Category Archives: Writing

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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All Guns Are Loaded

Posted on August 15, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

I was tickled by this list of book titles that the great noir writer Raymond Chandler created but never used. The Islands in the Sky was eventually a title by Arthur C. Clarke and The Black-Eyed Blonde was used by both Erle Stanley Gardner … Continue reading →

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The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

As some readers know, much of my time is generally occupied finding and selling antiquarian travel books. Although I focus mostly on 19th and early 20th century travel guidebooks, I am interested in other travel literature and unrelated genres, as … Continue reading →

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Bookshop Noir

Posted on August 8, 2020 by Brian D. Butler

When I stumbled upon the film noir gif below it reminded me what a pivotal role the bookshop Geiger’s Rare Books played in the noir classic. It’s been years since I’ve actually viewed the film, but I got a little … Continue reading →

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