From work by acclaimed poets to novels tracing the collapse of civilization to unlikely studies of history, September will bring a host of highly-anticipated books. In a new monthly feature, we’re previewing some of the books we’re most excited about, including work from Saeed Jones, Emily St. John Mandel, Michael Robbins, Merritt Tierce, John Darnielle, Eimear McBride, and more.
In this afternoon’s reading: Emily Schultz on the appeal of calling your novel Joyland, Stephen Elliott shares his Happy Baby playlist, Jennifer Gilmore talks with NPR, a number of writers talk about alt-rock’s best drummers, and much more.
“To understand what makes António “Mia” Emílio Leite Couto special — even extraordinary — we have to loosen our grip on the binary that distinguishes between “the West” and “Africa.”” Aaron Bady on the novels of Mia Coutu. Want to read Sheila Heti’s 90s-era feminist zine? Benjamin Lytal talks about geography and fiction. Marissa Nadler covered the Game of Thrones theme song. Michael Robbins on his unread books. Roxane Gay interviewed Ben Schrank for Tin House. Michael H. Miller on Julian Schnabel. […]
“…these paranormal tales, drawn mostly written or rewritten by Kirby and completely drawn by Kirby, are like art projects launched thirty-something years into the future.” A look at Jack Kirby’s Spirit World. Artforum has an excerpt from Ian Svenonius’s Supernatural Strategies for Making a Rock’n’Roll Group. Abraham Riesman’s “What We Laugh About When We Laugh About Pyongyang” is well worth your time. Ali Smith’s Artful: reviewed. Teddy Wayne talks Justin Bieber at The Morning News. Michael Robbins was interviewed at The Believer. Follow Vol. 1 […]
Let’s say you’re a poet. You’re the kind of poet whose heart the New York Times calls shallow but full. “Alert as a tidal buoy facing down a tsunami,” Dwight Garner says. All right. So you’re one of those poets.
The New York Times on how political reporters read. Michael Robbins on David Foster Wallace. Carl Wilson on Leonard Cohen. The story behind New York‘s amazing blackout cover. New Janet Malcolm nonfiction in the New York Review of Books. Clearly I Didn’t Think This Through author Anna Goldfarb is profiled in Metro today. Joe Winkler looks at Christopher Hitchens’s Mortality. Proceeds from Dan Deacon’s New York shows later this month will go towards Hurricane Sandy relief. Follow Vol. 1 Brooklyn on Twitter, Facebook, Google + and our Tumblr.
At The L Magazine, Vol.1’s Tobias Carroll suggests five underrated 90s bands whose music should get the deluxe reissue treatment. It goes without saying that his fellow editors heartily agree. You know what’s awesome? Norman Brannon and Willie Nelson contributed to the same book, that’s what. Gary Hawkins on filming Harry Crews. Gabrielle Gantz revisits the anthology Brooklyn Noir. The Outlet has a fine write-up of this week’s PANK Invasion at WORD. Over at Treehouse, Matthew Specktor and Michael Wolfe […]
Michael Robbins really hates living in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The poet, whose book Alien vs. Predator was recently released by Penguin, is teaching there until June, and then he’s getting out of dodge. “Hattiesburg smells like a sewer,” he emphatically told me in the middle of our conversation. “You can go online and Google the Hattiesburg smell, it’s an actual thing. I think they actually have wooden water wheels to aerate the sewage. There’s just way too much sewage to properly aerate […]