Ben Tanzer's Blog, page 134

Wherein we find ourselves hopelessly immersed in the Michael Tanzer and by extension both profoundly saddened and terribly emo as we prepare to attend an upcoming exhibit of his work.

Meals. Miles. Men. March. And KICKSTARTER. Hit it. Post haste.

Here. Totes.

Happy Birthday.

“Don't gobblefunk around with words.” Roald Dahl

The new edition of This Zine Will Change Your Life is live. All full of head. And Shanley.

The new edition of This Zine Will Change Your Life is live. We have a new poem, bullet in his head by Mary Shanley, which we are way excited about, and, (almost) as always, photo action from Adam Lawrence, music curation from Jason Behrends and post convention sugar bounce prose love from Pete Anderson. We hope you enjoy this edition and we appreciate all shout-outs and links. Finally, please note, we are hoping more of you will submit comix, and music, novel excerpts, and art, and video, yes, video, and combinations there of. And most finally, Da Bears.

Forty-Four Stories about Our Forty-Four Presidents and Their Peculiar Ambitions.

There are also forty-four writers, who are, and will be, at the Melville House between now and Election Day. The writers are most kind and we are most thrilled to be included among them. Our piece is later, and we will let you know when it happens. In the interim though please do enjoy all of the stories, because while they may not sway the election, they just may change your life. 

Forty-Four Stories about our Forty-Four Presidents and Their Peculiar Ambitions.

There are also forty-four writers, who are, and will be, at the Melville House between now and Election Day. The writers are most kind and we are most thrilled to be included among them. Our piece is later, and we will let you know when it happens. In the interim though please do enjoy all of the stories, because while they may not sway the election, they just may change your life. 

Please don't suck. A lot. Thanks.

And then there was the time we were Neutron Bomb in a borrowed hat, a WTF T-shirt, and a pair of Starbury's.

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This Book Will Change Your Life - The Cradle by Patrick Somerville.

Families. Babies. Memories. Shame. Secrets. All of which swirl around in The Cradle by the Patrick Somerville, a book we somehow believed we knew what to expect, and did, but only somewhat at that. We expected it was the story of a man sent off to a find a cradle that his now pregnant wife had once slept in, and it is that at the most basic level. Somehow though we thought it was more road trip, more twist and turn, confusion, and journey. Which it is. Sort of. Except the twist and turns are less about the physical journey, though there's some of that, and more about the emotional one. The barely healed scars and confusion we tuck away. The decisions we make and others make for us. How we try to hide from them. But they keep coming back anyway. And how they have to if we choose to live a life of any kind. All of which is to say that this is an incredibly readable book, almost a summer read, in the best sense, with its clear-eyed prose, sparse storytelling, humor, and lack of linguistic gymnastics, but one with just the right amount of heft, real heft, earned heft, that lifts it towards greatness. Which also leads to us ask how we went so long without actually reading it. Any number of borderline legitimate excuses may apply, but we know the real reason is simple really. We knew what awaited us in terms of craftsmanship and skill. We also knew the questions that would arise for us in terms of what it takes to write great books, and how you do so without growing discouraged in the process. And we were correct to expect this. Enough of that for now, but please do hit it. We think it will change your life. If only briefly at that.  [image error]

Kelley. Kiss Shot. Hit it. Bam.

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