Soft Skull Shortwave

Soft Skull Shortwave Message

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:21:00 GMT

Dear Lovely Soft Skullers, So, um, [nervous twitching] I was wondering....what are you doing this Thursday night? I know, I know, its a little forward of me, and we hardly know each other, but I've been giving this a lot of though, and I think it's time we take it to the next level. Oh no! Wait! Just hear me out.... THIS THURSDAY - A Soft Skull double feature down in Bed-Stuy....featuring the Dynamic Duo of Erick Lyle and Josh Macphee will be at the 123 Community Space! Bring your friends and loved ones! Bring a date whose opinion of you is uncertain, who you wish to impress with your amazing literary taste and connection to community! Here's a bit more info: Erick Lyle/Josh MacPhee Thursday, August 28th 8:30 PM 123 Community Space 123 Tompkins, Brooklyn, NY Erick and Josh will talk about their new books, tell stories and show pictures for you to look at. Erick recently released On the Lower Frequencies, a remix of the very best of his SCAM zine with some great new writing. Josh put together Reproduce & Revolt, a collection of over 500 public domain political graphics from 100 plus artists from around the big old world. DIRECTIONS FOR YOU: By Big Stinky Subway: Take the G to Myrtle-Willoughby, walk one block up Myrtle in the direction of the gas station, (as opposed to the playground). Make a right on Tompkins, which should be the first street you come to. J/M/Z Trains- Take J/M/Z to Myrtle Ave, then walk four blocks down Myrtle. You should go by Lewis Ave, Marcus Garvey and Throop Ave. before you get to Tompkins Ave, which you make a left on. Another option, since they're four sorta long blocks, is to take the B54 bus on Myrtle. By Your Awful Fixed Speed Bike: From Williamsburgh Bridge- Get on Broadway, which is on the other side of the bridge from where the bike path lets out. The safest way to do that is to loop around under the bridge. Make a left on Broadway and take it all the way to Myrtle, turn right on Myrtle and go four blocks to Tompkins Ave, Which you turn right on. 123 is the first storefront on your left hand side From Manhattan Bridge- Go Right on Sands St. (the street under the bridge both bike paths let you out at) until it ends at the NYPD Tow Pound, then make another right on Navy St., turn left under the BQE at Park Ave. Take Park Ave. all the way to Tompkins Ave., which comes after Nostrand and Marcy. Make a right and go to 123 Tompkins Ave, which is on the left hand side of the street after Myrtle. From Brooklyn Bridge- Get on Tillary (the major street you're on when you get off the bridge), turn left until Tillary turns into Park Ave. Take Park Ave. all the way to Tompkins Ave., which comes after Nostrand and Marcy. Make a right and go to 123 Tompkins Ave, which is on the left hand side of the street after Myrtle. By Speedboat Get in your speedboat. Start the engine. Not working? Did you fill up the gas tank this week? No? Because gas prices are too high and you already spent all your tax-return money on buying the actual speedboat? Serves you right; get on the stinky subway. SEE YOU THERE! love, Soft Skull Press -- To unsubscribe from: Soft Skull Shortwave, just follow this link: <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/</a> Click the link, or copy and paste the address into your browser. Mailing List Powered by Dada Mail <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/</a>

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April Silver on African American fatherhood - and CA Conrad at the Bowery Poetry Club

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:25:00 GMT

Hi from Soft Skull, and happy August! First of all, if you're getting this message twice, we're really sorry. There might be some kind of glitch in the system. But just in case: April Silver - editor of Be a Father to Your Child: Real Talk from Black Men on Family, Love and Fatherhood, and CA Conrad, author of Deviant Propulsion (as well as a fabulous book on Elvis that Soft Skull is going to be publishing in the spring) are both going to be doing some interesting things this coming week, and we recommend checking them out. April Silver, editor of the new Soft Skull book Be A Father To Your Child: Real Talk from Black Men on Family, Love and Fatherhood, will be reading with anthology contributors activist Thabiti Boone, award-winning poet Mo Beasley and Loren Harris at Barnes and Noble in Brooklyn (106 Court Street) on Thursday, August 14, at 7pm. This new anthology compiles accounts of parenting and relationships from the perspective of fathers and sons born during or at the same time that hip hop culture emerged. It is an eye-opening anthology that examines the broad socio-historical and cultural contexts behind fatherhood within the African-American community but also includes more personal and anecdotal pieces which provides the writers' full range of experiences with the fathers and father figures. And for anyone who is located a little further out of New York City, Silver will also be reading in Nanuet, NY on August 7th at 7pm (Barnes & Noble, 140 Rockland Plaza). AND ALSO On August 10th, at noon, CAConrad, author of the brilliant Deviant Propulsion, will be reading at the Bowery Poetry Club (308 Bowery) along with authors Tim Peterson and Laura Goldstein. Deviant Propulsion is a collection of energetic, flamboyant poems that are grounded in queer culture, where the right to where the right to act on basic desires can become a battleground, and everyday acts of love and devotion must be enacted as a political form of defiance. With an immediacy and fervor that jumps off the page, CAConrad suggests that in a world paralyzed by fear, moving at speed of deviants is the only way to transform potential into action, and desire into positive change. Check these people out! And have a great weekend. All best, Soft Skull Press -- To unsubscribe from: Soft Skull Shortwave, just follow this link: <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/</a> Click the link, or copy and paste the address into your browser. Mailing List Powered by Dada Mail <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/</a>

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NEXT WEEK - Kevin Powell Takes Brooklyn!

