In our morning reading: thoughts on books by Joel Lane and Kae Tempest, recommended short books, and more.
Sunday Stories: “Turning”
Turning
by Sylvie Pingeon
They are birds before they become children. Alight on the rocky beaches, picking orach, russian olives, the supple, tart thorns of the cat-briar which has not yet grown woody and sharp. At night, a tautog fish lulls them to sleep with angry murmurs. In the mornings, they awake to the sun rising. They wake together always, their salt-streaked bodies nestled close, Layla’s larger wing tucked over her little sister, Freya’s, fragile, pulsing back. There is no time, just now, and they soak in this nowness, let it saturate their feathers, drink it up through their beaks.
Weekend Bites: Álvaro Enrigue Interviewed, Revisiting Bret Easton Ellis, Ross Gay’s Latest, and More
In our weekend reading: an interview with Álvaro Enrigue, March books in translation, and more.
Afternoon Bites: Marie Mutsuki Mockett’s Playlist, Percival Everett’s Latest, Maxine Chernoff on Writing, and More
In our afternoon reading: a playlist from Marie Mutsuki Mockett, thoughts on Percival Everett’s new novel, and more.
The Poet As A Child Of War: An Interview With Pantea Amin Tofangchi
Pantea Amin Tofangchi is an award-winning Iranian-American poet. She is also a pacifist–a hopeful one. Her hope and pacifism, even now–especially now–is born of a childhood to which most U.S.-born Americans can’t relate: amid war.
Tofangchi, who grew up during the Iran-Iraq War (from September 1980 to August 1988), certainly isn’t mad that Americans have no concept of what her childhood was like–fighting out the front door of her home, looking on nervously as her mother, mid-bomb raid, wraps a blanket around a flashlight to suppress its beam before guiding her children to safety–but she won’t suffer our sustained obliviousness either.
Morning Bites: Interviewing Eric LaRocca, Mahmoud Darwish’s Poetry, Gabino Iglesias on Books, and More
In our morning reading: an interview with Eric LaRocca, thoughts on SAVAK’s new album, and more.
Afternoon Bites: C.D. Rose’s Latest, Dolan Morgan Fiction, Lisa Ko’s Playlist, and More
In our afternoon reading: thoughts on C.D. Rose’s new book, fiction by Dolan Morgan, and more.
VCO: Chapter 13
Chapter 13
I can see my algorithm changing in ways I’m not totally comfortable with. And we can’t go back to where we control all the content. Which I know was Everhet’s plan all along, but it feels like all these contributions are poisoning the well.
Since last Thursday, users can upload their own content to the DPZ site; build playlists, add captions, and source their own advertisers. We even have a library with open-source music. It feels like a perk, but in reality, they’re paying for it; a percentage of user fees are used to pay record companies for the rights.