And so today I find another unadventurous fiction longlist from the National Book Awards: not a single book from an…
The Dain Curse
I finished Dashiell Hammett’s The Dain Curse more than a year ago, as part of an ongoing effort to read…
Baudelaire’s Nightmare
In 1859, the Paris Salon allowed photographs into its exhibition. This brought a howl of outrage from Baudelaire, who claimed…
The Chameleons live in concert
Here are four video recordings of concerts by one of my favorite 1980s post-punk bands, The Chameleons. I sometimes describe…
Feature Friday: “My Name Is Albert Ayler” (2007)
I’ve been wanting to watch this film since I read a review of it in Sight & Sound six years…
The Nature of the Beast
My slow, steady progress through Donald Sassoon’s monumental but unfailingly fascinating The Culture of the Europeans continues to throw up extraordinary…
Standing on the shoulders of giants
We like to think of ourselves as living in the digital age. It’s a title that makes us feel more…
Blackbox Manifold No. 10 (Summer 2013)
The new issue of the always enjoyable Blackbox Manifold was just launched. It features work by Billy Cancel, Rick Crilly,…
Feature Tuesday: “What Time Is It There?”
I think I’ve already featured this on Feature Friday, but this is Feature Tuesday. And in any case I’m sure…