one of the most prolific publishers in U.S. history, putting an estimated 300 million copies of inexpensive “Little Blue Books” into the hands of working-class and middle-class Americans. Selling for as little as five cents and small enough to fit in a trouser pocket, these books were meant to bring culture and self-education to working people,http://believermag.com/issues/200809/?read=article_potts
A New Wave of Political Poetry
It is difficult/to get the news from poems/ yet men die miserably every day/ for lack/ of what is found there. -William Carlos WilliamsNeed a little reality check after bearing witness to the madness of the Republican Convention?The newly published anthology of contemporary political poetry, State of the Union : 50 Political Poems, by Wave Books might help.The compilation is edited by Joshua Beckman and Matthew Zapruder and features the work of John Ashbery, Anselm Berrigan, Lucille Clifton, CAConrad, Peter Gizzi, James Tate, John Yau, Tao Lin, Eileen Myles, Michael Palmer, Wang Ping, and many others.Heidi Broadhead has a nice...
The Library of Dust
Library of Dust is a haunting photographic odyssey by David Maisel. The work depicts individual copper canisters, each containing the cremated remains of patients from the Oregon State Hospital. The patients died at the hospital between 1883 (the year the facility opened, when it was called the Oregon State Insane Asylum) and the 1970’s. All have remained unclaimed by their families.How did the title come about?During Maisel's first visit to the hospital a "young male prisoner in a blue jumpsuit, with his feet planted firmly outside the doorway, leans his upper body into the room, scans the cremated remains, and...
The Pyramid Collapses : BookWise Folds
BookWise the multi-level marketing (aka pyramid scheme) / book-club founded by Richard Paul Evans has failed.Once touted by Evans as "the most intelligent home-based business in the world" BookWise has now merged with another multi-level marketing company iLearningGlobal, "a revolutionary success mentoring company, utilizing the power of online learning with an incredible compensation plan, higher payout and international opportunities."In an email sent to BookWise members Evans says of the demise:A couple months ago I learned a life changing lesson. I asked a billionaire friend of mine how do you know when it's time to quit. His reply sent chills down...
Orwell Was Right
Vacant house. West Seattle. September, 2008Image © Book Patrol