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 18:29:00 GMT

Dear Devoted Soft Skullers, To put it bluntly, we here at Soft Skull are gluttons for patriotism. Even after this recent weekend's triumphant displays of nationalistic excess, we feel a deep and haunting hollowness that no amount of hot dogs and beer can fill. Our quest for star-spangled gratification has led us in many false directions (the stockpile of illegal fireworks and whiskey we house in our back closet, for instance), but after much deliberation we believe our deliverance can only be found at the true birthplace of Liberty itself: Brooklyn! Next week, author Kevin Powell will be gracing the hallowed borough's grounds, reading from his recent collection, "No Sleep Till Brooklyn," at two locations: Brownstone Books in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Tuesday, July 15th and the Melville House Bookstore in DUMBO on Wednesday, July 16th. Powell is the author of "Someday We'll All Be Free," and his new collection spans the length of his artistic career, from his early work as a slam poet to his present poetry of musing, confession, and introspection. His work confronts and captures the issues at the heart of American life, and his words beat with the very pulse of our land and people. So, if you too have felt empty in the wake of our country's birthday celebration, come gorge yourself on the poetic offerings of the man who, as far as we can tell, is this great nation's last hope for salvation: Kevin Powell. We hope to see you there! ------------------------------------------------ Kevin Powell will be reading.... Tuesday July 15th from 7pm 9pm at Brownstone Books in Bedford-Stuyvesant 409 Lewis Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11233 <a href="http://www.brownstonebooks.com/">http://www.brownstonebooks.com/</a> phone: 718-953-7328 Take the C to Kingston Throops Ave Stop then walk North to Decatur St then East to Lewis Ave. AND.... Wednesday July 16th from 7pm - 9pm at the Melville House Bookstore in DUMBO 145 Plymouth Street Brooklyn, NY 11201 <a href="http://www.mhpbooks.com/">http://www.mhpbooks.com/</a> phone: 718.722.9204 Take the F to York St Station then walk West to Pearl St and then North to Plymouth. -- To unsubscribe from: Soft Skull Shortwave, just follow this link: <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/</a> Click the link, or copy and paste the address into your browser. Mailing List Powered by Dada Mail <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/</a>

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Reproduce & Revolt Release Party THIS MONDAY at Bluestockings

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:52:00 GMT

Hello Soft Skull devotees! As we trudge into the sweaty doldrums of summer, we must cling feverishly to the few things left in this post-solstice world that give us solace: subway air-conditioning, endless flip flops, the friends we tolerate only because they have a pool, and of course, revolutionary political graphics. So this Monday, June 30th, strap on your best sandals, wash the chlorine out of your hair, and hop on the frigid F train to Bluestockings for the release party of Josh MacPhee's "Reproduce & Revolt/Reproduce Y Rebélate," a collection of contemporary political graphics from around the world. "Reproduce & Revolt" contains original art intended to be freely used on political posters, fliers and campaigns. It also includes a history of the reproducible political graphic and a design how-to for anyone interested in using the images in the book to help change the world. The book features over 100 street artists, poster makers, and graphic designers from more than 25 countries. Josh MacPhee will be giving a presentation on the book, and many of the NYC-based artists will be in attendance, giving you and your fan-boy friends a chance to chow down on refreshments and rub radicalized elbows with some of the cities most socially aware artists. The whole thing takes place on Monday from 7 to 10 PM at Bluestockings Bookstore, 172 Allen Street in Manhattan. Hope to see you there! All the best, Soft Skull Press -------------------------------------------------------------------- Reproduce & Revolt/Reproduce y Rebélate RELEASE PARTY Monday, June 30th, 7-10pm Bluestockings Bookstore 172 Allen St. NYC (One block south of Houston, a block from the 2nd Ave. F train) A collection of over 500 political graphics, Reproduce & Revolt/Reproduce Y Rebélate contains original art granted by the creators to the public domain, to be freely used on political posters, flyers, and campaigns. A bilingual (English & Spanish) book, it also includes a history of the reproducible political graphic and a design how-to for anyone interested in using the images in this book to help change the world. A powerful collection of graphic work by some of the worlds most active and interesting political propagandists, street artists and socially conscious graphic designers. Over 100 artists from over 25 countries are included! -- To unsubscribe from: Soft Skull Shortwave, just follow this link: <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/</a> Click the link, or copy and paste the address into your browser. Mailing List Powered by Dada Mail <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/</a>

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Douglas Martin, Eric Lyle, "Bandana Republics" Book Release, and "The Mutating City"

