For all of you lovelies in NYC today, May 1st, 2009, be sure to visit any of our beloved indie booksellers, and show much needed support by buying a book!

Details here: IBNYC

Okay, okay, okay, so its been AGES since we've update ye ole Me-space blog. We apologize from the bottom of our wee bitty hearts, which, may we add, overflow with greatfullness for you, our esteemed internet readers. Please, you prophetic few, take this massive levithan of a blog-update as pennance for our absentee-ism.

IN RECENT NEWS…

July 12^th saw the LA release party for Josh MacPhee and Faviana Rodriguez's "Reproduce and Revolt." Held at Los Angeles' Crewest, the party celebrated both the release of the book, which collects originally commissioned graphics and international street art to be used for revolutionary purposes, and the opening of the exhibit "Write and Revolt," which features some of LA's most politically active graffiti writers.

Faviana Rodriguez is herself all over the West Coast these days, chatting up Berkeley's KPFA, tellin' it like it is on the SF Bay Guardian Art's & Culture blog, and arranging other general launch-party fantasticness.

…in other West Coast Soft Skull news, the Bay Guardian praises Erik Lyle's On the Lower Frequencies for "its intense curiosity about various subcultures and its sheer enthusiasm for discovering how the city does (and doesn't) work." Take a look at an excerpt from the book featured in the Brooklyn Rail…if you like what you see, snatch a copy off the digital bookshelf at Soft Skull's online store. Erik has been busy criss-crossing the country in support of Frequencies, with recent appearances at Bluestockings and Goodbye Blue Monday here on the East Coast, along with a fantastic radio spot with Portland's KBOO. And he is nowhere close to stopping – check out the Soft Skull Events Calendar for more chances to catch our globetrotting wonderboy, Erik Lyle.

Colleen Mendor of Bookslut called Martin Millar's Lonely Werewolf Girl "a breakout novel that defies any and all fantasy stereotypes" in her July round-up of "Things that Bite" books. Keep a lookout for even more Martin Miller goodness coming to you this fall and winter from Soft Skull... 

Jonathan Evison, of All About Lulu fame, has been a constant source of entertainment and fascination this month. His interview with Powell's sprawls from a discussion of his recent projects to chit chat about literary pilgrimages and the naming of future landscape architects…Evison breaths wildfire and probably eats whole bears for dinner…it's seriously worth checking out... The Inside Cover also caught up with Evison for some good old fashioned gloating about the "general buzz" surrounding Lulu. Speaking of buzz, you can get a taste of it for your own filthy self over at the manly love-fest that is Three Guys One Book. If there's anyone that can tame the wily Evison, it's these gents, who will take you "into a place of shock and awe" in their discussion of the text.

Publisher's weekly has been sending Soft Skull some recent love as well. In a starred review, they had the following to say about the aforementioned All About Lulu: "Evison's debut-of love and loss, growing up, throwing up and moving on-is a stunner....Evison provides readers a viciously funny and deeply felt portrayal of a blended family and one man's thwarted longing" …

…and, speaking of David Ohle's The Pisstown Chaos, they add that "Fans will rejoice—in their own dystopian way—at the arrival of this mesmerizing installment.... Ohle's creation of a vivid world, both familiar and foreign, dark and slyly humorous, makes the book a grim delight."

We could spend hours wading through all the love Shannon Burke's Black Flies has received this summer - here's a brief, balanced selection of some of the best. Sort of like a Whitman's Sampler, but with delicious insects instead of caramel.

First came the fantastically gory NY Times Book Review from Liesl Schillinger, which called the book "Searing and morally resonant… for anyone who has flirted with fashionable jadedness or suffered disappointments that led to a sullen fascination with the darker side of human experience, Burke blows apart the pose."

Then we were hit with a review from the Chicago Tribune's Paul Goat Allen, who praises Burke's "excellent job of re-creating the social and political atmosphere of early 1990s Harlem, and his main characters are meticulously and realistically developed, but it's the insights associated with being a paramedic that make this such a powerful read."

