Mark Stevens's Blog, page 17

Jim Davidson, “The Next Everest”

Ah, Everest. Cold, wind, avalanches, ice, ice falls, flying rocks, flying ice, howling winds, steep pitches, even steeper pitches, crevasses, cheap light ladders for crossing those crevasses, and the last five-thousand feet up require you to endure something called the … Continue reading →

Jonathan P. Thompson, “Sagebrush Empire”

(Note: the following review was originally published by Four Corners Free Press.) One word might come to mind as you read Sagebrush Empire: How a Remote Utah County Became the Battlefront of American Public Lands, Jonathan P. Thompson’s fascinating analysis … Continue reading →

Q & A #89 – Brad Newsham, “Take Me With You”

Go ahead, dive into the world that is Brad Newsham. It’s a very big-hearted world. And the story that makes up Take Me With You is just one corner of his travel-writing, cab-driving, make-the-world-a-better place life. I’m just going to … Continue reading →

Wendy J. Fox, “What If We Were Somewhere Else”

“And you may ask yourself, ‘Well, how did I get here?'” That’s a line from The Talking Heads’ “Once In A Lifetime.” It’s the underlying tug of Wendy J. Fox’s new short story collection, What If We Were Somewhere Else. … Continue reading →

Q & A #88 – Marc Fagel, “Jittery White Guy Music”

++ I ran across Marc Fagel on that great big blender of love and truth: Twitter. I recognized his taste in music. Next, I noted his book and ordered it immediately. Jittery White Guy Music – True Rock & Roll … Continue reading →

Q & A #87 – Stephen Metzger, “Between Rock and Hard Places”

I met Stephen Metzger way back in 1989 when he walked into the Wynkoop Brewing Co. in lower downtown Denver. I was behind the bar. He was working on a guidebook to Colorado for Moon Publications. We got to chatting. … Continue reading →

John Banville, “April in Spain”

A review of April in Spain, by John Banville, for the New York Journal of Books.

Jill Leovy, “Ghettoside”

Los Angeles Times reporter Jill Leovy embedded—for years—with the Los Angeles Police Department. She had a desk in the detectives’ squad room on the second floor of the station house. She focused on an area known as “South Bureau.” She … Continue reading →

David Gessner, “Quiet Desperation, Savage Delight”

This review was originally published by the Four Corners Free Press. If you went to Fenceline Cider (Mancos, Colorado) n late June to hear David Gessner talk about his new book from Torrey House Press, Quiet Desperation, Savage Delight, you … Continue reading →

Kathy Valentine, “All I Ever Wanted”

Kathy Valentine is in the graffiti-covered toilet at The Whisky on Sunset Boulevard. It’s 1980. She’s there to see X (good call). The opening act is the Go-Go’s, who were then only beginning to make a mark. Valentine bumps into … Continue reading →