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 21:21:00 GMT

Hello from Soft Skull! Here's a quick round-up of information on a whole bunch of great events that are happening in the next few weeks. But first, a couple of quick reminders: TOMORROW, Thursday June 5, "The Mutating City" at Brooklyn Public Library from 1:20-Bomb the Suburbs, How to G2:30 PM, with the Summer Reading Kickoff, featuring Kevin Powell (No Sleep Till Brooklyn), William Upski Wimsatt (Bomb the Suburbs), and others beginning at 7 PM. and The Bandana Republic book launch will be happening MONDAY, June 9, from 6pm - 8pm at the Hue Man Bookstore, 2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd in New York. Editors Bruce George and Louis Reyes Rivera, along with several contributors, will be there. Full information on this and the other upcoming events is posted below. Hope to see you there! ----------------------------------------- The Brooklyn Independents Literary series: "The Mutating City" at the Brooklyn Public Library Thursday, June 5, 1:30pm 2:30pm BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARYS DR. S. STEVAN DWECK CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CULTURE: Summer Reading Kickoff. June 5, at 7 p.m. Authors Kevin Powell (Someday We'll All Be Free, No Sleep Till Brooklyn), Luc Sante, Favianna Rodriguez (Reproduce & Revolt), William Upski Wimsatt (No More Prisons, Bomb the Suburbs, How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office), and Josh MacPhee (Stencil Pirates, Reproduce & Revolt), debate the truths and consequences of the mutating city. The Brooklyn Independents Literary series is a consortium of highly regarded, cutting-edge independent literary publishers including Akashic, BOMB Magazine, A Public Space, Tin House and Soft Skull. <a href="http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/dweck/">http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/dweck/</a> Brooklyn Public Library, 1 Grand Army Plz # 1, Brooklyn, NY (map) ------------------------------------ BOOK LAUNCH: The Bandana Republic - Soft Skull's new anthology of gang literature. Mon, Jun 9, 6pm 8pm The event will be at Hue-Man Bookstore, featuring editors Bruce George and Louis Reyes Rivera along with several contributors. Contributors to the anthology include: Alicia Benjamin-Samuels Oscar Brown Jr. Chairman Fred Hampton, Jr Commander Comrade X Layding Kaliba Dead Prez Ruby Dee Shaggy Flores Erica Ford The Last Poets Jesús Papoleto Meléndez Akua Njeri Willie Perdomo T. Rodgers Luis J. Rodriguez Leila Steinberg Kublai Toure Ted Wilson Malik Yoba The Bandana Republic is a collection of creative literature written by Chaplains, Bishops, Sportsmen, Crips, Bloods, Latin Kings, Black Spades, Neta, Black Gangster Disciples and others. Includes work by former gang members who have gone beyond gangbanging and into the social and cultural arenas. Urban youth gangs and street associations are generally viewed as training grounds for thugs and felons. Left out of consideration are their members' emotional makeup, their political consciousness, their individual and collective capacities to assess the very social conditions that give rise to the need for such associations. The Bandana Republic showcases both the creative impulse and the social consciousness that is never included in any public dialogue on gangs. Former gang members Louis Reyes Rivera and Bruce George present The Bandana Republic, an intergenerational, multiracial anthology that seeks to showcase the creative impulse that, along with violence, has always been a part of membership in urban gangs. Foreword by Jim Brown. Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe www.huemanbookstore.com 2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd Between 124th and 125th Streets New York, NY 10027 Tel: 212-665-7400 -------------------------------------- TWO Douglas Martin Readings: First at Printed Matter as part of the BOOK LAUNCH for "Nothing Moments" Saturday, June 7 5pm 7pm Printed Matter 195 10th Avenue (between 21 and 22nd Streets) in New York City. Douglas Martin, author of Branwell and the recent poetry collection, In the Time of Assignments, reads as part of the book launch for Nothing Moments, a series of 24 collaborative book projects organized by Steven Hull and Tami Demaree with Annie Buckley and Jon Seuda. The book launch will include a reading by five of the other participating writers: Annie Buckley, Mark Kamine, Douglas A. Martin, Pamela August Russell, Jamie Schwartz and Lynne Tilman. Nothing Moments consists of twenty-four limited edition books and more than four hundred original drawings. The project expands on the relay-inspired process Hull has explored in previous projects, whereby one artist responds to the written or visual work of another. In Nothing Moments, each book begins with a fiction text authored by a contributing writer. This text is then passed to participating artist who makes drawings in response to the story. Finally, the text and art are given to a designer who creates a unique design for each book. The resulting series emphasizes a fusion of writing, visual art, and design, inverting the traditional foregrounding of text over art in the book format. The launch and reading will take place on Saturday, June 7 from 5:00 7:00 PM. Printed Matter is located at 195 10th Avenue (between 21 and 22nd Streets) in New York City. printedmatter.org T: 212 925 0325 F: 212 925 0464 AND second Martin reading with Elaine Equi at The Poetry Project Wednesday, June 11 at 8:00 pm The Poetry Project St. Mark's Church, corner of 2nd Ave. and 10th St., New York Douglas A. Martin reads from his recent poetry collection from Soft Skull, In the Time of Assignments. His prose works include Branwell, a novel of the Bronte brother, They Change the Subject, a book of stories, and Your Body Figured, an experimental narrative forthcoming in September from Nightboat Books. Outline of My Lover, Martin's first novel, was an International Book of the Year in the Times Literary Supplement and adapted in part by the Forsythe Company for their multimedia ballet/live film "Kammer/Kammer." He teaches writing at The New School University and in the Low-Residency MFA Writing Program at Goddard College. Elaine Equi's books include Voice-Over, which won the San Francisco State Poetry Award, The Cloud of Knowable Things, and most recently Ripple Effect: New & Selected Poems - all from Coffee House Press. Widely anthologized, her work appears in Postmodern American Poetry: a Norton Anthology and numerous editions of The Best American Poetry. She teaches at New York University and in the MFA Programs at The New School and City College. $8, $7 for students and seniors, $5 for members poetryproject.com (212) 674-0910 ------------------------------- Eric Lyle and Cindy Crabb reading and signing Wednesday, June 11 at Red Emma's Bookstore, Baltimore MD Friday, June 13 at Bluestockings, New York City Erick Lyle, creator of Scam Zine, reads from his recent book "On the Lower Frequencies: A Secret History of the City," a manual and memoir on creative resistance in a world awash with war and poverty. Lyle reflects on gentrification of San Francisco, tells of squatting in the ruins of the dot-com era, and of shutting down the city during anti-war protests. Joining him will be Cindy Crabb, the creator and author of DORIS zine. at Red Emma's Wednesday, June 13 from 7pm to 8pm Red Emma's Bookstore and Coffeehouse 800 St. Paul St. Baltimore, MD redemmas.org (410) 230-0450 at Bluestockings Friday, June 13 from 7pm to 8pm Bluestockings Books 172 Allen Street (between Stanton and Rivington) New York, New York bluestockings.com 212.777.6028 ---------------------------------- This is a great line up of events, and we are awfully excited about attending them in the next couple of weeks. Hope to see you there! Best, Soft Skull Press -- To unsubscribe from: Soft Skull Shortwave, just follow this link: <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/</a> Click the link, or copy and paste the address into your browser. 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Be a Father to Your Child, Bandana Republic, and the Mutating City

