Books Acquired Recently

Ferguson, Alex. My Autobiography. London: Hodder, 2013. I am a huge Manchester United fan, so of course I had to buy Sir Alex’s autobiography. It will be interesting to see what events from his 26-year reign at Old Trafford (not to mention his successful time at Aberdeen) stood out to him enough to write about.Continue reading “Books Acquired Recently”

Books Acquired Recently: Post-Holiday Edition

I ordered a number of books with some holiday cash, and they have been trickling in through the mail recently. Gundy, Jeff. Somewhere Near Defiance. Tallahassee: Anhinga, 2014. Gundy is one of my favorite poets, and he was kind enough to send me a review copy of his new collection. I look forward to readingContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently: Post-Holiday Edition”

Books Acquired Recently: Antique Edition

I received two antique books as belated holiday gifts from a relative who runs an antique shop. I am primarily interested in them as aesthetic objects, though the novel might be fascinating to read sometime. Dale, Annan. Dwellers in Gotham: A Romance of New York. New York: Eaton, 1898. This novel is actually still inContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently: Antique Edition”

Books Acquired Recently: Salt Lake City Edition

I am visiting Salt Lake City for the holidays, and over the past few days I’ve visited two of my favorite bookstores in the city, The King’s English, where I bought Lessing’s novel, and Central Book Exchange, where I bought Kosinski’s and Poe’s books. Kosinski, Jerzy. The Painted Bird. 1965. New York: Bantam, 1972. IContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently: Salt Lake City Edition”

Books Acquired Recently: Holiday Gift Edition

This post lists the various books I’ve received as gifts this holiday season. I actually didn’t ask for very many this year (I went a more purely aesthetic route, getting some snazzy clothing and several pieces of art), hence the small number, though I’ll probably buy a few more with some holiday cash. There areContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently: Holiday Gift Edition”

Book Acquired Recently: Stand Our Ground: Poems for Trayvon Martin & Marissa Alexander

Osayande, Ewuare X., ed. Stand Our Ground: Poems for Trayvon Martin & Marissa Alexander. Philadelphia: FreedomSeed, 2013. I received this anthology from my father, who works with Osayande at Mennonite Central Committee. I am incredibly excited to read it, as it looks to be an important addition to the long tradition of politically-activist poetry anthologiesContinue reading “Book Acquired Recently: Stand Our Ground: Poems for Trayvon Martin & Marissa Alexander”

Books Acquired Recently: R.J. Julia Edition, and Some Thoughts on the Form

First, let me say that obviously my blog has been taken over by Books Acquired Recently posts in recent weeks. This is partly a manifestation of my book-acquiring addiction and partly a manifestation of the busyness of my first semester teaching at Utica College: I just haven’t had time to write about other subjects. IContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently: R.J. Julia Edition, and Some Thoughts on the Form”

Books Acquired Recently: Retiring Colleague Edition

One of my colleagues is retiring after this semester, and she gave me some of her books dealing with African American literature because it is one of my research interests. I am happy to preserve some of her library by integrating it into my own. Several of the paperbacks are from the 1970s and haveContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently: Retiring Colleague Edition”

Book Acquired Recently: Philip Fried’s Early/Late

Fried, Philip. Early/Late: New & Selected Poems. Cliffs of Moher: Salmon, 2011. The New York City-based poet Philip Fried gave a delightful reading at Utica College this afternoon, and I bought his book afterwards. I had only read a few of Fried’s poems in anthologies before, and am very glad to have had this chanceContinue reading “Book Acquired Recently: Philip Fried’s Early/Late”

Books Acquired Recently

Arenas, Reinaldo. Before Night Falls. Trans. Dolores M. Koch. 1993. New York: Penguin, 1994. I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while, as it combines two interests of mine, queerness and Cuba. I’ve actually hardly read any Cuban literature, which is a problem that I need to remedy. Arenas’s memoir is a start.Continue reading “Books Acquired Recently”