Book Notes on American Romances by Rebecca Brown

Paperback, 162 pages From City Lights Publisher June 2009 ISBN: 9780872864986 The first thing I noticed about American Romances was the blurb on the back covers by Thurston Moore, guitarist for Sonic Youth. So when I opened the book and saw quotes from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s work, I was surprised. For me, there was no connection […]

Activisms, Assimilation and Beyond: An Interview with Rebecca Brown

Rebecca Brown’s twelfth book, American Romances, a collection of gonzo “essays,” was released by City Lights in June, 2009. Brown’s other titles include The Last Time I Saw You, The End of Youth, The Dogs, The Terrible (all with City Lights), Excerpts From a Family Medical Dictionary (Granta and U of Wisconsin) and The Gifts […]

Book Notes on Close to the Knives by David Wojnarowicz

Paperback, 288 pagesPublished by Vintage, May 1991ISBN: 9780679732273 One of the perks of interviewing LGBTQ authors is that they love books as much as I do. Even better, they love books that I didn’t know existed. When asked about favorite books, author Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore said that Wojnarowicz’s work was “the first book that ever […]

Book Notes: King of Shadows by Aaron Shurin

Paperback, 184 pagesFrom City Lights Publishers(June 1, 2008)ISBN: 978-0872864900 I discovered King of Shadows on a recent trip to San Francisco. Rooting through the shelves of City Lights Books, trying to limit the number of books I left the store with, I picked up Aaron Shurin’s collection of essays. Thankfully, King of Shadows seemed to […]