Fri, 23 May 2008 19:10:00 GMT

Hi everyone, A few great events are around the corner and we wanted to give you a heads-up. By way of reminder, David Ohle (author of Motorman, The Age of Sinatra, and The Pisstown Chaos) will be reading at 8pm TONIGHT with Brian Evenson, accompanied by the music of Nat Badwin, tonight in the Issue Project Room at the (OA) Can Factory (232 3rd St @ 3rd Ave, 3rd Flr, Brooklyn). Cost is $10 and ADVANCE COPIES OF THE PISSTOWN CHAOS WILL BE AVAILABLE for the first time ever, and at a discount! www.issueprojectroom.org More news: Two Soft Skull book launches are around the corner, and Kevin Powell, Luc Sante, Favianna Rodriguez, William Upski Wimsatt, and Josh MacPhee will all feature in the Brooklyn Independents Literary series at the Brooklyn Public Library on Thursday, June 5. More information on these three events is below: -------------- BOOK LAUNCH: Mon, Jun 2, 7:00pm 9:30pm For: BE A FATHER TO YOUR CHILD: REAL TALK FROM BLACK MEN on FAMILY, LOVE, and FATHERHOOD Kevin Powell, April Silver of AKILA WORKSONGS, Black & Male in America (BAMIA), and Allhiphop.com present a Townhall Meeting & Booksigning for "Be a Father to Your Child: Real Talk from Black Men on Family, Love, and Fatherhood" Event Hosted by Chuck Jigsaw Creekmur of allhiphop.com FREE and OPEN TO GENERAL PUBLIC Brown Memorial Baptist Church (Rev. Clinton M. Miller, Pastor) 438 Washington Avenue (at Gates Avenue) Clinton Hill/Brooklyn, NY 11238 [more program notes to come] a ground-breaking anthology featuring essays, poems, and interviews by: Aaron Lloyd Adisa Banjoko Alford Young, Jr. Bakari Kitwana Bill Stephney Byron Hurt Cheo Tyehimba Davey D. Dion Chavis James Peterson Kevin Powell Kevin Williams Lasana Hotep Loren Harris Lumumba Akinwole-Bandele Mo Beasley Rhymefest Saddi Khali Shaun Neblett Steven G. Fullwood Talib Kweli Thabiti Boone Timothy D. Jones William Jelani Cobb In Stores Early June 2008 | SOFT SKULL PRESS check our online directory beafathertoyourchild.com allhiphop.com kevinpowellforcongress.org softskull.com akilaworksongs.com -------------- Then, on Thursday, June 5, 1:30pm 2:30pm The Brooklyn Independents Literary series: "The Mutating City" at the Brooklyn Public Library BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARYS DR. S. STEVAN DWECK CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CULTURE: Summer Reading Kickoff. June 5, at 7 p.m. Authors Kevin Powell (Someday We'll All Be Free, No Sleep Till Brooklyn), Luc Sante, Favianna Rodriguez (Reproduce & Revolt), William Upski Wimsatt (No More Prisons, Bomb the Suburbs, How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office), and Josh MacPhee (Stencil Pirates, Reproduce & Revolt), debate the truths and consequences of the mutating city. The Brooklyn Independents Literary series is a consortium of highly regarded, cutting-edge independent literary publishers including Akashic, BOMB Magazine, A Public Space, Tin House and Soft Skull. <a href="http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/dweck/">http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/dweck/</a> Brooklyn Public Library, 1 Grand Army Plz # 1, Brooklyn, NY (map) -------------- And last but not least: BOOK LAUNCH: The Bandana Republic - Soft Skull's new anthology of gang literature. Mon, Jun 9, 6pm 8pm The event will be at Hue-Man Bookstore, featuring editors Bruce George and Louis Reyes Rivera along with several contributors. Contributors to the anthology include: Alicia Benjamin-Samuels Oscar Brown Jr. Chairman Fred Hampton, Jr Commander Comrade X Layding Kaliba Dead Prez Ruby Dee Shaggy Flores Erica Ford The Last Poets Jesús Papoleto Meléndez Akua Njeri Willie Perdomo T. Rodgers Luis J. Rodriguez Leila Steinberg Kublai Toure Ted Wilson Malik Yoba The Bandana Republic is a collection of creative literature written by Chaplains, Bishops, Sportsmen, Crips, Bloods, Latin Kings, Black Spades, Neta, Black Gangster Disciples and others. Includes work by former gang members who have gone beyond gangbanging and into the social and cultural arenas. Urban youth gangs and street associations are generally viewed as training grounds for thugs and felons. Left out of consideration are their members' emotional makeup, their political consciousness, their individual and collective capacities to assess the very social conditions that give rise to the need for such associations. The Bandana Republic showcases both the creative impulse and the social consciousness that is never included in any public dialogue on gangs. Former gang members Louis Reyes Rivera and Bruce George present The Bandana Republic, an intergenerational, multiracial anthology that seeks to showcase the creative impulse that, along with violence, has always been a part of membership in urban gangs. Foreword by Jim Brown. Hue-Man Bookstore & Cafe www.huemanbookstore.com 2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd Between 124th and 125th Streets New York, NY 10027 Tel: 212-665-7400 --------------- We are looking forward to these events and hope to see you there! All best, Soft Skull Press -- To unsubscribe from: Soft Skull Shortwave, just follow this link: <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/</a> Click the link, or copy and paste the address into your browser. 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The Pisstown Chaos available in Brooklyn this Friday night

