For more than three decades, the literary world has waited for a definitive, fresh examination of one of the 20th century’s most vital voices. In Baldwin: A Love Story, Nicholas Boggs delivers not just a biography, but a literary event. By exploring James Baldwin’s life through the prism of deep, complex love, Boggs offers a mesmerizing, deeply humane portrait of a man whose personal connections shaped the conscience of a generation.
Following an East Coast screening tour at independent bookstores, the pilot episode of new comedy sitcom Broadway Books was released in conjunction with National Bookseller Day last month. A charming alternative to the traditional film festival circuit, the literary-based television series is advertised both as a handmade antidote to the looming technocratic sprawl as well as a love letter to neighborhood bookstores everywhere. A former employee of the Upper West Side’s Book Culture — where the pilot was filmed on location — the series was created and directed by Carianne King and developed during a pilot writing class at the Upright Citizens Brigade. Originally a self-funded pandemic project, Carianne’s collaborative UCB experiences pushed the endeavor forward. In addition to King, the show’s skillful female creative production team comes courtesy of visual production company Mirmade.
You might know writer Mark Russell‘s comics work through his Second Coming, which riffs on both divinity and superheroes; or through his reimagining of The Flintstones for DC Comics. His latest book, The Forgotten Divine, is a collaboration with artist Russ Braun, and tells the story of Rodney, a traumatized veteran who begins having visions of another world.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson once wrote a poem so moving, so poignant in its depiction of grief and loss of love that the piece’s eventual impact would ripple far beyond the Victorian literary world of its time and straight into international legal code.
The downside of an enchanting revelry comes at waking to realize it was all a dream. This was the feeling on learning Nedra Talley, the final nightingale of that inimitable trio, The Ronettes, had emitted her last sigh.
Hello. You know the drill. It’s May; we have some books we’d like to recommend. Some fiction, some nonfiction, some poetry. In other words, here’s what we’re excited about this month.
Georgina Hayden has always had a gift for weaving narrative into nutrition, but with MEDesque, she has delivered something far more profound: a luminous, salt-sprayed love letter to the Mediterranean that feels both ancient and startlingly modern.
If there’s a “holy grail” for the home gardener, it is the perfect, sun-warmed, vine-ripened tomato. In The Tomato Growers Handbook, Holly Farrell doesn’t just teach you how to grow a fruit; she provides a masterclass in horticultural joy.