Forgive me if you have a problem with me honoring another dead white man but, in my world, to ignore the publication of a book by Jorge Luis Borges, who died in 1986, would be entirely unforgivable. In this case, a new, compact anthology, Everything and Nothing (New Directions) by
Spring brings forth a number of wonders, not the least of which are the quarterly editions of so-called small literary magazines. Since I am graced to be on the mailing lists of a number of my favorites, I am happy to note some highlights. Ploughshares (Spring 2010, Vol 36), which
Besides the malcontents and know-nothings who are apt to bleat out various accusations about some media conspiracy (failing even to understand the distinction between media and journalism), for the most part it would appear that the only people who are concerned about the state of American journalism are malcontents and
Though I am not an (religiously) observant Jew, I am appreciative and simpatico with various myths and legends and teachings of my people. And I am especially thankful that the Israelites have avoided the voodoo of creating saints—which is, I suppose, an entertaining and consoling enterprise for folk who
Brit foreign correspondent Rob Crilly (currently covering East Africa for The IrishTimes), having covered wars in Darfur, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, has spent five years in Sudan, and his book, Saving Darfur: Everyone’s Favourite African War (Reportage Books), both clarifies a conflict that he convincingly argues
If my recall is correct, I have only spoken to Michael Lewis (Moneyball, The Blind Side) twice. It seems like more—probably because his books and his journalism (New York Times Magazine or Vanity Fair) are so engaging they seem like natural extensions of our conversations. And given the decent
By now it is undoubtedly apparent that I am a devotee of literary magazines in general—and specifically the handful that have been kind enough to add me to their mailing lists. One of those is Open City, which has published #28, its Winter 2010 issue. Some of the better
As you probably have read at this site and many other venues, my valued mentor and dear friend Howard Zinn has passed away. It is some small evidence of his enormous energy and commitment to his calling that even as he approached his ninth decade Howard was still crisscrossing the
Last week I had a pleasant and stimulating conversation with Nick Flynn whose new book made mention of and was influenced by Rebecca Solnit’sA Field Guide to Getting Lost. That same day the very valuable web site Tomdistpatch.com published an eloquent and astute view of the current Haiti
Thomas Mallon (Fellow Travelers) is a delightful writer. In conversation he displays a puckish sensibility, and on the page, ample good humor. With seven novels under his belt (one of my favorites is Henry and Clara, the story of the couple occupying the same opera box as Abraham Lincoln the
I’m having difficulty recalling what William Burroughs (who died in Lawrence, Kan. in 1997) is best known for—being an unabashed (rehabilitated) junkie, being a unrepentant homo (Alan Ginsberg wrote Burroughs was the only real homosexual he knew; I leave it to you to figure out why), having shot
They are dropping like flies: Last week Kirkus and Editor & Publisher, this week ID, the venerable design magazine. As a recent TMN headline noted, over four hundred magazines closed in 2009 (including Blender, Giant, Gourmet, Portfolio, Vibe, and Metropolitan Home), which may make Forestry professionals happy, but what about
If journalism is, as conventional wisdom holds, the first draft of history, then we are fortunate to have a practitioner such as the New Yorker’sHendrik Hertzberg involved in its creation. Hertzberg’s inestimable CV includes duty as a U.S. Naval officer, service in the White House as chief
Though mayhem, war, mass murder, civil unrest, homicidal acts of God (known as natural disasters), famine, plague, and genocide seem to be growth industries, the population of brave men and women (naysayers may say "thrill-seeking adrenaline junkies") who report the news (before service journalism infected a once-honorable calling)
At almost any given moment one may stroll the streets of urban America (unfortunately, I can't speak for the hinterlands) and observe what appear to be human beings perambulating (the boulevards) while staring at their palms. This, you may guess, is the voodoo mojo of the smartphone in
One wonders what it would take to shock the American (or any public) to action with revelations of wrongdoing, corruption, or human and animal abuse as the muckrakers of a long-bygone era were able. Or if it is any longer possible. (For example, shouldn't the relatively small number
If you need a reminder of how degraded, sycophantic, lazy, smug, boring, and predictable contemporary journalism has become, San Francisco State University mentor Peter Richardson's (American Prophet: The Life and Work of Carey McWilliams) A Bomb in Every Issue: How the Short, Unruly Life of Ramparts Magazine Changed
