In our afternoon reading: an interview with Navid Sinaki, musical recommendations from Jon Hopkins, and more.
A Singular Graphic Anthology: On Maggie Umber’s “Chrysanthemum Under the Waves”
I don’t respond to cold calls much and I’m trying to get out of the book-review racket, but when Maggie Umber wrote me about her nearly wordless book Chrysanthemum Under the Waves, something told me to answer.
The jumping-off point was a piece Umber made for an anthology of graphic work inspired by the writing of Shirley Jackson. Her story, “The Tooth” features a malevolent stranger named James Harris. Soon Umber was seeing Harris not only in Jackson’s stories but also in her own life.
Morning Bites: Alisa Alering on Writing, Mara Faye Lethem on Translation, Helen Phillips on Fiction, and More
In our morning reading: interviews with Alisa Alering and Helen Phillips, Jo Walton’s book recommendations, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Jonathan Lethem’s Latest, Gabino Iglesias Interviewed, NYC Books, and More
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on books by Jonathan Lethem and Tania James, an interview with Gabino Iglesias, and more.
A Generational Mystery: Matt Kindt and Margie Kraft Kindt on “Gilt Frame”
I’ve been an admirer of Matt Kindt’s comics work ever since I read the 2001 graphic novel Pistolwhip, his collaboration with Jason Hall. Since then, his career has seen him take on a host of genres, including working with some other high-profile collaborators. (Notably, Keanu Reeves on BRZRKR.) Kindt’s latest collaboration finds him working in the mystery genre, collaborating with his mother Margie Kraft Kindt on the series Gilt Frame. The first issue is due out this Wednesday, and I spoke with the two collaborators on the making of their new series.
Morning Bites: Ian Betram on Comics, World Fantasy Awards Finalists, Talking Heads Live, and More
In our morning reading: an interview with Ian Betram, the World Fantasy Awards finalists, and more.
Sunday Stories: “A Story for Submission”
A Story for Submission
by Jacky Stephenson
NEW NEW NEW– write something NEW you dusty brained bastard. Something they haven’t seen. Something pouring out of you with the precision of articulated prose and the whimsy of Dadaism, but not the Fascist kind– God forbid we leave room to credit Ezra Pound as an influence. Something, something, black petals on a bough? Was the bough black? I would Google it if I gave more of a shit.
Weekend Bites: James Baldwin and New Jersey, Tara Isabella Burton Interviewed, Yoko Ogawa’s Latest, and More
In our weekend reading: James Baldwin’s connection to New Jersey, an interview with Tara Isabella Burton, and more.