Oh, say can you see…Canada? Yankee Doodle went to…Ottawa? Why Canadians are...
An essay in the Guardian naming the 10 best books about Americans in Europe includes three titles by Canadian authors, which leaves me all but speechless in outraged puzzlement: When did Canadians...
View ArticleBorders RIP: One more stage in the evolution of the brave new illiterate...
Grieving the loss of Borders Books & Music, likely to die an ugly death on Monday, is akin to mourning the destruction of the Soviet Union by space aliens, circa 1970. Sometimes the enemy of your...
View ArticleSwinging for the fences: Esmeralda Santiago writes ‘The Puerto Rican Gone...
Despite three well-regarded memoirs, including the bestseller When I Was Puerto Rican, Esmeralda Santiago still wasn’t satisfied she had an answer to the question, “Where did I come from?” So she...
View ArticleSloppy spelling and other preventable errors: More benefits of digital...
I hope it doesn’t undermine Virginia Heffernan’s fascinating column, “The Price of Typos,” if I point out that the New York Times digital and pop culture writer doesn’t seem to appreciate the...
View ArticleObituary: Borders Books & Music, dead at 40, a suicide: What it means for the...
Like a lot of readers, Jennifer Geier visits Borders to find a book she likes. “Then I go to Amazon to buy it, generally,” she says. Congratulations, Jennifer! You’re a digital pioneer who just helped...
View ArticleRock of ages: More books to come from decrepit rock idols.
When I was a wee lad with a tie-died t-shirt and hair down to here, I used to regularly refresh my youthful rebellion by listening to the Who’s anarchic anthem, “My Generation,” with its famous line...
View ArticleThe amazing superiority of literary science fiction: Assessing the genres,...
Science fiction as produced by Hollywood has never been at a sorrier pass, as you know if you’ve seen the ubiquitous trailer for the upcoming Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Fortunately, an antidote...
View ArticleIs Sapphire the bravest, toughest–and most optimistic– author in American...
One of the highlights of my literary year so far has been the telephone interview two weeks ago with Sapphire, author of the acclaimed novel Push, basis for the movie Precious, and its just published...
View ArticleWriters rejoice! You can sue reviewers for damages — and win big!
Back in the glory days, when I was the book critic for the Sun-Sentinel, I used to joke with cityside reporters that I was at work on a breaking book review. But now it turns out arts criticism is real...
View ArticleWhat fresh hell: Slam poetry champion David Blair dies unexpectedly at age 41.
Firing up my computer in the morning, I ofttimes feel like Dorothy Parker, throwing open the door to her apartment with the question, “What fresh hell is this?!?’ Today’s email brings news that David...
View Article