Looking At You

(I’ve been on a little vacation, but here are some links you might like. The image of an eye is by Susan Manvelyan, via BoingBoing.)

1. Here’s a really good piece by British novelist Tom McCarthy, one of the brighter literary lights of our time: Technology and the Novel: From Blake to Ballard.

2. Jackson Ellis interviews poet Diane DiPrima.

3. Tod Goldberg: Glimmer Train Is The Best Death Metal Band Ever: A Guide To Literary Journals.

4. After postmodern novelist David Markson’s recent death, his impressive and highly personalized book collection showed up in pieces at the Strand Bookstore.

5. I’m definitely excited that Jay-Z’s memoir is coming out in November. I bet this will be a good one.

6. I’ve sometimes wondered why there aren’t more and better history blogs. But I’m continually impressed by the far-ranging and well-written Bozo Sapiens, by Michael and Ellen Kaplan. Clearly the leader in the history blog field.

7. William Faulkner at University of Virginia in the 1950s, captured on audio.

8. I don’t know how I feel about a movie dramatizing Kurt Cobain’s life. But if the movie’s going to be made, it’s probably good news that the screenwriter is Oren Moverman, who wrote the impressionistic Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There. Maybe five different actors or actresses will play Kurt.

9. Adam Langer, author of Thieves of Manhattan, appreciates the books of Beverly Cleary. Speaking of whom: I saw a trailer for a new film called Ramona and Beezus. As far as I can tell from the trailer, this movie has absolutely zero resemblance to the great Cleary stories it’s based on (for one thing, the characters are several years older than in the books). It’s just another movie about a perky kid. I have no idea why they would bother to call this movie Ramona and Beezus.

10. This Telegraph article seems to imply that Harold Pinter responded in a beastly way to students who asked him questions about his work. But it seems to me he was simply answering honestly.

11. Where F. Scott’s Daisy Buchanan grew up.

12. Tao Lin can’t escape his shady past. Asked about the title of his novel: “I was quiet then said Shoplifting from American Apparel in a reluctant, vaguely embarrassed, somehow slightly accusatory manner. Immediately an NYU officer I hadn’t fully noticed said “oh, really” a bit loudly and walked quickly out of the room.”

13. Elton John is writing a musical based on George Orwell’s Animal Farm.

14. We can always have fun taking down overrated writers. I agree with Gabriel Josipovici about Philip Roth, but I’m a little peeved that Anis Shivani mocked the same exact William Vollmann quote that I mocked four years ago. Find your own quotes to mock, Shivani.

15. The Library of America has launched its own blog.

16. XKCD on language.

6 Responses

  1. I can’t wait for Hova’s
    I can’t wait for Hova’s memoir either. I want to see if he admits Nas (who by the way is the GOAT) absolutely throttled him during their little dustup hehe.

    Mr. Pinter’s request was rather great I thought. I sincerely hope it shook those students out of academias constant over analysis. A shed is a shed unless told otherwise.

    Thanks for the great links Levi.

  2. Thx, Levi, for another list
    Thx, Levi, for another list that I always enjoy perusing but always seem to not have enough time to fully immerse myself in.

    I bookmarked ‘Glimmer Train’ because it looked really good, especially the cover art of their periodicals (this leaves Bo Diddley’s opinion that books shouldn’t be judged by their covers mute) and another bookmark for ‘Bozo Sapiens.’ The name alone is wonderful… try saying it several times in a row and see if a smile doesn’t come to full bloom on your face (if you’re in the market for a smile…).

    How and where do you find the time to uncover all these links? I don’t know if you’re dedicated to the art or just plain fucking crazy to be spending so much time on your computer. Watch out for hemorrhoids, amigo.

  3. Lots of great links;
    Lots of great links; thanks.

    Anyone who hires Elton John to write a musical deserves what he or she gets. (Hastily scribbled junk, if his past efforts are any indication.)

    From his picture, I now see why Vollman writes as he does. He’s a pinhead.

    Was excited to hear Faulkner’s voice, but the clip content is uninteresting.

    Everyone’s collection ends up in pieces at the Strand Bookstore.

  4. When I saw the “eyeball”
    When I saw the “eyeball” photo, I immediately thought it was one of those photos taken by your daughter last week. In fact, if I remember correctly, she took one of YOUR eye and it came out looking eerily fantastic.

    Why would you choose a BoingBoing photo when you had a photo of your own eye available?

  5. Hi Dad — that’s a good
    Hi Dad — that’s a good question — I forgot about Abby taking the photo of my eye! Interesting coincidence. Of course, I don’t think she had quite the same high resolution (on her cell phone) as this camera, but yeah, I could have used that one instead.

    Dan, that’s a good point about everyone’s book collection. I guess mine will be there someday too.

  6. “This Telegraph article
    “This Telegraph article seems to imply that Harold Pinter responded in a beastly way to students who asked him questions about his work. But it seems to me he was simply answering honestly.”

    Aha, excellent catch, Levi. They’ve begun the domestication/Auto Tuning of Harold Pinter’s dissident voice, trying to recast him as “curmudgeon” instead of what he was, clear-eyed and, when called for, courageous.

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Litkicks will turn 30 years old in the summer of 2024! We can’t believe it ourselves. We don’t run as many blog posts about books and writers as we used to, but founder Marc Eliot Stein aka Levi Asher is busy running two podcasts. Please check out our latest work!