L☀RNA S☁RE

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:07:09 +0000

“I’d never conceded to the rom-com pone”

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:16:05 +0000

I can’t wait to begin Sam Lipsyte’s new novel The Ask – which is reviewed by Lydia Milliet in this Sunday’s NYT: “These are the kind of unlikable, lovable protagonists we miss; these are the self-loathing, mediocre secret geniuses who can set our people free.”

Gigantic Issue 2 looks established. I bought it at St. Mark’s last night but have not yet read one word. The paper is shiny, feels authoritative. I also bought Dorothea Lasky’s book Black Life, and another Wave book, Bluets, by Maggie Nelson. I had never heard of Nelson until we read her in Sarah Manguso’s class. We read an excerpt from the beggining of Bluets and I had a really intense reaction. I was dismissive and judgmental, but as I kept reading, which I wouldn’t have done if not for the class assignment, I felt disturbed. I felt like the project had a lot to teach me about “talky” writing (I feel this way about Dottie’s work, too) and I became very, very protective of Nelson’s book during our class discussion. It makes no sense to me. How can it be so provocative and so difficult when it has perhaps the most yuck premise I have ever encountered (she falls in love with the color blue). I also got a lovely hardback from Four Corners Books called:

It’s part of their “Familiars” series in which artists choose and illustrate a novel or short stories. It’s an exciting time for reading and writing. Lots of friends are getting published! Spring is coming! And, I’ve got some nonfiction pieces coming out in The Rumpus (on Joseph O’Neill) and The Faster Times (reviewing a book about the Yugo) in the next fews days, and this weekend I am going to make Barry Hannah’s 3 Bean Soup.

Recommendations

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:22:38 +0000

diana mini camera, skins, eat when you feel sad by zachary german, “the moors” by ben marcus (in the latest tin house), the amy bishop saga, juicer, kate zambreno’s blog, drugs: a very short introduction by leslie iversen, dottie lasky’s poem in the new yorker

Richard Ford’s 10 Rules for Writing

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:00:33 +0000

1 Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer’s a good idea.

2 Don’t have children.

3 Don’t read your reviews.

4 Don’t write reviews. (Your judgment’s always tainted.)

5 Don’t have arguments with your wife in the morning, or late at night.

6 Don’t drink and write at the same time.

7 Don’t write letters to the editor. (No one cares.)

8 Don’t wish ill on your colleagues.

9 Try to think of others’ good luck as encouragement to yourself.

10 Don’t take any shit if you can possibly help it.

From The Guardian, via Ed Park

As I get older these categories are increasingly important to me…

admin — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 05:42:22 +0000

today my boss said “everything will just melt itself”

admin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:03:33 +0000

items I am reading slowly and recommend:

why animal suffering matters by andrew linzey, dad says he saw you at the mall by ken sparling (courtesy of sasha fletcher), mindfulness in plain english by bhante henepola gunaratana, the stories of vladimir nabokov, light boxes: a novel by shane jones.

items to physically attend, see you there?

1.) March 5-28 at the Met: Shostakovich opera of Gogol’s “The Nose.”

2.) Wednesday, February 10 at Housing Works: Harper’s hosts “Love: A Rebuke,” a reading with Colson Whitehead, Heidi Julavits, and Sam Lipsyte.

3.) Saturday, February 27 at Space Space: Poetry Time with Lawrence Giffin, Lucy Ives and Chris Martin.

objects of my virtual affection:

4.) Ben Marcus has a nice new website with his writing and other people’s.

5.) I reviewed a british history book for The Faster Times. Stand by for my review of The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History. I really enjoyed reviewing A.N. Wilson’s book. May I always review nonfiction and never review fiction. May I never be reviewer-y.

6.) My new passion: “Skin Deep is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products brought to you by researchers at the Environmental Working Group.” I threw away a lot of money my perfumes, which was really upsetting. I know it’s kinda mommy but I really like to wear perfume. I had no idea it was so toxic. Fortunately, my friend Annie came through with the best replacement: Sweet Marriage: “Scent: Joy inducing and sensual. Divine jasmine with a hint of orange. Purposes: Brings love and sensuality to a union. Refreshes love, increases intimacy and communication, strengthens commitment and promotes monogamy.” (I am getting married this summer) P.S. check out The Successful Marriage Resource.

6.) Gigantic has some new stuff up, and is asking for 300 word biographies of famous Americans!

