You might know Jessica Bell best through her work as a musician — she spent five years in the group Keep Shelly in Athens, as well as having released work as BRUNO and under her own name. She’s also been working on a number of books, including forays into both fiction and poetry. We’re pleased to present an excerpt from her new collection, A Tide Should Be Able to Rise Despite Its Moon, out now from Vine Leaves Press.
In our morning reading: an interview with Allegra Hyde, thoughts on Stephanie LaCava’s new novel, and more.
In our afternoon reading: an interview with Rachika Nayar, a playlist from Lance Olsen, and more.
Today, we’re pleased to present an excerpt from Ted Adams and Jorge Coelho’s graphic novel adaptation of The Great Gatsby. This project has been in the works since 2019, and is currently available via a Kickstarter campaign from Clover Press. As Coelho explained in a statement, the timing of the project was unexpectedly serendipitous: “A feeling of chaos, confusion and crumbling eras permeated both art and real life during the making of this book, resulting in my largest and most rewarding creative challenge so far.” Read on to see a new adaptation of a classic story.
In our morning reading: thoughts on Victor LaValle’s new novel, an interview with Anne K. Yoder, and more.
In our afternoon reading: talking writing with Kelly Link, revisiting Janet Malcolm, and more.
In our morning reading: Margaret Killjoy on metal, thoughts on Catherine Lacey’s new novel, and more.
Die Hard, Starring Frank Sinatra
by John Waddy Bullion
Did you know that, in 1968, Frank Sinatra starred in a moderately successful but ultimately forgettable crime thriller called The Detective? Did you also know that when 20th Century Fox first secured the rights to the source material (Roderick Thorp’s bestselling novel), the studio’s legal department inserted a clause giving it ownership of any subsequent novels produced by Thorp featuring Sinatra’s character, Detective Joe Leland? Would it surprise you in the least to learn that Roderick Thorp wrote another Joe Leland potboiler more than a decade later called Nothing Lasts Forever, which follows Leland—now retired from detective work—as he fights off an army of terrorists that has taken an entire Los Angeles skyscraper hostage? Did you know that Thorp’s book was another bestseller, and that Fox, without lifting a finger, now found itself sitting on a guaranteed summer blockbuster? (Do you see where this is heading?).