Skip to content

Category Archives: literature

THE ENGAGEMENT

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Chloe Hooper had what she describes as a “dark night of the soul” when her latest book  The Engagement went to the printers. And it had to do with that monster best-selling book Fifty Shades of Grey. She was worried she had written the literary equivalent of the erotic best-seller, after all The Engagement does [...]

Also filed in australia, books, recommendations | | Comments Off

MCSWEENEY’S 41

Friday, September 14, 2012

Jordan Bass, managing editor of McSweeney’s Publishing, launched the 41st issue of McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern with Australian contributors Melissa Lucashenko, Ellen van Neerven-Currie and Chris Flynn at the Brisbane Writers Festival last weekend. I love a writers festival and coming across authors I haven’t read before. I left the festival with two new books – [...]

Also filed in australia, books, recommendations, writing | | Comments Off

GIGOLO’S HAND ON A SILK STOCKING

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Writer of amazing texts and books such as ‘Against Interpretation’, ‘Marat/Sade/Artaud’, ‘Illness as Metaphor, and AIDS and its Metaphors’ or the exuberant essay for ‘Story of the Eye’, marvelous book of Georges Batailles. Tea with Thomas Mann, dinner with (Herbert) Marcuse, sex with F, thoughts on books, religion, life and lots were hidden in Susan [...]

Also filed in architecture, books, celebrities, classics, culture, death, education, history, life, new york, religion, theory, writing | | Comments (1)

SAVE THE DATE: MISS READ 2012

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

MISS READ, Berlin’s independent publishing fair, is in town again for the fourth time – this year hosted by abc. MISS READ has invited international publishers and artists to show their artist books at the abc premises. Presenting a selection of about 50 of the most active contributors in this field – including mono.kultur, of [...]

Also filed in advertising, art, berlin, books, design, events, exhibitions, illustration, image, independence, language, magazines, mono.kultur, products, recommendations, typography, writing | | Comments Off

September

Saturday, September 1, 2012

As you should know by now, we’re smooth talkers and we indeed shave our faces, so let’s quote Rilke (translated by Gass) to bid farewell to summer 2012 together: Lord, it is time. The summer was too long. / Lay your shadow on the sundials now, / and through the meadow let the winds throng. [...]

Also filed in gravity, weather | | Comments Off

Literarischer Ausritt Pt. 1

Friday, August 10, 2012

Earlier this week, a great young writer from New York told me over beers that authors like Barthelme and Coover are really not such a big deal in the States. Truly a shame, I think, and what’s worse: even less people seem to have heard of Walter Abish’s incredible How German Is It. It’s about [...]

Also filed in books, classics, language | | Comments Off

Hey! Bright boy! Did I tell you talk?

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

We aren’t against thinking too much, but knowing too much should be avoided.
Short story time: Bullet in the Brain by Tobias Wolff.

Also filed in ideas | | Comments Off

BUILDING IMPATIENCE

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

It’s really not fair sometimes to announce things that won’t be available until autumn, especially when it’s something as mouth-watering and irritatingly must-have-now-inspiring as our recent cover star’s Chris Ware’s latest magnum opus, Building Stories. As we all know, Chris Ware only publishes in what feels like once in a decade, but if he [...]

Also filed in books, comic, design | | Comments (2)

A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING

Monday, July 16, 2012

When we published our lovely issue #25 on American author, publisher and cultural jack of all trades Dave Eggers, he implied that he was finally working on a new novel with an original story – as opposed to his two previous political biographies What is the What and Zeitoun – which, almost two years later, [...]

Also filed in books, life, politics | | Comments (1)

HACK THE COVER

Thursday, July 12, 2012

The covers are dead!
Dead!
Dead like the record jacket!
Dead like the laser disc sleeve!
Dead like the 8-track cartridge sticker!
Dead like the squishy Disney VHS container!
Dead like the cassette tape insert!
Dead like those damned CD jewel cases and their booklets!
Dead like DVD and Blu-ray box art!
Put ‘em all in a box, burn ‘em, and sprinkle their ashes [...]

Also filed in blogs, books, design, illustration, image | | Comments Off