I just read an article by Paul Lukas (http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/6053/the-coolest-baseball-cards-of-the-year) about Left Field Cards (http://www.leftfieldcards.com/index.html), an art project by Amelie Mancini that consists of quirky sets of baseball card-esque postcards. I love paper culture, and I love baseball, and I love the nostalgia evoked by baseball cards (I collected them avidly as a boy), so I absolutelyContinue reading “Left Field Cards and Some Thoughts on Obsession”
Monthly Archives: July 2012
Giannina Braschi’s Yo-Yo Boing!
The Puerto Rican-American writer Giannina Braschi’s 1998 novel (this is the best term I can think of for it, though it is only a novel insofar as that term is now so all encompassing, like a giant, shaggy literary beast somewhere between Cookie Monster and Grendel that devours everything in its path) Yo-Yo Boing! (translated into English by TessContinue reading “Giannina Braschi’s Yo-Yo Boing!”
Books Acquired Recently
Dahl, Roald. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More. 1977. New York: Puffin, 2010. I just received a desk copy of this in my school mail today. I’m teaching it this fall in my Introduction to Literature course as an example of one of the reasons we read literature–for fun. Dahl’s short storiesContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
Book Acquired Recently: Frank O’Hara’s Standing Still and Walking in New York
O’Hara, Frank. Standing Still and Walking in New York. Ed. Donald Allen. San Francisco: Grey Fox, 1983. I am a huge O’Hara fan and collect his books compulsively. However, I am ashamed to admit that I did not know of this book’s existence until I encountered a citation of it in an article several weeks ago.Continue reading “Book Acquired Recently: Frank O’Hara’s Standing Still and Walking in New York”
On Being a Cyborg
My primary computer was infected with a trojan several days ago, so I spent a large chunk of time this weekend working to eradicate it. Aside from feeling annoyed about the process in general–anger at whoever created the malware, trepidation about the damage it caused, frustration at the disruption of my plans in order toContinue reading “On Being a Cyborg”
The Polymath or, The Life and Opinions of Samuel R. Delany, Gentleman
The Polymath or, The Life and Opinions of Samuel R. Delany, Gentleman. Delany is my favorite writer, but I’ve never been fortunate enough to hear him speak, so it was wonderful to see this film, which is made up almost exclusively of Delany talking about his life and writing. Although the film itself is ratherContinue reading “The Polymath or, The Life and Opinions of Samuel R. Delany, Gentleman”
Books Acquired Recently
Acker, Kathy. Pussy, King of the Pirates. New York: Grove, 1996. I really enjoy Acker’s work because of its combination of postmodern form and explicit sexuality. I was wanting to read more of her fiction this summer and saw that Hume’s book has a section on Pussy, King of the Pirates, so I decided toContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
In Praise of Street Food
Today there was an annual Independence Day street fair in my neighborhood. I love street fairs even though they are often hot and overcrowded because they always involve delicious street food! I grew up with high street food standards as a result of living in New York City, where the hot dogs are the best inContinue reading “In Praise of Street Food”
Books Acquired Recently
Rivers, Larry, with Arnold Weinstein. What Did I Do? The Unauthorized Autobiography. New York: Harper, 1992. I am interested in Larry Rivers because of his close friendship/relationship with my favorite poet Frank O’Hara, but I don’t know much about his work. I recently read an essay on O’Hara in the Journal of the Midwest ModernContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
On the Accumulation of Multiple Copies of the Same Book
In an article in the July 12, 2012 New York Review of Books, Michael Chabon writes that he “acquired five copies, of various size and vintage” of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake during the year that he worked his way through the novel. I love this little detail because I, too, find myself obsessively buying different printingsContinue reading “On the Accumulation of Multiple Copies of the Same Book”
Daniel Shank Cruz 