In our morning reading: thoughts on Meg Wolitzer’s new novel, an interview with Elle Nash, and much more.
Afternoon Bites: Deji Bryce Olukotun Nonfiction, Barry Hannah, Rakesh Satyal Interviewed, Lydia Lunch, and More
In our afternoon reading: new writing by Deji Bryce Olukotun and Soraya Palmer, an interview with Rakesh Satyal, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Waxahatchee Interviewed, Barry Hannah’s LP, Warren Ellis, Chelsea Hodson’s Album, and More
In our afternoon reading: interviews with Katie Crutchfield, Nicole Haroutunian, and Warren Ellis; albums from Chelsea Hodson and Barry Hannah; new writing from T.C. Boyle and Kevin Sampsell; and more.
The Recorded Barry Hannah
While we’re still holding out for a national Indie Bookstore Day, this upcoming Record Store Day does hold one particular treasure we seek: Barry Hannah: I have no idea what tradition I’m in. Don’t care, a 1989 spoken record recording of Hannah on vinyl. Here’s the catch: we probably have to go to Mississippi if we want one of the 500 copies that are being pressed. But in case they don’t all sell, The End of All Music will sell […]
The Character Voice of Barry Hannah
Had a heart attack not cut him down in 2010, Barry Hannah would be turning 72 this year. And, as is wont to happen after an artist’s death, Hannah’s writing has slowly found new appreciation in both the old and new guard of American writers. Known for his grimly comic narratives and pinball velocity, what makes Hannah’s work so consistently interesting is the fact that, quite often, it’s his use of character voice and personality that enthralls the reader. These […]
The Reading Life: Getting Fired and Barry Hannah
There’s a blurb in the front of Airships that calls the author “afraid of nothing in experience.” Before you get to any of his work in the book, there’s an “appreciation,” not an introduction, by Richard Ford that makes the same wild claims. When Barry Hannah died, the Oxford American compiled stories from people who knew and loved him; the magazine was an Irish bar and Hannah a dead cop. He’s celebrated, for sure. A total rock star, the sort […]
Favorite Books of 2010
Posted by Jason Diamond Note: This list doesn’t reflect the view of anybody else involved with Vol. 1 Brooklyn, and yes, I do realize it’s a mix of fiction and non. Sorry. 1. The Possessed by Elif Batuman I don’t believe that anybody on this planet is either the smartest or funniest person alive. But if I am in fact wrong, I believe Ms. Batuman could easily hold down both titles. In the least cheesiest way I can possibly say […]
Friends of Barry Hannah
A few days after Kyle Minor’s epic reading of Barry Hannah’s posthumous Long, Last, Happy: New and Selected Stories at HTML GIANT, Bryan Charles blogs about his correspondence with the late writer at Powell’s. Also, over at Bookforum, Nathaniel Rich’s piece on Hannah is up on the net as well as the cover story for the print mag.