Bob Dylan Spotlights The Music That Drives Us
THE PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SONG. Bob Dylan. Simon and Schuster. “It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it.” Jack Kerouac, from the essay. “Are Writers Made or Born?” … Continue reading
Reborn Looks Past Bitter Unknowns To A New Beginning
REBORN: A TRUE STORY OF LIFE AND DEATH. Feli Mercado. Balboa Press. In early spring, I received a query from an author looking to engage me as an editor to … Continue reading
Hymns To the Midnight Poet
THE COLLECTED WORKS OF JIM MORRISON. Jim Morrison. Forward by Tom Robbins. Introduction by Editor Frank Lisciandro. Harper Collins. My mind is calm & swirling like the marble pages of … Continue reading
Michael Baughman Takes Us On A Powerful Journey
AN OLD MAN REMEMBERING BIRDS. Michael Baughman. Oregon State University Press. One cold and windy morning about ten years ago, I was waiting for the bus at the shopping center … Continue reading
Life, Death & Poetry
HYMNS TO THE NIGHT ROAD (Poems For Dead Parents). John Aiello. Electric Review Press. “(and)I wonder whatYou’re thinking today(as)Your eyesDart aroundThe roomLike dank mirrored spears(wondering)Where theMind goes(fecund)In clots(& waiting)To die…” … Continue reading
Statements On Life & Death
An Interview With Mule Kick Blues Editor Garrett Caples San Francisco poet Garrett Caples was charged with the vital task of editing Michael McClure’s last book of poems (Mule Kick … Continue reading
What’s The Catch? A Discussion of Joe Abercrombie’s Fiction
I’ve been working my way through the collected works of Joe Abercrombie over the past few months, starting with the two books that begin his ongoing second trilogy, The Age … Continue reading
Allen Ginsberg Biographer & Journals Editor Michael Schumacher Takes the Witness Stand
“You know, over the course of his career Ginsberg reviewed many books. Once I asked him: ‘Allen, do you like everything you read? Why don’t you ever write any negative … Continue reading
Allen Ginsberg’s Picture of A Broken Country
THE FALL OF AMERICA JOURNALS – 1965-1971. Allen Ginsberg. Edited by Michael Schumacher. University of Minnesota Press. “The Fall of America continues Planet News chronicle tape-recorded scribed by hand or … Continue reading