It’s ninety degrees up here in Cleveland, so I spent the afternoon buying an air conditioner.
In celebration of the World Cup, I’m reading prose-poet Eduardo Galeano’s Soccer In Sun and Shadow.
Here’s an excerpt.
Barry Yourgrau highly recommended it. The writing is gorgeous.
I don’t know much of anything about soccer: I’ve lived in two countries where the game is a religion, but the only match I ever caught was in Columbus, Ohio. I went to a Crew game with the son of one the team’s doctors, and had my mind blown from the terrific seats.
There’s something about watching a game for the first time: everything looks foreign and magical. Galeano’s book has the same effect.
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Up on the lit balcony this morning, we got to talking about Amy Hempel.
She’s another one for my map: Ray Carver–>Gordon Lish–>Amy Hempel.
Check out her story, “The Harvest.”
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The Art Spiegelman piece in Harper’s on the Muhammad cartoons is really something. If you care anything about the serious study of cartoons, you should get ‘hold of a copy.
Here’s a big block quote from the beginning.
Here’s a big scan of Spiegelman’s cover.
Here’s the earlier dialogue between Joe Sacco and Spiegelman.
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Get a whole MP3 set of Destroyer, Live in Atlanta.
