Books:
I probably only read 10 contemporary books in 2009 but of those, Bluets by Maggie Nelson was the best, most inventive thing I read. Bodies by Susie Orbach was also pretty good.
Movies:
My Son My Son What Have Ye Done, by Werner Herzog (I’ve heard that most of the film community didn’t like this, but I laughed all the way through it. Herzog out-Herzoged himself.)
My dad’s favorite movie was Antichrist. He couldn’t stop giggling and smiling when he talked about it.
Music:
Dragonslayer, by Sunset Rubdown
Oh, and all that stuff I said I liked came out this year.
Catherine Lacey has found herself in very precarious circumstances, may have fled the country by now. Her website is HERE.
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John Madera is the author of Nervosities (Anti-Oedipus Press, 2024) and Nomad Science (Spuyten Duyvil Press, forthcoming in 2026). His fiction is also published in Conjunctions, Salt Hill, Hobart, The &Now Awards 2: The Best Innovative Writing, and many other journals. His poetry is also published in elimae, Sixth Finch, Contrapuntos, and elsewhere. His criticism is published in American Book Review, Bookforum, The Review of Contemporary Fiction, Rain Taxi: Review of Books, The Believer, The Brooklyn Rail, and many other venues. Recipient of an M.F.A. in Literary Arts from Brown University, two-time New York State Council on the Arts awardee John Madera lives in New York City, where he runs Rhizomatic and manages and edits Big Other.
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