Mon, 19 May 2008 21:58:00 GMT

Hi from Soft Skull Press! This Friday night, David Ohle will be in Brooklyn reading from his soon-to-be-released and much-awaited book The Pisstown Chaos! And we will have advance copies on sale! More details on that and a couple of other good events are below. Hope to see you there. -------------------------------- David Ohle, Brian Evenson, and the music of Nat Baldwin. FRIDAY May 23 8pm Littoral Reading Series Issue Project Room at the (OA) Can Factory 232 3rd St (@ 3rd Ave) 3rd Flr Brooklyn, NY 11215 718-330-0313 $10 M/R to Union F to 4th Avenue www.issueprojectroom.org Nat Baldwin: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/natbaldwin">http://www.myspace.com/natbaldwin</a> Brian Evenson is the author of eight books of fiction, most recently The Open Curtain, which was a finalist for an Edgar Award, an IHG Award, and the Paterson Prize, and was one of Time Out New York's best books of 2006. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island, where he directs the Literary Arts Program at Brown University. David Ohle's novel, Motorman, was published by Alfred P. Knopf in 1972 and re-released by 3rd Bed Press in 2004 with an introduction by Ben Marcus. Its sequel, The Age of Sinatra, was published by Soft Skull in 2004. A third novel, The Pisstown Chaos, will be published by Soft Skull/Counterpoint, in June 2008. He has edited two non-fiction books, Cows are Freaky When They Look at You: An Oral History of the Kaw Valley Hemp Pickers and Cursed From Birth: the Short, Unhappy Life of William S. Burroughs, Jr. (Soft Skull, 2006). His short fiction has appeared in Harper's, Esquire, the Paris Review, TriQuarterly, the Missouri Review, the Pushcart Prize and elsewhere. He lives in Lawrence, Kansas. About the forthcoming book, The Pisstown Chaos, Publishers Weekly has just said: Fans will rejoicein their own dystopian wayat the arrival of this mesmerizing installment....Ohles creation of a vivid world, both familiar and foreign, dark and slyly humorous, makes the book a grim delight. Publishers Weekly -------------------------------- The same night at the Bowery Poetry Club... Friday May 23, 8pm A Salon Cocktail Party for Cultural Studies Association Drinks! An evening of Poetry on the Bowery, hosted by May Joseph. Brief readings by Bowery Books poets, featuring Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz (author of Soft Skull's book Words in Your Face!), Seren Divine, Patricia Spears Jones, Kristin Prevallet, Moonshine Shorey, Marjorie Tesser. Hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar. $5(CSA registrants free). -------------------- And then on Tuesday, May 27, please come to a reading and reception -- with dancing -- to celebrate the paperback publication of the novels Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand and Jamestown by Matthew Sharpe both from Harcourt Books The Soft Skull Press book Jamestown is being released in paperback by Harcourt! Hosted by Teachers & Writers Collaborative 520 Eighth Avenue, Suite 2020 (at 36th St.) New York, NY 10018 212-691-6590 Reading: 6:30 Reception: 7:30 Dancing: 8:30 Attendance at any and/or all portions of the evening encouraged. ---------- See you soon. Soft Skull Press -- To unsubscribe from: Soft Skull Shortwave, just follow this link: <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/</a> Click the link, or copy and paste the address into your browser. Mailing List Powered by Dada Mail <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/</a>

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The Pacific Standard Fiction Series: Victorian Night featuring Arthur Phillips and Douglas A. Martin