The icing on this praise-cake came courtesy of Time Out New York: "A gifted stylist, the author makes a thoughtful stab at showing what constant danger can do to an ambulance worker and to a neighborhood's inhabitants. He also knows when to step back to provocative effect, prompting readers to grapple with the horrors as if they were experiencing them firsthand."

Outside of the critical realm, Burke's novel has made an impression on the electronic masses. Check out this paramedic's blog post about Black Flies, along with the ensuing discussion, and Shannon's own thoughts.

While this outpouring of verbal love leaves us grinning ear to ear, reading through it all left us anxious to get back to what the internet is REALLY all about: PICTURES! Filling our need for visual stimulation this month was New York Magazine, who set up a fantastic exclusive excerpt from the beautifully illustrated Dead in Desemboque.

The historieta has also received recent praise from The Boston Globe, who, looking at the trio of fantastic illustrator's who bring author Roberto Arellano's story to life, had the following to say: "Will Schaff's ornate images evoke the Mexican days of the dead; Richard Schuler's more regular art evokes a rougher Robert Crumb; and Alec Thibodeau's calculatedly primitive, open style compliments the psychedelic landscape Arellano conjures in three tongues: English, Spanish, and forked."

Garnishing to this critical goulash was provided by the El Paso Times'  take on the graphic novel: "This marvelous chronicle of a death foretold is a stunning achievement that invites comparisons to Homer's "Odyssey" -- also a story about a love disrupted by the trials and tribulations during one man's dangerous journey back to the arms of his beloved." Epic indeed!

Shifting our attention up North, Sheila Fischman, translator of Sylvian Trudel's Mercury Under My Tongue, was recently awarded the Molson Prize in recognition of her "outstanding lifetime achievements and ongoing contributions to the cultural and intellectual life of Canada." Fischman has translated over 125 novels, and is responsible for introducing countless new Quebec literary voices to English speaking readers. . . .

. . . . Fischman's fantastic translation of Mercury, meanwhile, has received some well-deserved attention both north and south of the Canadian border. The Toronto Globe and Mail  calls the book's "first-person narrative reads like a high-speed train barreling toward a head-on collision with a mountainside." Stateside, Entertainment Weekly praises Trudel's novel as a "a candid rant against fate" . . . . and while lunching in the park this week, a wee birdie with a newspaperboy's hat and a cockney lilt advised us to keep our eyes glued to the New York Times Book Review for another Mercury Under My Tongue appearance.

After much debating, campaigning, and filibustering, we've settled on this month's Blorb of the Month. And it goes to none other than Simon Doonan, creative director of Barney's, who offered up the following in praise of the Jeff Martin-edited anthology The Customer Is Always Wrong:

    "Once I got passed the shock and horror of not being asked to contribute to this book, I started to enjoy it...a lot. Cathartic and entertaining, these essays will rivet and delight, regardless of which side of the counter you stand on."

The book, which features some wickedly funny essays by Jim DeRogatis, Elaine Viets and a hoard of other disgruntled and enlightened American retail veterans, is due out this Fall.

Deeper into the dark realm of Soft Skull Non-Fiction, fans of Victiorian-style sexual repression everywhere received a special treat courtesy of the USA Today Book Review of Mikita Brottman's  "provocatively subtitled" Solitary Vice: Against Reading. More liberated were the words of Shelf Awareness'  Harvey Freedenberg, who calls the ok "a hand grenade into the ranks of those promoting reading as the cure all for our social and cultural ill."

While on the general subject of liberation and hand grenades we must mention the recent re-issue of Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore's fantastic That's Revolting. Mattilda has been all over the California media scene, writing up a gorgeous storm...some of his best can be found here on the archives page of his amazingly entertaining website. 

