UPDATED:
Colin Asher is “a calm and sophisticated storyteller who picks you up and sets you back down in places you didn’t anticipate,” NY Times book critic Dwight Garner writes. He calls “The Midnight Special” “a fog-piercing down-bound train of a book” that “underlines sheer human resiliency.” The Observer says Asher’s new book will “transform” the way you see art. Booklist calls it “mesmerizing.” Publisher’s Weekly likes it; Alex Gershman dives deep into the book on his YouTube Channel; Maurice Chammah drills down on Ike White, one of the book’s featured musicians, in a discussion with Asher at The Marshall Project. There is also my own early notice.
Archives for June 2026
Early Reviews Are In
Nazi Greeting That Preceded the Trump Handshake
UPDATED
The collagist John Heartfield defined “The Meaning of the Hitler Salute”: “Little man asks for large gifts.” Or in Trump terms, “demands big bribes.”
New from Moloko TRAVEL PAINTING
A. Robert Lee’s Omnibus Edition Is Here to Go
UPDATED
The author won’t need a headstone . . . This monumental omnibus will do . . . Five hundred and eight-six gorgeous pages of verbal pleasure . . . Intimate collaborations with esteemed artists . . . Landscapes of descriptive simplicity . . . Pure thought objectified . . .
David Hockney Liked to Draw by Other Means
David Hockney’s departure has drawn obituaries from across the art world and the popular press, which is testimony to his eminence whether his paintings and drawings are considered a simple pleasure to look at or regressive to contemplate. Whatever it comes down to, he loved to experiment.
When Gates Testifies About Epstein, Will Mask Drop?
UPDATED
At Microsoft, Bill Gates was by many accounts a nightmare boss, ‘prone to expletive-laden fits of rage,” Anupta Das is quoted as reporting in her new book ‘Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King.’
Petit Cabinet #7: ‘Just Two More Times to Sleep’
A simple poem becomes an otherworldly love song with the collaboration of a singer and composer.
Stadtlichter Presse Makes My Heart Beat Stronger
It’s a wonder that the most intriguing publisher of American poets of the Beat Generation happens to be a German publisher, Stadtlichter Presse. Its “Heartbeat” series features not only the most notable — Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Corso, and Ferlinghetti — in bilingual editions, but also dozens of less famous Beats and Beat-era or Beat-related poets.
Statement of Fact
In my
generation’s war,
our peaceful protests
kept the peace
the best we could —
yet could not.