Acker, Kathy. Bodies of Work. London: Serpent’s Tail, 1997.
—. Don Quixote. New York: Grove, 1986.
I love Kathy Acker, and have been meaning to read Don Quixote for quite a while now. I picked up Bodies of Work, a collection of her non-fiction, because it was only a dollar. It is in terrible shape; large chunks of pages are falling out, but all of the pages are there, so I’ll get the book re-bound. Normally I don’t buy books in bad condition, but I made an exception in this case because I love how Acker’s mind works.
These along with the Baldwin and Everett were purchased at Ken Sanders Rare Books.
Baldwin, James. Just Above My Head. 1979. New York: Dell, 1980.
Baldwin is one of my favorite authors, and I’ve been getting into his later fiction more recently. I actually ordered this book several months ago, but it was out of stock, so it was nice to find a copy while browsing in person.
Everett, Percival. I Am Not Sidney Poitier. Minneapolis: Graywolf, 2009.
I also really enjoy Everett’s work, and I Am Not Sidney Poitier is one of his well-known books, so I am excited to read it. I am moving across the country in a week, thus I decided when I went to Ken Sanders this afternoon that I would only look for books by Acker, Baldwin, and Everett instead of browsing indiscriminately because I already have a lot to pack as it is. But my search for work by these authors was successful in all three cases!
Incidentally, I met Sidney Poitier when I was seven at the Los Angeles airport. I got his autograph (which hung on the wall of my bedroom for years, though I sadly no longer have it), and my mother got her picture taken with him. He was very gracious about being stopped by his fans.
Penner, Christina. Widows of Hamilton House. Winnipeg: Enfield, 2008.
This book was recently recommended to me by a friend who knows about my interest in Mennonite literature. It’s a gothic mystery, which is not a subject I normally read, but it should be fascinating because of the Mennonite elements.
This and D’anna’s two books were purchased from amazon.com’s network of sellers.
D’anna, Lynnette. Belly Fruit. Vancouver: New Star, 2000.
—. vixen. Toronto: Insomniac, 2001.
As I mentioned in a recent post, I recently ordered a bunch of D’anna’s books because she is the rare Mennonite writer who writes openly about sex. Both of these books have tacky titillating covers, so we’ll see whether the stories live up to their billing.
Daniel Shank Cruz 