Category Archives: Writing

Lou Reed meets Edgar Allan Poe

Posted on August 28, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I have long been a fan of the late great Lou Reed, but I only recently discovered that he created an updated version of the iconic poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe. In 2003, he  set Poe’s most famous stories and … Continue reading →

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Take That Trip

Posted on August 27, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

It’s hard to believe that the inimitable Anthony Bourdain has been gone for five years. Unlike most folks, I discovered his writing through his first novel Bone in the Throat in the early 1990s and not via his culinary or … Continue reading →

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Utopia 14

Posted on August 26, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I was today years old when I learned that Kurt Vonnegut’s 1952 novel Player Piano was re-released in a paperback edition as Utopia 14 in 1954. Player Piano is the first novel by  Vonnegut, in it he depicts a dystopia of automation partly inspired by the author’s time … Continue reading →

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Diminished Galleries

Posted on August 25, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

DIMINISHED GALLERIES Keith Waldrop 1932-2023 too old for vision I must settle for dreams specific forms of cloud (body surrounded by body) every sensation con- ceals a dream fresco figurine sculpture in low relief (a motor halo a mental blue) … Continue reading →

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The Last Bookshop of the World

Posted on August 19, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I was recently directed to a film that is likely to appeal only to bibliophiles, writers, and cinephiles. So, of course, I assumed that it was right up your alley as they say in oldtimey America. Most booklovers that I … Continue reading →

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This is just to say…

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

This Is Just To Say I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox and which you were probably saving for breakfast Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold -William Carlos Williams

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The Colour of Magic

Posted on August 16, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

I have been a fan of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld  series for decades. Although the books don’t get the attention they deserve in the U.S., the fan base is growing. Maybe the rise of the wacky “flat earth” movement will create more … Continue reading →

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Jobs of the Poets

Posted on August 13, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

 

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Not just another Caturday

Posted on August 12, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

How about a list of 60 of the best dystopian books to complete your weekend ? At Public Domain Review: Hokusai’s Illustrated Warrior Vanguard of Japan and China (1836). We Ranked 50 Best Selling Books Based on How Smart They Make Us … Continue reading →

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Shelves of Time

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Brian D. Butler

The acclaimed Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Michael Chabon recently shared a very personal project that he worked on during the Covid-19 pandemic. In a serious bout of nostagia, he recreated the science fiction and fantasy section of his childhood bookshop … Continue reading →

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