Fri, 09 May 2008 19:42:00 GMT

Hi from Soft Skull! This coming Tuesday, May 13, 7pm, Douglas A. Martin and Arthur Phillips will be the featured readers in The Pacific Standard Fiction Series: Victorian Night. The Pacific Standard Fiction Series: 82 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn, New York (betw. St. Marks and Bergen) hosted by Garth Risk Hallberg Books available on-site! Drink specials to be chosen by dartboard! The Spring Season Finale for New York Magazine's "Best New Literary Event!" Douglas A. Martin's second novel, BRANWELL (Soft Skull Press), was hailed as "a cohesive and convincing portrait of the lost, forgotten Brontë" by The Austin Chronicle. "Stylistically complex and emotionally evocative," Darcey Steinke wrote. "Branwell Brontë emerges as ...both muse and devil to his sisters' passions, giving us a new dimension to this ever fascinating family." Martin's first novel, OUTLINE OF MY LOVER (Soft Skull Press), was named an International Book of the Year in the Times Literary Supplement, and was adapted for the Forsythe Company's multimedia production "Kammer/Kammer." Martin, an award-winning poet and critic, is also the author of THEY CHANGE THE SUBJECT and, with Michael Stipe, Grant Lee Phillips, and others, THE HAIKU YEAR. "[BRANWELL's] beautiful declarative sentences are perfectly fitted to this famously imaginative, headstrong family; they bring Branwell Brontë's world to light." -Publishers Weekly Arthur Phillips' third novel, ANGELICA, was, like PRAGUE and THE EGYPTOLOGIST, a national bestseller. The Washington Post, which named it one of the best novels of 2007, wrote, "[ANGELICA] cements this young novelist's reputation as one of the best writers in America, a storyteller who combines Nabokovian wit and subtlety with a narrative urgency that rivals Stephen King's." Phillips, a five-time Jeopardy! champion and winner of the Los Angeles Times/Art Seidenbaum Award for best first novel, has been translated into 25 languages. "ANGELICA impresses first as a clever send-up of the late Victorian novel, and then becomes its own very original thing. It is engrossing, deeply moving, and - precisely because it is moving - very frightening." -Stephen King Host Garth Risk Hallberg is the author of A FIELD GUIDE TO THE NORTH AMERICAN FAMILY. The Pacific Standard Fiction Series aims to showcase the intense and varied literary energies of Brooklyn by pairing writers from the borough and beyond. We offer fine stories and appealing beverages in a civilized setting. For more information, please visit www.pacificstandardbrooklyn.com -- To unsubscribe from: Soft Skull Shortwave, just follow this link: <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/</a> Click the link, or copy and paste the address into your browser. Mailing List Powered by Dada Mail <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/</a>

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Soft Skull at PEN World Voices - take 2

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:59:00 GMT

Apologies for the hard-to-read email. Here is a clearer version. PEN World Voices is a festival of international literature featuring 170 writers, 51 countries, and 82 events coming to venues across New York City, April 29-May 4th, 2008. Don't miss six days of exciting literary exchange with conversations, panel discussions, readings, film screenings, a translation slam and a cabaret night! For a complete schedule of events, go to: <a href="http://www.pen.org/festival">http://www.pen.org/festival</a> Soft Skull's author Asli Erdogan (City in Crimson Cloak) will be participating in several PEN World Voices events. Her schedule is pasted in here, and more about the book and the author can be found below. ------------------ THURSDAY May 1 | Writing Reality Under the Guard of Correction Where: Elebash Recital Hall, The CUNY Graduate Center: 365 5th Ave. What time: 34:30 p.m. With Jennifer Egan, Asli Erdogan, Chenjerai Hove, and Barbara Parsons; moderated by Jackson Taylor Free and open to the public. No reservations. Cosponsored by the Martin E. Segal Theater Center, The Graduate Center, CUNY Prison forces people to conform to a new sense of what is public and what is private: solitary confinement and 24-hour surveillance, overcrowded facilities and individual cells, cacophonous noise and artificial light beyond the individuals control. This panel will explore how writing can help form a psychological bridge between the public and the private self, what adaptations the private self must make in prison, the usefulness of writing in relieving those deforming pressures, and the availability, experience, purpose, and methods of writing instruction. THURSDAY May 1 | Something to Hide: Writers and Artists Against the Surveillance State Where: Joes Pub: 425 Lafayette St. What time: 9 p.m. With György Dragomán, Hasan Elahi, Asli Erdogan, Péter Esterházy, Chenjerai