At Slate, Nathan Heller talks about our collective obsession with Ernest Hemingway, saying the late writer has become the literary equivalent to the Nike Swoosh. He attributes this to a high school curriculum heavy in Hemingway and Shakespeare–the reason why these are the two English-language writers “every high-school student in this country reads.” (Eh?)
Craig Finn’s Beer
Will Oldham gets a coffee blend, now Craig Finn gets his own beer. Clear Heart will “contains a melody of bitterness and citrus notes, the fresh hops and malted barley are in harmony within this golden brew, a full-bodied taste with an easy finish,” and is named after Finn’s solo album, which is a reference to Friday Night Lights. We can only hope that this means we can await Bon Iver jerky and a Best Coast Slurpee flavor. Follow Vol. […]
H.P. Lovecraft Died for Your Heavy Metal
If you’re at all familiar with the last 20+ years of metal—especially that which falls under the “doom” sub-category—you will know that Matt Pike is one of the few guys who has seriously clawed his way towards the seventh circle of heavy metal hell that is reserved for deities like Ronnie James Dio (R.I.P.), pre-reality show Ozzy, and, of course, Lemmy. It might sound tacky to call Pike’s work with the band Sleep as “game-changing,” but that’s really the best […]
Food Books + Brooklyn =s Food Book Fair
Elizabeth Jones came up with an idea that we’re truly shocked nobody else has had: a book fair for food books on the Williamsburg waterfront. Jones is currently looking for some help from people via Kickstarter, and has said if she reaches they surpass their goal that everybody gets in for free. Really, what could be better than hanging out by the water on a beautiful spring day and talking about cookbooks?
Bret Easton Ellis Tweets “Notes” for American Psycho Sequel
Bret Easton Ellis tweeting his ‘notes’ to an American Psycho sequel turned into a late night/early morning (depending on your coast, how much Friday night drinking you did, etc.) event that included the author crowdsourcing ideas that he made clear you wouldn’t get credit for.
Nerd Porn: Penguin Classics Designed By Paul Buckley
Obviously we’re nostalgic suckers inclined to like the classic Germano Facetti Penguin Classic design, but the set of Penguin Graphic Classics covers over at the Flickr of Penguin’s VP Executive Creative Director Paul Buckley is really pretty exciting.
Poetry Out Loud (1969-1977) Series Is Remastered And Reissued
The long forgotten Poetry Out Loud series, which ran from 1969 and 1977, has been rereleased by the De Stijl record label out of Minneapolis. Poetry Out Loud’s stated mission was to take “poetry off the page,” and by listening to any of these tracks, you can see that they definitely did just that. The collection is interesting as a document of experimental poetry, and as a totally unique listen. I daresay the psychedelic war whoop sound is more akin to Animal Collective or an […]