“Frantic prams. / Romantic oblivion. // He heard a crash / and blamed himself. // Nice hat. / Thanks. // The blue umbrella / walks alone.” – Joshua Beckman and Matthew Rohrer, from ‘Nice Hat. Thanks.’
Man, a lot of y’all posted what you read this past year on social media. And all of you read more than me. Good NIGHT, I better get my nose in some books if I am to keep pace with you maniacs. It’s inspiring. It also makes me embarrassed. Know that I haven’t cracked 20 books in a year since my kid was born, until 2022. Proud of y’all, less of myself. Anyway, I’ve been reading!
What I’ve Been Reading This Week:
Continued reading New Poets of Native Nations, ed. Heid E. Erdrich, like I mentioned last links column. Lots of excellent poets, some of whom I mentioned in the previous article. In further readings, I particularly enjoyed Natalie Diaz, Jennifer Elise Foerster, Trevino L. Brings Plenty, and Brandy Nālani McDougall. Not that there was anyone I didn’t enjoy—that anthology is a treasure trove. Those names just jumped out.
This week, I started The Last Voyage of Somebody The Sailor by John Barth. It alternates between two storylines, that of a 20th-century American man and the Sindbad of legend. It’s interesting so far, though I’m only about 50 pages in. Y’all know I love modern interpretations/retellings of myth.
I’ve been meaning to read Barth for a while. I know he’s sort of foundational to metafiction, I know he’s a Maryland guy, but I don’t know much else and haven’t found much opinion of him from the contemporary scene. If you’ve got an opinion of John Barth or recommendations for further reading, let me know.
LINKS!
Block Club dropped their top good news stories of 2022. Chicago is a favorite right wing punching bag for “what’s wrong with Democrat-controlled cities” or whatever. It’s bogus, obviously, but worth amplifying the good stuff.
Really loved this essay on chapter transitions from Matt Bell, here on Substack. Will be in the back of my mind as I’m editing my novel this year.
Aren’t you curious why medieval artists doodled killer rabbits in their margins? This is the second-most interesting thing about medieval manuscripts behind the frequent cat pissings.
Loved this video essay from StoryStreet on Knives Out (I’ve been in a big Rian Johnson rabbithole. I’ve seen Glass Onion three times and could happily watch it again tonight.)
Listened to D’Angelo’s Black Messiah for the first time since maybe when it came out in 2014. What a great album to pair with To Pimp A Butterfly, which also came out that year. Don’t make the mistake I did and go so long without listening:
Sorry you got an email,
Chris