Hove, Irakli Kakabadze, Jenny Marketou, Ivy Meeropol, Francine Prose, and Ingo Schulze Tickets: $10/$8 PEN and ACLU members Purchase tickets from Joes Pub: www.joespub.com or (212) 967-5555 Cosponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union Join international and local guests for a special reading designed to provoke reflection on controversial post-9/11 government surveillance programs in the United States. PENs Campaign for Core Freedoms has joined with the American Civil Liberties Union and other leading human-rights organizations to challenge some of the governments most pernicious infringements on basic human rights, working to restore privacy protections for bookstore and library records, fighting to end the FBIs unchecked use of National Security Letters, and challenging warrantless telephone and Internet surveillance by the N.S.A. Writers will read from works that illuminate the ways government surveillance threatens artistic and intellectual freedom. FRIDAY May 2 | Bookforum: Political Engagement Where: Elebash Recital Hall, CUNY Graduate Center: 365 5th Ave. What time: 1:303 p.m. With Asli Erdogan, Nuruddin Farah, and Elias Khoury; moderated by Albert Mobilio Free and open to the public. No reservations. Cosponsored by Bookforum and the Martin E. Segal Theater Center, The Graduate Center, CUNY To paraphrase Ezra Pound, whose own political views led to his indictment for treason, literature is news that stays news. Is contemporary fiction that kind of news? Indeed, what novels were ever pointedly relevant to public and political life? And how does such relevance jibe with Orwells notion that an atmosphere of orthodoxy is always . . . completely ruinous to the novel, the most anarchical of all forms of literature? Is every novel by definition a social critique? Can we (and should we) ever separate an authors politics from their aesthetic achievement? SATURDAY May 3 | Do You Believe? Where: Elebash Recital Hall, CUNY Graduate Center: 365 5th Ave. What time: 45.30 p.m. With Asli Erdogan, Rebecca Goldstein, Elias Khoury, and Antonio Muñoz Molina; moderated by Antonio Monda Free and open to the public. No reservations. Cosponsored by the Martin E. Segal Theater Center, The Graduate Center, CUNY, and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy According to Chekov, man is what he believes. The values and beliefs we hold in the privacy of our own hearts are projected into the larger world through our daily actions and behaviors. Antonio Monda, author of Do You Believe?, speaks with four international guests about god, religion, and what motivates their lives and literature. ------------------- City in Crimson Cloak is the story of a young woman in Rio de Janeiro on the last day of her lifea remarkable novel from a writer named by Lire one of the top 50 writers to watch out for in the 21st century. Asli Erdogan is an exceptionally sensitive and perceptive writer who gives us perfect literary texts.Orhan Pamuk The description in Asli Erdogans novel is breathtaking. The work is so much like its setting. Deep. Complicated. Raw. Difficult. Musical. I never wanted to leave a scene yet I couldnt wait for the next. This is a truly fine book.Percival Everett One of Turkeys most challenging young authors, Aslı Erdogan has been a critical success both in Turkey and Europe. A former physicist who abandoned her scientific career for a literary one, Erdoğans first book, the novel Kabuk Adam (The Shell Man), was published in 1994. She went on to make her mark abroad two years later when she received the Deutsche Welle Prize for her short story The Wooden Birds. Erdoğan has devoted herself to writing full-time since 1996 and the publication of a collection of her short stories and poetic prose entitled Mucizevi Mandarin (The Miraculous Mandarin). From 1998 to 2000 Erdoğan, a human rights activist and former Turkish representative of PENs Writers in Prison Committee, wrote a column for the Turkish newspaper Radikal entitled The Others. Her articles were later collected and published as the book Bir Yolculuk Ne Zaman Biter (When a Journey Ends). Two of these articles are featured in the 2004 edition of M.E.E.T.s journal. Erdogan has also participated in various exhibitions both in Turkey and abroad, and has recently been a featured guest at international literary and arts events such as the Beaux Arts Festival in Brussels and the Kunstfestival in Antwerp, where she read together with Emine Sevgi Özdamar. A piece from her upcoming book was most recently staged by Serra Yılmaz in Italian at the Festival Teatro Europa Mediterraneo in Milan in October of this year. -- To unsubscribe from: Soft Skull Shortwave, just follow this link: <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/</a> Click the link, or copy and paste the address into your browser. Mailing List Powered by Dada Mail <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/</a>

