Category Archives: Writing

For Every Occasion

Posted on September 6, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

 

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We wear the mask

Posted on September 4, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

The Mask by Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr,, one of the leading letterpress printers, book artists, and papermakers working in the United States today, was printed at Bloomington, Indiana, in 2000. Nearly all of his work has an Afrocentric focus. Mask features the use … Continue reading →

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Yes, it can happen here

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

There are a few memorable books that I read during my childhood that had profound influence on my social and political consciousness. Sinclair Lewis’ novel It Can’t Happen Here was one that I’ve never forgotten. The book was published during the rise … Continue reading →

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Denial Is A Cliff

Posted on September 2, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Denial is a Cliff We Are Driven Over Joy Priest I want to believe Don West when he writes: none of mineever made their living by driving slaves. But in my grandfather’s mouth that utterance would’ve taken on another meaning: In … Continue reading →

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Birth of a Book

Posted on September 1, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

The engaging short film below offers a quick tour of the Smith –Settle printing and bookbinding company in Leeds, England, where books are still made the old-fashioned way. The film’s director Glen Milner covers each step in the process as … Continue reading →

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Sometimes You Just Have To Listen To Oprah

Posted on August 30, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

I don’t think that I’ve ever actually read O, the Oprah Magazine, but I recently heard about an issue that featured “17 Black-owned bookstores in America that amplify the best in literature.” It also recommended the favorite bookshops of renowned … Continue reading →

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Virtually Independent Bookstore Day

Posted on August 28, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

Tomorrow more than 630 bookstores across North America are planning to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day . Booksellers are promoting a variety of virtual and in person events this year. Kids’ and YA events: 1:00 p.m. ET: Lisa Brown drawing class from Goldfish Ghost 1:30 … Continue reading →

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On the Road

Posted on August 27, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

The iconic artist Ed Ruscha has long been inspired by urban America – its cars, billboards, gas stations and low-slung houses all strung out in a seemingly endless sprawl. The short film below combines images from the Getty Research Institutes’s … Continue reading →

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Making Hay

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

“Haymaking” by William Carlos Williams The living quality of the man’s mind stands out and its covert assertions for art, art, art! painting that the Renaissance tried to absorb but it remained a wheat field over which the wind played … Continue reading →

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August Heat (can drive you mad)

Posted on August 18, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

William F. Harvey (1885–1937) wrote the timely tale August Heat  which concerns a fateful encounter at the end of a sweltering Summer day. August 20th, 190–. I have had what I believe to be the most remarkable day in my … Continue reading →

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