Michael Perry's Blog, page 385

Well I'll Be Danged

If it ain't ol' Sammy Kershaw.  Showin' some age.  So am I.

Man, one of my favorite voices.  You ever hear "Yard Sale"?  The video may ease over into cheese, but those vocals and those lyrics are stone cold country and demonstrate that one need not retreat up a quill-and-ink garret to plumb the barren depths of the soul.  Desolation, right on Main Street in Smalltown, U.S.A.  Just follow the cardboard signs…

Good to hear him again.

Hunkered in the Super 8

Mid-point of the East Coast tour.  Been goin' good.  Hunkered down now in a Super 8 off the beaten track, schedule is such that I can stay in one place for a couple of nights, a rare treat.  Gonna do some book store stops, but also some typing.  And send a postcard home.

Thanks to the Harper crew supporting me from NYC and thank you to the booksellers and readers who have been hosting and greeting me all along the way.  Everywhere I go a friendly space awaits.  How neat that is.

If you've just ...

Coop Book Tour, Post #5

I'm blogging about book tour for Shelf Awareness, a daily bookselling newsletter.

In report #5: The Rip Van Winkle Bridge.

Coop Paperback Tour, Post #4

I'm blogging about book tour for Shelf Awareness, a daily bookselling newsletter.

In report #4: I use the phrase, "tumbling underwear."

Spooner Connection

Debra Monroe comes from the land of my people: Spooner, Wisconsin.  She has also written a book in which she captured my heart in many ways, but perhaps most especially when she described evicting a raccoon from her house by pelting it with poems.  Congratulations on the release of On the Outskirts of Normal, Debra.

And if you're in Austin, Texas, tonight (that'd be a good place to be, y'know), you can help Debra give this book wings.

Father's Day Essay

Recently, I was asked to write an essay for Father's Day.  The request came as we were preparing to travel to Colorado for a funeral.  I wrote most of it during the plane ride home.  It has now been posted and you can read it here.

New York Public Radio Discusses Coop

I met Connie at a bookseller's show and she told me she had done this interview a while back.

Coop Paperback Tour, Post #3

I'm blogging about book tour for Shelf Awareness, a daily bookselling newsletter.

In report #3: A real fort, a quiet cemetery, and a nice bit of basil.

Homeboy Harmonies

After I put up this post, a few folks asked about the harmonies on the title song from the Tiny Pilot album.  Most were supplied by Long Beds guitarist, keyboardist, and resident crooner extraordinaire Chris Ramey, who does not always croon.  As for the haunting vocals heard just behind the lines, "Tell me little mother's son" and "Oh, this short, sharp life," they were provided by friend, neighbor, and Long Beds guitarist emeritus Justin Vernon, who these days works on some

Coop Paperback Tour, Post #02

I'm blogging about book tour for Shelf Awareness, a daily bookselling newsletter.

In report #2: Pete Seeger songs and grocery store parking lot naps.