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Soft Skull at PEN World Voices

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:49:00 GMT

(Mailing list information, including unsubscription instructions, is located at the end of this message.)  Hi from Soft Skull! PEN World Voices is a festival of international literature featuring 170 writers, 51 countries, and 82 events coming to venues across New York City, April 29-May 4th, 2008. Don't miss six days of exciting literary exchange with conversations, panel discussions, readings, film screenings, a translation slam and a cabaret night! For a complete schedule of events, go to: http://www.pen.org/festival Soft Skull's author Asli Erdogan (City in Crimson Cloak) will be participating in several PEN World Voices events. Her schedule is pasted in here, and more about the book and the author can be found below. ------------------ THURSDAY May 1 | Writing Reality Under the Guard of Correction Where: Elebash Recital Hall, The CUNY Graduate Center: 365 5th Ave. What time: 3�4:30 p.m. With Jennifer Egan, Asli Erdogan, Chenjerai Hove, and Barbara Parsons; moderated by Jackson Taylor Free and open to the public. No reservations. Cosponsored by the Martin E. Segal Theater Center, The Graduate Center, CUNY Prison forces people to conform to a new sense of what is public and what is private: solitary confinement and 24-hour surveillance, overcrowded facilities and individual cells, cacophonous noise and artificial light beyond the individual�s control. This panel will explore how writing can help form a psychological bridge between the public and the private self, what adaptations the private self must make in prison, the usefulness of writing in relieving those deforming pressures, and the availability, experience, purpose, and methods of writing instruction. THURSDAY May 1 | Something to Hide: Writers and Artists Against the Surveillance State Where: Joe�s Pub: 425 Lafayette St. What time: 9 p.m. With Gy�rgy Dragom�n, Hasan Elahi, Asli Erdogan, P�ter Esterh�zy, Chenjerai Hove, Irakli Kakabadze, Jenny Marketou, Ivy Meeropol, Francine Prose, and Ingo Schulze Tickets: $10/$8 PEN and ACLU members Purchase tickets from Joe�s Pub: www.joespub.com or (212) 967-5555 Cosponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union Join international and local guests for a special reading designed to provoke reflection on controversial post-9/11 government surveillance programs in the United States. PEN�s Campaign for Core Freedoms has joined with the American Civil Liberties Union and other leading human-rights organizations to challenge some of the government�s most pernicious infringements on basic human rights, working to restore privacy protections for bookstore and library records, fighting to end the FBI�s unchecked use of National Security Letters, and challenging warrantless telephone and Internet surveillance by the N.S.A. Writers will read from works that illuminate the ways government surveillance threatens artistic and intellectual freedom. FRIDAY May 2 | Bookforum: Political Engagement Where: Elebash Recital Hall, CUNY Graduate Center: 365 5th Ave. What time: 1:30�3 p.m. With Asli Erdogan, Nuruddin Farah, and Elias Khoury; moderated by Albert Mobilio Free and open to the public. No reservations. Cosponsored by Bookforum and the Martin E. Segal Theater Center, The Graduate Center, CUNY To paraphrase Ezra Pound, whose own political views led to his indictment for treason, literature is news that stays news. Is contemporary fiction that kind of news? Indeed, what novels were ever pointedly relevant to public and political life? And how does such relevance jibe with Orwell�s notion that an �atmosphere of orthodoxy is always . . . completely ruinous to the novel, the most anarchical of all forms of literature�? Is every novel by definition a social critique? Can we (and should we) ever separate an author�s politics from their aesthetic achievement? SATURDAY May 3 | Do You Believe? Where: Elebash Recital Hall, CUNY Graduate Center: 365 5th Ave. What time: 4�5.30 p.m. With Asli Erdogan, Rebecca Goldstein, Elias Khoury, and Antonio Mu�oz Molina; moderated by Antonio Monda Free and open to the public. No reservations. Cosponsored by the Martin E. Segal Theater Center, The Graduate Center, CUNY, and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy According to Chekov, man is what he believes. The values and beliefs we hold in the privacy of our own hearts are projected into the larger world through our daily actions and behaviors. Antonio Monda, author of Do You Believe?, speaks with four international guests about god, religion, and what motivates their lives and literature. ------------------- City in Crimson Cloak is the story of a young woman in Rio de Janeiro on the last day of her life�a remarkable novel from a writer named by Lire one of the top 50 writers to watch out for in the 21st century. �Asli Erdogan is an exceptionally sensitive and perceptive writer who gives us perfect literary texts.��Orhan Pamuk �The description in Asli Erdogan�s novel is breathtaking. The work is so much like its setting. Deep. Complicated. Raw. Difficult. Musical. I never wanted to leave a scene yet I couldn�t wait for the next. This is a truly fine book.��Percival Everett One of Turkey�s most challenging young authors, Aslı Erdogan has been a critical success both in Turkey and Europe. A former physicist who abandoned her scientific career for a literary one, Erdoğan�s first book, the novel Kabuk Adam (The Shell Man), was published in 1994. She went on to make her mark abroad two years later when she received the Deutsche Welle Prize for her short story �The Wooden Birds.� Erdoğan has devoted herself to writing full-time since 1996 and the publication of a collection of her short stories and poetic prose entitled Mucizevi Mandarin (The Miraculous Mandarin). From 1998 to 2000 Erdoğan, a human rights activist and former Turkish representative of PEN�s Writers in Prison Committee, wrote a column for the Turkish newspaper Radikal entitled �The Others�. Her articles were later collected and published as the book Bir Yolculuk Ne Zaman Biter (When a Journey Ends). Two of these articles are featured in the 2004 edition of M.E.E.T.�s journal. Erdogan has also participated in various exhibitions both in Turkey and abroad, and has recently been a featured guest at international literary and arts events such as the Beaux Arts Festival in Brussels and the Kunstfestival in Antwerp, where she read together with Emine Sevgi �zdamar. A piece from her upcoming book was most recently staged by Serra Yılmaz in Italian at the Festival Teatro Europa Mediterraneo in Milan in October of this year.  The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription: You are subscribed to the following list: Soft Skull Shortwave using the following email: example@example.com You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL: <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/"> http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/ </a> If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address. Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism. 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Insomnia readers at the KGB and a Soft Skull slam at the Strand

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:59:00 GMT

Hi from Soft Skull! There are two Soft Skull events coming up that are going to be more-than-usually fun. ----------------- This Sunday, 7 pm, contributors from Awake! A Reader for the Sleepless, will be reading and performing at KGB Bar (East 4th St between Bowery and 2nd Ave in Manhattan). Participants include anthology editor Steven Lee Beeber, poet Priscilla Becker, comic/writer Catie Lazarus, blogger/critic Bud Parr, and musician Gary Lucas. More information about the event can be found on the Soft Skull Events calendar (www.softskull.com) and also on the KGB calendar (<a href="http://www.kgbbar.com/calendar">http://www.kgbbar.com/calendar</a>). ----------------- And then on Monday night, 7 pm, Soft Skull Slam Poet Extraordinaire Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz will be performing alongside John S. Hall (of King Missile fame, and a Soft Skull author as well) and Taylor Mali at the Strand: "Words In Your Face" Reading / Performance- To celebrate National Poetry Month, the Strand has partnered with Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz, the author of Words in Your Face; A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of The New York City Poetry Slam, who will curate a Poetry Slam-inspired reading at the Strand with NYC poets, including Taylor Mali, author of What Learning Leaves and John S. Hall (Jesus Was Way Cool, "Detachable Penis," Daily Negations, etc). The reading will open with poetry from NYC youth Poetry Slam organization, Urban Word. At the Strand 828 Broadway (at 12th St.) New York, NY more info: www.strandbooks.com/app/www/p/calendar/?startweek=2#1281 ---------------- Please join us this Sunday and/or Monday at KGB and the Strand. Best, Soft Skull -- To unsubscribe from: Soft Skull Shortwave, just follow this link: <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/u/Soft_Skull_Shortwave/</a> Click the link, or copy and paste the address into your browser. Mailing List Powered by Dada Mail <a href="http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/">http://www.softskull.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/what_is_dada_mail/</a>

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