What does it mean to create a new artistic form? Anna Heflin did just that with her new album, The Redundancy of the Angelic: An Interluding Play. She describes the work, which blends music and text, as having been inspired by “spiders, apocalyptic angels and my encounters in Los Angeles.” The result is a challenging, immersive work that draws on a host of disparate influences. We spoke about its genesis and her own multidisciplinary pursuits via email.
In our weekend reading: thoughts on an Eleanor Davis graphic novel, an interview with Kiley Reid, and more.
Snow’s on the ground, the winds are chilly, and the holiday season looms. December can be an unexpected month for new books. But there are a host of gems due out in the coming weeks, including a number of great works in translation, some boldly inscribed poetry, and new and unpredictable novels from some of our favorite writers. Here are some December books that caught our eye.
In our afternoon reading: revisiting the music of Alice Coltrane, an interview with Tom McAllister, and much more.
In our morning reading: revisiting the music of Gill Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson, thoughts on collections by Carmen Maria Machado and Denis Johnson, and more.
In our morning reading: thoughts on books by László Krasznahorkai and Jenny Diski, new writing by Brandon Taylor, and more.
In our afternoon reading: reviews of books by László Krasznahorkai and Louise Erdrich, new writing by Victor LaValle, and more.
In our morning reading: an interview with Tom Gauld, a playlist from Celeste Ng, and much more.