“The Ghost Ship” by A.E. Stallings
A. (Alicia) E. Stallings was born in 1968. She grew up in Decatur, GA, and was educated at the University of Georgia and Oxford University in Classics. Her poetry has appeared in… Read More
“Find” by Gerry Cambridge, from His New Book Notes for Lighting a Fire
". . . the best of [Cambridge’s poems]—many more than a handful—have a brand of slow, ruminative wisdom that sets him apart from most of his contemporaries. His poetry has something of… Read More
Full Service: Bethany Breaks Down the Services of One of the Greatest Pimps of All Time (OBVIOUSLY Not Safe for Children)
So recently, the book Full Service by Scotty Bowers was published. In it Bowers claims that from the mid-1940s until the 1980s, he was basically a pimp for the rich and famous… Read More
Cynthia Talks about (R)everse Mode
Do you secretly want to be a subversive street artist but worry about getting in trouble, check out this style: reverse graffiti. English artist Paul "Moose" Curtis came up with… Read More
Excerpt from “The King” by Ben Mazer in the Debut of The Battersea Review
BEN MAZER was born in 1964 in New York City. Lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Studied with Seamus Heaney and William Alfred at Harvard University. Studied with Christopher Ricks, Geoffrey Hill, and Archie… Read More
“It Was the Beginning of the Rout of Civilisation, of the Massacre of Mankind”: Check Out the Covers for EVERY Edition of War of the Worlds Ever Published
Perhaps you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. But you may judge its many covers!… Read More
Nimoy and Hendrix? Sagan and Dalai Lama? HST and Depp? Pure Awesomeness
What happens when Cormac McCarthy and Werner Herzog hold a conversation about God, the Universe, and Everything? Man, to be an insignificant fly on that wall. . . … Read More
Help a Young Person Grow Up to Be a Professional Book Nerd: Send ‘Em to the Colorado Antiquarian Book Seminar!
More than 2000 students have graduated from the seminar since its inception, many of whom have gone on to become prominent members of the bookselling community.… Read More
“Thoughts of a Solitary Farmhouse” by Franz Wright
Franz Wright's collections of poetry include: Wheeling Motel (Alfred A. Knopf, 2009); Earlier Poems (Random House, 2007); God's Silence (Alfred A. Knopf, 2006); Walking to Martha's Vineyard (Alfred A. Knopf, 2003) which… Read More
“Those are Livingstones, I Presume”: Cynthia Tells Us About Some Unusual Plants
The New York Botanical Gardens has such an array of unusual plants. One species that really intrigued me is something called "living stones" or very as they are scientifically known, … Read More
“Customer Service” in the Rare Book “Business”: Ten Steps to Success!
Oh, so you want to buy one of my books, eh? Who do you think you are? Get outta here!… Read More
“Wm. James Still, Drowned”: an Experimental Short Film by Judith Redding, Inspired by Ernest Hilbert’s Poem “William James Still,” from His Collection Sixty Sonnets (Not Safe for Children)
"Ernest Hilbert’s elegiac sonnet about a drowned relative provides a startling metaphor for this meditation on suicide. Initially, I considered a very literal interpretation of this sonnet, including putting an actor in… Read More
“Assassinating Satires”: Ernest Hilbert Introduces Quincy Lehr
“Gifted with truly biting wit, Quincy R. Lehr is equal parts Beau Brummel and Jacques Brel, Lord Byron and John Dryden, Bob Dylan and Lenny Bruce. He is an Augustan satirist, of… Read More
“The Horses” by Ted Hughes
"Hughes is a vigorous poet – nothing languid about him, and the muscle of his language lifts the ordinary or overlooked experience, turns it about, holds it up to the light, carries… Read More
“How Can I Sue Satan?” Cynthia Explains Why We Love Reference Librarians
We all know how amazing reference librarians are. Their ability to point us in the right direction on a myriad of things is nothing short of miraculous. However, they do… Read More
Thou Shall Not Commit Logical Fallacies
Do you see posts on FaceBook that make you grind your teeth because they're so simplistic and sanctimonious, leaving out the many and varied complexities of life and politics? How about messages… Read More
“Walnut Street” by Ernest Hilbert on Philadelphia Inquirer Website
Ernest Hilbert’s debut collection is Sixty Sonnets (2009). His second collection of poetry, All of You on the Good Earth, will appear in 2013. He lives in Philadelphia. … Read More
Relative Profundity of the World’s Lakes and Oceans (with Cool Facts about Whales, Chilean Miners, and Sunken Ships)
xkcd.com is a webcomic "of romance, sarcasm, math, and language." Check out this very cool poster displaying the relative profundities of the world's oceans and lakes.… Read More
Why Do Old Books Smell?
I will admit that I am greatly comforted by the warm, slightly musty smell of an old book . . . Thanks to Pilar for sending this one in. … Read More
Birdy Sings “White Winter Hymnal” by Fleet Foxes
Jasmine van den Bogaerde (born 15 May 1996), also known by her stage name Birdy, won the music competition Open Mic UK in 2008, at the age of 12. Her eponymous debut… Read More
“Bright-eyed MFA Students Shelling Out Their Moolah to Join This, That, or the Other Fief as Vassals”: Ernest Hilbert Interviews Poet Quincy R. Lehr
Quincy R. Lehr's poetry, criticism, and essays have appeared in numerous journals in North America, Europe, and Australia. He co-hosts the long-running Carmine St. Metrics reading series in New York City; he… Read More
Bethany’s Top Tidbits from the Book Game Change
The book Game Change was recently adapted into a film starring Ed Harris as John McCain and Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin. The film focuses on Sarah Palin's run for Vice President.… Read More
Horns Up!: World Atlas of Metal Band Density Per 100,000 People
Thanks to the metal group for sharing this. … Read More
“Yeah, I Meant to Do That”: Thai Green Papaya Salad for Spring
Awww, unripe. But don't throw it out! It's good that way. … Read More
“A Rabbit As King Of The Ghosts” by Wallace Stevens
“Far more than Eliot or Pound, Stevens wished passionately to be above all a poet of twentieth-century America and its American English; and he had the luck, as they did not, to… Read More
Inaugural E-Verse Equinox Reading Series
Thanks for everyone who came out for the first E-Verse Equinox Reading Series!… Read More
Bethany’s Top 29 Things Learned from Listening to Jackie O
Background: From March through June 1964, Arthur M. Schlesinger met on 7 occasions with Jackie Kennedy and recorded her recollections of life with her husband. The tapes were to be sealed for… Read More