And what sort of Soft Skull newsletter would be com[plete without a good dose of the War Nerd to wrap things up with. Mr. Brecher has been all over the interweb, with a fresh tirade on Alternet, a celebration of his nerdy heritage on Wisconsin Public Radio's "To the Best of Our Knowledge", and some more general snarling on KSCB Santa Barbara's "Marketplace For Ideas." Strap on your headphones, fire up the RealMedia player, and let Gary lull you to sleep with his melodious, euphoric rants.

Well, that just about does it - by now, the Soft Skull knowledge should be dripping out your eardrums and sizzling pleasantly in embers of your adoring heart. For more updates on what goes on in our world, check out the Soft Skull News Blog, the very faucet from which this here news-letter flows. 

Matthew Sharpe's JAMESTOWN is a Quills Finalist in General Fiction and Michael McColly's THE AFTER-DEATH ROOM wins (yes, wins!) the Lambda Literary Award for Spirituality.

I know there was much slagging of the Quills these last couple of years, but looking at the company this year, I'd like to think it's going a little less lowest-common-denominator. So, you know, get excited about it, folks! This year at least! (Other on the short list: Pessl, McCarthy, Brothers by Da Chen and American Youth by Phil LaMarche...)

The winner is voted on by booksellers and librarians—any of you out there who need a copy, give us a holler.

A rather obscure headline for some of our readers, no doubt, but a very exciting one for a few, so it behooves us to spread the word:

COSTES USA Tour 2007
"Les Petits Oiseaux Chient" or "Little Birds Shit"
starring: Jean Louis Costes and Lisou Prout
with support act: Mr Natural (on most dates)
www.costes.org www.radoncollective.org
www.glkweb.com

The return of Jean-Louis Costes to the USA is
certainly one of the most highly anticipated noise
tours of the year. His 2003 presentation of "Holy
Virgin Cult", both thrilled his long-time fans and
earned him a legion of new listeners. After surviving
malaria, the Paris riots and the authoring of his
first book, this historic cult figure tours the USA in
2007.

"Little Birds Shit" is the story of an ordinary
couple. They meet...they flirt…they fuck…They make a
baby. Gradually they find themselves falling into
the trappings of normal existence. Working to make
money becomes their new focus. As they grow weary
from the struggles of life, they find solace in
bizarre acts of S&M sex.
Yet cruel, earthly fates conspire to keep them down.
The couple must finally come to
The logical conclusion of this journey, finishing in
Hell.



FEBRUARY

Fri 9 : Johnson City, TN @ Heather's Hideaway

Sat l0 Asheville, NC @ Static Age w/ Mr Natural

Sun ll Hickory, NC @ Chez Marque w/ Mr Natural

Mon l2 Chapel Hill, NC @ Nightlife w/ Mr Natural, Klang Quartet, Jason Crumner

Wed l4 Jacksonville, FL @ Yesterday's Pre-Party International Noise Conference w/ Mr. Natural and 15+ artists from the INC line-up

Sat l7 Miami, FL @ Churchill's Hideaway International Noise Conferance

Mon l9 Tallahasse, FL @ Full Circle Gallery w/ Realicide, Rotten Milk, Mr Natural

Tue 20 Atlanta, GA @ Eyedrum

Wed 2l Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree w/ Mr Natural, U Can Unlearn Guitar

Fri 23 Houston, TX @ Superhappy Funland

Sat 24 Austin, TX @ Scott's Red Inn

Wed 28 Los Angeles @ The Smell w/ Captain Ahab, Mr Natura;

