and The Camp, provided in the increasingly-popular flipbook format. Both novellas are worth your time — they’re unsettling in both their imagery … Continue reading
November 11, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Writing on Writing, 11 November 2009
Categories: Books, FoodOne: Scott Snyder chats with Graeme McMillan on the subject of vampires in popular culture and his upcoming series for Vertigo. (And if you haven’t read Snyder’s Voodoo Heart, you really should.) Two: In which the esteemed Scott Gold talks whiskey. (Technically not “writing on writing,” I’ll admit, but close enough.)
October 19, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Reading on Reading: 19 October 2009
Categories: Art, BooksOne: The culture site Big Other — including many a writer affiliated with The Chapbook Review — has launched. Good stuff, with topics ranging from text separated from the page (which put me in mind of this) to authors’ final wishes concerning their work. Two: Given that the readings given by both in Chicago are … Continue reading
Via Amelia Gray’s blog comes this link to Lindsay Hunter’s “Meat From a Meat Man,” which is damn near life-affirming. The trip to Chicago was, in fact, amazing.
One: Edward Champion interviews the FTC’s Richard Cleland on the topic of the FTC’s new disclosure requirements for bloggers; it’s sparked some good discussions in the comments section. Two: Maria T Sciarrino discusses the persistence of payola in radio. Three: Ron Hogan on the FTC regulations. I’m left alternately frustrated by some of Mr. Cleland’s … Continue reading
October 2, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
In Which a David Ohle Chapbook Is Reviewed
Categories: BooksIn the new issue of The Chapbook Review, I have a review up of David Ohle’s Those Bones, a chapbook focusing on memories of New Orleans pre- and post-Hurricane Katrina that is itself an excerpt from a larger work. A bit of the review follows: …what follows are short vignettes, New Orleans considered from multiple … Continue reading
October 1, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Recommended Music Writing: 1 October 2009
Categories: Books, MusicCarl Wilson chats with Joe Pernice: the interview proper and the outtakes.
For Vol.1, I reviewed Tao Lin’s Shoplifting From American Apparel. One bit of the review goes something like this: Lin’s Shoplifting From American Apparel has no flights of fancy: no talking bears, no magic-realist interludes. The novella opens with the daily routine of its protagonist, a writer named Sam: waking in the mid-afternoon, he logs … Continue reading
September 25, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
(Some pun on “smash” should go here.)
Categories: Books, FilmLast night, I went to the PPOW Gallery to see a screening of Michael Kimball and Luca Dipierro’s I Will Smash You, a film consisting of short scenes of people smashing objects (or, in one case, smashing a concept) for assorted reasons. In most cases, the smashing functioned for the person performing it on both … Continue reading
Earlier this week, Flavorwire ran an article I wrote on Blake Butler. The article was taken from a significantly longer interview with Blake conducted via email. As there were certain topics that, for reasons of space, I couldn’t explore too deeply in the piece itself, I’m including the Q & A in its entirety below. … Continue reading
September 23, 2009, Author: , Leave a comment
Tags:: Blake Butler, Nick Antosca, Tao Lin
Reading on Reading: 23 September 2009
Categories: BooksTags:: Blake Butler, Nick Antosca, Tao Lin
One: Nick Antosca profiles Tao Lin for The Daily Beast. Ethics and literary feuds are discussed. Two: Blake Butler announces that he’s signed a two-book deal with Harper Perennial, which is all kinds of impressive. Dan Wickett provides commentary.