Category Archives: Writing

Brussels Book Days

Posted on February 28, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Throughout the month of March, Belgium’s capital will be celebrating Brussels Book Days. The collaborative venture of the Foire du Livre de Bruxelles (Brussels Book Fair) and Passa Porta International Center for Literature celebrates the city’s passion for books and reading with … Continue reading →

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’60s Redux

Posted on February 27, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Inspired by the ongoing national crisis triggered by the election of a neo-Fascist national government, Chicago-based illustrators Clay Hickson and Liana Jegers have launched The Smudge . With its bubbled typeface masthead and old school feel, the new monthly paper aims to … Continue reading →

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You have to read this book

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

h/t to the marvelous Spanish cartoonist Laura Pecheco  (and you really do need to read Station 11 by Emily St.John Mandel.

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Hands Off Our Revolution

Posted on February 18, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Hands Off Our Revolution is a new organization of artists, writers and musicians who have come together for a series of art exhibitions and actions to confront head-on the rise of reactionary right-wing populism in Europe, the U.S., and around the … Continue reading →

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Book Fairies Underground

Posted on February 8, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

There are many terrific “book sharing” programs around the world, but my favorites are always the projects operated by small groups of generous, dedicated book lovers. Books on the Subway is one of those heartwarming projects that makes a place like New … Continue reading →

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Covering Nineteen Eighty-Four

Posted on February 4, 2017 by Brian D. Butler
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Dystopian Literature Sells Bigly

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Since the election of the bloated, orange pustule, dystopian fiction has become so popular that George Orwell’s iconic novel 1984 has jumped to the top of bestseller lists around the world. Penguin publishing has announced that it is rushing another … Continue reading →

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Alternative Reality

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Since the depressing events of January 20th, I have been thinking of Philip Roth’s alternative history novel The Plot Against America. Our would be dictator’s references to “America First” reminded me of the anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, fascist movement championed by Nazi-loving Charles Lindbergh. … Continue reading →

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Kafka : On The Cheap

Posted on January 29, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

During the summer of 1911, Franz Kafka and his friend Max Brod took a railway journey through Switzerland and France. While they were hanging out in Lugano, Switzerland, Kafka hit on a novel notion for “reforming” the traditional staid travel … Continue reading →

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Intellectual Raves

Posted on January 26, 2017 by Brian D. Butler

Beginning tonight and running through the early hours of Monday morning, the Institut Français will be hosting a series of all-night marathon “intellectual raves” in dozens of cities around the world. The 2017 La Nuit des Idées or Night of Philosophy and … Continue reading →

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