MARCH

Thu l San Francisco, CA or Oakland, CA tba

Sat 3 Portland, OR @ Someday Lounge w/ Mr Natural

Sun 4 Seattle, WA @ Rebar w/ Mortii, Mr Natural

Wed 7: Rapids City. SD @ tba

Thu 8: Sioux Falls, SD @ Dischordia w/ Question, Thrash Wave

Saturday 10: Minneapolis @ The Church

Sunday 11: Chicago @ 3219 s morgan st w/ Cock ESP, Panicsville, Mr Natural

Wed l4 Pittsburg, PA @ Smiling Moose w/ Plastered Bastards, Cock ESP

Thu l5 Rochester, NY @ The AV Room w/ Cock ESP

Fri l6 NYC @ House party! w/ Cock ESP, Rubbed Raw

Sat l7 Boston @ School of the Museum of Fine Arts w/ Cock ESP

Sun l8 Providence, Ri @ InZane Gallery w/ Two Dead Sluts One Good Fuck

wed 21 New Brunswick, NJ @ Plum Street

thu 22 Philladelphia, Pa @ Pageant Gallery w/ Rubbed Raw

fri 23 Washington DC @ Velvet Lounge

Sorry for the light posting, occasioned by the fact that there is presently too much news, much too much news, and digesting it, and reacting to it, and adjusting to it has to be my primary responsibility. If you don't know what I mean, see this and this on our distributor's bankruptcy filing.

But, to keep perspective, see this and this (Helen and Paul are friends of mine from college, ditto of Jenny D.'s). It's an instance of pure evil at work in the world.

Cursed from Birth
The Short, Unhappy Life of William S. Burroughs Jr.
David Ohle
A portait of a wasted life, Cursed from Birth tells the harrowing story of the writer who referred to himself as the "son of NAKED LUNCH"

The Good Fairies of New York
Martin Millar
A picaresque fable following the Manhattan boho-zone adventures of two thrash metal-fixated Scottish thistle fairies that earned the author a cult reputation and an introduction by Neil Gaiman.

American Genius, A Comedy
Lynne Tillman
A novel of remarkable perception, grace, and understanding that functions as a microcosm of America, AMERICAN GENIUS, A COMEDY is the most ambitious novel yet from the author of NBCC finalist and NY Times Notable, No Lease on Life.

H2O
Mark Swartz
Innovative dystopian fiction about a worldwide water shortage, from the author of acclaimed indy Instant Karma (City Lights, 2002).
Check out the trailer

A Good War Is Hard to Find
David Griffith
Inspired by the recent Abu Ghraib torture photos, this is Griffith's journey through the vast catalogue of violent and sexual images that have accumulated in our collective unconscious, a journey he seeks to understand through filters ranging from Flannery O'Connor to Susan Sontag to Andy Warhol.

Siberia
Nikolaï Maslov, translated by Blake Ferris
A stunning autobiographical graphic novel by a self-taught Siberian artist that documents the author's grim, vodka-soaked life--from an adolesence under Breshnev to military service with the Red Army in Mongolia--yet a life periodically illuminated by moments of grace and beauty.

The Whistleblower
Confessions of A Healthcare Hitman
Peter Rost
An expose by one who knows the industry so intimately he was one of its most successful executives, and an account of the guerilla warfare one person fought when a multinatinal corporation sought to destroy him.

Someday We'll All Be Free
Kevin Powell
Acclaimed writer and political activist Kevin Powell publishes his 7th book, a bold and passionate collection of three new essays on freedom, democracy, and justice in America, as inspired by the tragedies of Hurricane Katrina and September 11th, and the 2004 presidential election.

Going to Heaven
Elizabeth Adams
An exploration of the man - Gene Robinson, the world's first openly gay bishop - who many believe will be the catalyst for the breaking apart of the Episcopal Church.

The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers
Delia Falconer
An astonishingly fresh look at Custer and the Battle of Little Big Horn through the eyes of the soldiers who did not go to his aid, by the author of The Service of Clouds.

Skipping Toward Armageddon
The Politics and Propaganda of the Left Behind Novels and the LaHaye Empire
Michael Standaert
An investigation and critique of the LEFT BEHIND series of best-selling novels as well as a critique of the political empire of Christian right evangelist-activist Tim LaHaye, and the surrounding culture.