Like many pop stars who weren’t yet pop stars in the early 2000s, Britney Spears was both an inspiration and a cautionary tale to someone like MARINA. Her influence undeniable on every millennial from Taylor Swift to Charli XCX. In 2021, MARINA paid homage to that influence in a “justice for Britney” sort of way with the “Purge the Poison” lyrics, “2007/When Size 0 was … Continue reading Not A Girl, Finally A Woman: MARINA’s Eat the World
Lili Anolik’s Didion & Babitz is out November 12th via Simon & Schuster. By now, it’s not exactly a new take that Eve Babitz and Joan Didion are two sides of the same California-centric coin. Except that the latter was always given far more credit and weight (despite her thin frame) than the former. It was in large part thanks to Lili Anolik that Babitz … Continue reading Ingmar Bergman’s Persona Incarnate: Didion & Babitz by Lili Anolik
“Seems to me we’re on all fours/Crawling on our knees someone help us please.”Lily Allen, “Everything’s Just Wonderful,” 2006 “What, I’m going to say I like it? No, I don’t. Any woman who is honest will say it’s not as much fun.”-Cher on getting older Usually, when it comes to Miranda July’s work (whether literature or film), there is a tendency for her to disappoint … Continue reading All Fours and Female Aging As It Relates To Losing Power Over Men But Gaining a Newfound Power (and Freedom) From Becoming “Invisible”
For the past almost two years, it’s been all but impossible to go into any bookstore without seeing the now indelible image of Jennette McCurdy holding a pink urn with confetti sprouting out of it as she bears an expression somewhere between hopeful, happy and defiant. As the book, titled I’m Glad My Mom Died, makes clear, it took McCurdy a very long time to … Continue reading Mother Is Not Mothering: Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died
Playgrounds, a new cross-genre art book by Chloe Briggs and Lillian Davies, is something seriously superb. In just thirty-three pages, Briggs and Davies have created an accessible experience during which the reader listens carefully to a casual yet exhilarating conversation between a professional visual artist and a professional writer. As they elaborate on their connection to the history of parks, feminism and creative crafts, the … Continue reading Luminous Loops: A Review of Chloe Briggs’ and Lillian Davies’ Playgrounds by Malik Crumpler
One possible scenario for this book review could go as follows: 1) old boomer guy reads poetry collection called Thumbsucker; 2) it is highly personal work, written by a millennial; 3) old boomer guy is perplexed or downright annoyed by the preoccupations of the poet; 4) He just doesn’t get it. This review respects the first half of that scenario—but, happily, the second half does … Continue reading Kat Giordano’s Thumbsucker Gives Permission to Be Otherwise by Charles Holdefer
Life is a carnival of extremes. That much Rufo Quintavalle seems to be aware of, as he makes apparent in his latest poetry collection, I Love Paris. Not only regaling us with truthful and haunting visions, but also showing us that existence is rarely black and white. Particularly in Paris. Where it’s more like a rain-soaked panoply of hues muted in gray. Masterfully tracing the undulating freedoms … Continue reading I Love Paris: Rufo Quintavalle’s Elucidative Portrait of Urban Life by Audrey Vinkenes
Atlas, Bound, Victor Marrero’s striking first collection of poems, takes its inspiration from Michelangelo’s unfinished sculptures known as the “Four Prisoners,” or “Four Slaves,” housed at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence. Begun by the artist as embellishments for a pope’s tomb, the statues appear to be both carrying—and struggling to emerge from—the partially chiseled marble that contains and obscures them. The book’s opening poem, “Variations … Continue reading Victor Marrero’s Atlas, Bound Offers Hymns for The Oppressed, Hope for The Downtrodden by Jennifer O’Grady
“Sharks are as primordial as fear itself.”-Willow Defebaugh The megalodon was a massive shark, with six-foot jaws and triangular teeth up to seven inches long. Such a creature serves as a fitting emblem of Donna Dallas’ latest book, named in the extinct beast’s honor. In her title poem, Dallas explores her metaphorical relationship to this massive, shadowy creature that lurks beside her. Megalodon represents the destructive evil … Continue reading Fathoming the Abyss: Donna Dallas’ Megalodon by J. Khan
