Posts Tagged Book Review
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December 16, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Kae Tempest: On Connection
On Connection Kae Tempest Faber & Faber Social For some 20 years Tempest has been a writer and performer – plays, poems and a novel have been printed. Spoken-word shows incorporate music and poetry, there are book-length single poems and recorded albums that share titles with printed-word publications. To me it’s all exquisite. A quite […]Archive
November 4, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Bob Gaulke: Pocket Blues
Pocket Blues Bob Gaulke (Independent) Bob Gaulke is an American musician and poet – I’ve enjoyed his songs, very much and via Facebook I get to see his poems. He’s prolific, thoughtful and approaches his poetic work with the twin gifts of songwriting brevity and journalistic observation. That is to say his social commentary is […]Archive
November 1, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Richard Langston: Five O’Clock Shadows
Five O’Clock Shadows Richard Langston The Cuba Press This is Richard Langston’s sixth book of poems; his first in eight years – the longest gap between collections. He’s busy when not documenting the land in his words. He documents the land in his work – his day-job is directing episodes of Country Calendar. You can […]Archive
October 20, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Billie Holiday: The Last Interview and Other Conversations
Billie Holiday: The Last Interview and Other Conversations Billie Holiday (w/ introduction by Khanya Mtshali) Melville House I’m a big fan of The Last Interview series (there’s more being added every time I check in – including, I see, a Ruth Bader Ginsburg one is being readied).Archive
September 17, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Chuck Palahniuk: Consider This
Consider This: Moments In My Writing Life After Which Everything Was Different Chuck Palahniuk Grand Central Publishing I am probably best described as a fairweather fan of Chuck Palahniuk – but certainly the visceral charge of catching up with his first few books (Fight Club, Survivor, Invisible Monsters and Choke) was akin to blasting my […]Archive
September 4, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Chris Frantz: Remain In Love
Remain In Love: Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Tina Chris Frantz St. Martin’s Press Talking Heads made nearly perfect music across 10 nearly perfect albums (eight studio, two live). There are post-punkers and people there at the time that swear only by the first four albums, thinking the second half of the band’s career some […]Archive
August 31, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman: Sounds Like Titanic
Sounds Like Titanic: A Memoir Jessica Chiccehitto Hindman W. W. Norton & Company; 1st Edition One of many new treatises on the deep fake, artistic fraudulence and imposter syndrome, Jessica Hindman’s memoir masquerading as a novel tells the true story of her four years spent pretending to play the violin in a touring orchestra while […]Archive
August 6, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Lana Del Rey: Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass [Audiobook Edition]
Lana Del Rey Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass [Audiobook Edition] Audible I’m new to Lana Del Rey appreciation. I wasn’t ever a fan. Until I heard – and heard again (and could not shake) her most recent album, the brilliant Norman Fucking Rockwell! That happened. I was late to the party, but enthusiastic about […]Archive
July 28, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Noah Van Sciver: The Complete Works of Fante Bukowski
The Complete Works of Fante Bukowski Noah Van Sciver Fantagraphics; 1 edition Noah Van Sciver’s brilliant satire Fante Bukowski is here collected so we have the standalone volumes one, two and three all in one big book to enjoy. Along with some ephemera including visual tributes by other graphic novelist artists.Archive
July 23, 2020 by Simon Sweetman
Rachel McAlpine: How To Be Old
How To Be Old: Poems Rachel McAlpine The Cuba Press The first thing that hits me about Rachel McAlpine’s work here – in her new book, a victory lap of poetry! – is the joyousness she feels about being alive; everything, all of it. The good, the bad (is there really any ‘bad’ when you’re […]Archive
June 23, 2020 by Simon Sweetman