Ben Tanzer's Blog, page 62

"Wonderfully honest." Lost in Space. Amazon. Wonderbar. And appreciations.

Lots of appreciations, and endlessly wonderbar. Excerpt? Word.

"Ben invites you into his personal life with these honest, hilarious and serious essays about Fatherhood."

New joint. End Of Story. The Rumpus. And Lost in Space inspired at that.

Quite inspired. Very Rumpus. And endless appreciation to the Gina Frangello for all of it. Excerpt? Word.

"The cool story would be how we went home that night, dropped everything, booked our trip, and were soon having a threesome with Larry Mullens, Jr. under the ocean spray that endlessly cascades over San Sebastian’s horseshoe beachfront.

But that isn’t what happened.

Instead, my father got sick, cancer sick, eighteen months to live sick, any trip of any real length didn’t seem possible sick, and for the most part we didn’t go anywhere that didn’t look like a cancer ward or my parent’s house until my father passed away."

Stielstra. Yates. Karas. Luikart. Tanzer. And the Cross-Smith. City Lit Books. July 29th. So do hit it.

"Tanzer has an ease with this one that is infectious." Lost in Space. Goodreads. Goodness.

Much goodness, and much appreciation to old friend, and great writer, J.A. Tyler for that. Excerpt? Cool.

"Tanzer has an ease with this one that is infectious, even when the subjects are like emotional cannon fire. And for fathers, damn, he nails so much of it."

And then there was the time that Lost in Space was all Quimby's, yo.

"Emotional, vivid, and compelling." Four Fathers. InDigest. Bam. And such.

So much such, and endless appreciations. Excerpt? Word.

"There’s some fine writing in Four Fathers: emotional, vivid, and compelling. This book isn’t just someone showing you snapshots from their wallet, instead being an examination of how particular people manage to live in their particular, individual worlds. It’s good stuff, completely separate from any interest in fatherhood."

And then there was the time that Lost in Space was all Women & Children First, yo.

This Podcast Will Change Your Life, Episode Eighty-Seven - Deal With It, starring the Cyn Vargas.

Wow, we are so Vargas, and we are so podcast, not to mention Chicago, 2nd Story, depression, writing retreats, Chekhov, superheroes, and so much more. So do hit it, post-haste, it just might change your life.

These (chap) Books Will Change Your Life - WE WERE GIANTS by Christopher Bowen and THEN by David Greenspan.

We are flight and read and we are struck by the power of the chapbook to provide a jolt of energy to break-up the moments between the moments. The reading of novels and essays, or the waiting for drinks and pretzels. Like a good single, Beyonce or The Cars say, we know, but we love them, or a short film, thinking Jim Jarmusch and the vignettes from Coffee and Cigarettes before they were tethered together, they are bridge and blur, and may or may not be able stand as something longer, but don't need to anyway, they have a purpose, and we are revel. 
We are also WE WERE GIANTS by Christopher Bowen and THEN by David Greenspan, and we are lifted by their wandering need and their search for something. THEN, a series of ruminations on relationship and the mysteries of some ethereal every girl who is just right there beyond reach even as Greenspan writes, "I sleep with the girls on clouds...." All mystery and confusion, riffs and hope. And WE WERE GIANTS, a compendium of desire, for family and peace, and searching always searching, for as Bowen writes, "The treasure is to be found someday..." It is always someday and clouds in these collections, and always search. Which of course is the perfect accompaniment to any flight, floating as we are, lost in the clouds, and searching for things that make sense ourselves, but remain just beyond our grasp. At least there is read though, and with that the ability to change lives, if only momentarily, ours, yours, and anyone seeking, and searching, for meaning. 

Bernstein Mellas Milliken Tanzer Sunday Salon Chicago this Sunday June 29th at the Black Rock Pub & Kitchen.

So yes and so much more here okay thank you.