This is what I bought Lawrence for Christmas:

“Eve de Harben”

admin — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:51:00 +0000

1.) “How, I wondered, would the landscape change if the New Yorker published Diane Williams, Gary Lutz, Ben Marcus, Lydia Davis? What renaissance might ensue?” from Loads of Learned Lumber

2.) I am reviewing A.N. Wilson’s Our Times: 1953-2008 for The Faster Times. From A.N. Wilson’s Wikipedia page:

In August 2006 Wilson’s biography of Sir John Betjeman was published. It was then discovered that he had been the victim of a hoax and had included a letter (to Anglo-Irish writer, Honor Tracy) which purported to be by Betjeman detailing a previously unknown love affair, but which he acknowledged to be a fiction, when it was pointed out that it contained an acrostic spelling out an insulting message to him. The letter was sent to Wilson by “Eve de Harben”, who then wrote to a journalist to reveal the hoax. The acrostic spelt out “AN Wilson is a shit” and “Eve de Harben” is an anagram of “Ever been had“. Bevis Hillier, Wilson’s arch rival and Betjeman’s authorised biographer, was an immediate suspect but initially denied all knowledge. A week after the hoax was publicised, however, Hillier admitted responsibility, stating that “When a newspaper started billing Wilson’s book as ‘the big one’, it was just too much.” Wilson later claimed that he has struck back with a hidden message of his own in a reprinting of the book. That has yet to be discovered.

3.) Popcorn is my favorite food and this is the worst news: ”A large tub of popcorn at Regal Cinemas, for example, holds 20 cups of popcorn and has 1,200 calories, 980 milligrams of sodium and 60 grams of saturated fat. Adding just a tablespoon of butter adds 130 calories. And do not forget that it comes with free refills. Not so hungry? The medium size popcorn, which comes in a bag, contains the same amount as the large. And even the small, at 11 cups, delivers 670 calories, 550 milligrams of sodium and 24 grams of saturated fat.”

4.) The Jay Z/Alicia Keys song “Empire State of Mind” came on in Grey Dog’s and I got choked up.

T. Gertler Update

admin — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 22:52:17 +0000

At the end of November I wrote about T. Gertler’s book Elbowing the Seducer and wondered about T. Gertler’s identity, and what happened to her. I don’t know a lot more than I knew then, but I’ve finished her novel. The book is dedicated to R.D., M.D. and (the symbol for the Latin cum = with) Gravity. I haven’t read a sexy/plotty book like this since Rona Jaffe’s The Best of Everything and I really enjoyed myself.

New York Magazine reviewed the book and has a picture of T. Gertler, and in 1984 Janet Maslin wrote the following for the NYT:

”ELBOWING THE SEDUCER,” one of the year’s funniest and most talked- about first novels, is headed for the screen. T. Gertler’s book about a young writer trying to find her way in New York’s literary community and eventually having the last laugh on an editor and a critic who take advantage of her na”ivete, has been optioned by David Picker. A former president of United Artists and Paramount, now an independent producer, Mr. Picker has asked Miss Gertler to write the screenplay for a film to be directed by Nessa Hyams.

Miss Hyams, who is Mr. Picker’s wife, directed more than 100 episodes of ”Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.” She spent five years as casting director at Warner Bros., and was a vice president of Columbia Pictures. This will be her feature directing debut.

She and Miss Gertler, who have been discussing the adaptation, hope to retain the book’s humor and to keep the story closely focused on the narrator, lessening the importance of the men who mistreat her. ”The spirit of the book will be retained, and so will the main character,” Mr. Picker said. ”We think of her as an 80’s version of Holly Golightly.”

The screenplay is being written with a specific star in mind. However, the actress has not been told that the role is being tailored for her. ”You don’t go to somebody with a book, because she’ll just say, ‘I like it, I want to see the screenplay,’ ” Mr. Picker said. ”We’ll go to her with the screenplay when it’s done.”

____________________

I looked up Nessa Hyams on IMDB and couldn’t find anything.

Concerning the Wikipedia claim that the character of Howard Ritchie is based on Gordon Lish: Howard Ritchie is described as a “midwife to literature” and he calls himself Captain Marvel (Lish is known as ”Captain Fiction”). I thought Ritchie’s literary magazine, Rosemary, resembled the Quarterly, but Lish founded the Quarterly in 1987 and Gertler’s book came out in 1984 so I guess if it’s Lish it could possibly be about Esquire? Does that make Vincent Bask Barry Hannah? Or Richard Ford?

Here are some passages from Elbowing the Seducer:

“Rosemary was descended from the Review, which had established a respectable reputation circulation among college libraries and large bookstores in college towns. The intricate woodblock R on its masthead had been carved by a student, Dickie N. Thornton, forty years before; thirty-five years later his widow; Lydia with plumed moles, provided a fund to perpetuate the magazine, with the provision that Dickie’s R should also endure…

The word submission summed up the problem he faced. He didn’t want writing to crawl to him, hat in hand…

He wanted to be disarmed, he wanted to be aroused. He was listening for a voice that unmistakably, stubbornly insisted on itself, couldn’t be anything but itself, faithfulness as instinct or, if instinct failed, faithfulness as an act of courage.”

Mineral Paintings by Carly Waito

admin — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:48:00 +0000

Shary Boyle and Carly Waito are two of my favorite artists — and both are Canadian. Here’s Carly Waito’s exhibition page at the Narwhal Art Space.

My Son, My Son What Have Ye Done

admin — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:38:57 +0000

Amazing! Way better than I expected.