Posted in book stew, writing stew, tagged call and answer, poetry, robert bly on April 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »
an awesome, yet unpublished poem by Robert Bly: Call and Answer
my favorite stanza is the one that ends the poem,
Some masters say our life lasts only seven days.
Where are we in the week? Is it Thursday yet?
Hurry, cry now! Soon Sunday night will come.
Posted in book stew, ridiculous stew, tagged charlie orr, david lehman, hypothetical library on March 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »
so, this guy had the best idea.
This book designer, Charlie Orr, who’s done lots of stuff for soft skull, bloof, penguin, etc., decided that because he’s not a writer, but still had all these great ideas for books (or something like that), he would make covers for books that DON’T EVEN EXIST! Brilliant.
My favorite of Orr’s Hypothetical Library so far is the David Lehman series, the What Really Happened series. That shit is FUNNY.
The best is the What Really Happened: Dallas — November 22, 1963. The Hypothetical Flap Copy says:
While conjecture is irresistible and has its place in the construction of historical narratives, Lehman brings to each book a solid grounding in facts and details.
ha. check it out here.
Posted in book stew, tagged anthony bourdain, kitchen confidential on November 12, 2009| 2 Comments »
I’ve always been really into Anthony Bourdain’s show. He loves food. And he’s not a foodie. He just eats (and eats!). I respect his utter disregard for his own health in the name of food. And hey, his trip to Mexico city made me want to start eating meat again.
Even though I’m only a little ways in, I’m liking it so far. It’s half of a love affair with food, and half of a love affair with the kitchen. The hottest, more stressful, macho place in a restaurant. I remember peering into the window of the kitchen of our restaurant on a hot day, the cooks bathing in their own sweat, and I would feel shame for asking them for one more slice of bread for table 9.
In any case, it seems like Anthony Bourdain is doing what he does best, making unglamorous things seem appealing — in a visceral sort of way.
Posted in book stew, celebrity stew, new york stew, texan stew, tagged Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt, Texas Monthly, Time, Walter Cronkite on July 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »
Walter Cronkite told the Texas Monthly the “way it was,” in 2006, including his time at the University of Texas, and longevity of the nightly news.
Also, author (Angela’s Ashes) Frank McCourt died yesterday.
Posted in book stew, tagged america a prophecy, david baker, fourth of july, kevin young, patriotics, patriotism, poetry, sir walter scott, william blake on July 4, 2009| 1 Comment »
for the critics
would be patriots
for the southerners
the visionary
and a happy fourth from me.
Posted in book stew, writing stew, tagged cornelius eady, nick flynn, saturday morning on June 20, 2009| Leave a Comment »
has become even more special to me now that i spend all week going, going, going. it is the first day that i can really slow down. stop. read. write.
I’m a Fool to Love You by Cornelius Eady
Father Outside by Nick Flynn
and i really adore this one. the children in my summer school class are almost all 7 years old:
Brian, Age 7 by Mark Doty (a Texas Poet)
Posted in book stew, tagged summer ficiton, téa obreht, the atlantic, the new yorker, the tiger's wife on June 7, 2009| 4 Comments »
Just read Téa Obreht’s short story in The New Yorker summer fiction issue, “The Tiger’s Wife.” I can’t wait for her novel by the same name to be published. Apparently, another of her stories will also be featured in The Atlantic‘s summer fiction issue.
I’ve always admired when an author can use folklore to create a narrative; Obreht does this, without converting — and thus ruining — the mystery of the tale into cold, hard facts.
Posted in book stew, two more cents, tagged BookExpo America, electronic publishing, FREE INTERNET FOR ALL!, Richard Nash, self publishing, sherman alexie, the internet, The New York Times on June 2, 2009| 1 Comment »
A few years ago, thinking of a future in publishing, I too attended the massive book fair. Comparable only to a Hog Show (not that I’ve ever attended a hog show), the massive arena is a heyday for publishers, agents, and hanger-oners (ME!) of the publishing industry to network, promote and check out last years trends, and compare the coming year’s trends.
ok, I lied. I went for the free books.
This year, however, the “book world” is buzzing with the new Kindle, that goofy looking device, that allows you to buy and download and subsequently read books, all electronically. There are quite a few out-spoken opponents of the device. According to The New York Times, the writer Sherman Alexie refused to let his books to be published electronically. He called the kindle “elitist” and when he saw a woman near him reading on a kindle near him on a recent flight, he “wanted to hit her.” (He later commented on this statement here.)
But the fact is, that book sells are declining, in part because of the recession, but also presumably because of the availability of electronic written material. And the fact is, that even if the Kindle goes out of fashion, electronic publishing is not going to disappear. (It really is a goofy looking device. I also have waited on customers and had a similar feeling of revulsion as Mr. Alexie.)
Besides, how elitist is it, really? I will spare you all a long tirade about book history, but I would like to point out that books until recently were an elite form of communication. Until the point of extensive proliferation of written materials, only very few had the means or access to published materials. Literacy in many ways remains an elite form of communication. Poetry especially, I’d like to point out to Mr. Alexie.
I can only presume that the internet and electronic communication will continue to to proliferate and increase in accessibility — free internet access to all, anyone? community computers? Particularly the more “low-brow” forms of blogs and self-publishing. Maybe not with the Kindle, but the internet gives an author more freedom to self-publish, and maybe not be quite as dictated by the publishing “giants” — as the on-line publishing community is still developing and it remains to be seen how written material really will transform in the next few years.
In resumen: kindles may suck, but the internet is great.
Interesting side note, Richard Nash, formerly of Soft Skull Press has dedicated himself to working within this newly developing field, saying that he will be working for his
passionate belief in the future of publishing, in the future of community built around long-form edited narrative texts, in the future of connecting writers and readers, in a Web 3.0 that’s about the filters.
Check out his blog, here.
Posted in book stew, writing stew, tagged emerging writers network, may, short story month on May 6, 2009| Leave a Comment »
short story month? does every month have to have a thing? weird.
i mean, i guess you shouldn’t need to have a month to appreciate something like a well-crafted short story, nor does it really do justice to all the wonderful short story writers…but according to emerging writers network, this is the month for short stories, short story collections, and short story writers.
but, i’m not complaining, because it gives me an excuse to read more short stories. and hopefully write some. i’ve got some cooking (stewing? eh? eh?), but what with moving out of my apartment, buying a car, driving down to austin, and moving in, i’m not promising anything. but i’ll do my best.
other places to read/read about/discuss/love or hate short stories:
storyglossia
every day fiction
ploughshares
poets and writers
does anyone have any new great short story collections that they’ve read?
Bean Stews 