In our afternoon reading: an interview with Charles Yu, a look at David Bowie’s literary taste, and more.
Morning Bites: William Gibson’s future, Jim Carroll Vs. Gil Scott-Heron, Alex Gilvarry, Dirty Three, and more
Zach Baron had heard rumors of a high school football rivalry between Jim Carroll and Gil Scott-Heron. He discusses it at The Daily. Alex Gilvarry talks to NPR about From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant. Edith Wharton: born into wealth, great writer, kinda awkward. Pay attention to this Leonard Cohen kid who has a poem in this week’s New Yorker. He’s gonna be huge. We’re living in William Gibson’s future. The New York Times on Gibson’s Distrust That Particular Flavor. At Slate: Matthew […]
Poetry, Blues, and the Wrong Discussion
Interesting article over at The Daily Swarm about folk/blues singer Leadbelly’s lyrics as poetry: “I don`t know if it’s racism or plain old Aristotelian categorization that keeps that keeps Leadbelly`s driven, mad, wily lyrics out of the pantheon. Maybe it`s both, and snobbery to boot. I know Leadbelly himself probably could have been inspired to write something about it if the subject had been brought up.” The writer makes some great points, but fails to take into consideration that Leadbelly […]
From The Holy Shit Department: Gil Scott-Heron Does Robert Johnson
I’m over people dying. Thankfully, Gil Scott-Heron is very much alive, and has a new album coming out XL Recordings on February 9th.