[contextly_auto_sidebar id="F72Akus0FnI1F8UXy7215APyWoohS6MQ"] IT's been both gratifying and frustrating to have my book launch at the LA Central Library fill up so quickly. (Tickets went in a single day.) Now Los Angeles audiences have another chance to see me discuss the subjects I dig into on this blog and in my upcoming book -- at Skylight Books. And I'm glad to say that Janet Fitch, the … [Read more...]
Don’t Forget Indies First and Small Business Saturday
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="7mL6F2lbAkJJdYtci9RNPwVHLSs7mqPA"] TODAY, of course, is the start of holiday-shopping season -- which sounds like a euphemism for something -- so I want to remind me readers how important it is to frequent independent, brick-and-mortar shops when you go looking for books and music especially. This year sees both the Indies First campaign -- which urges support of … [Read more...]
Celebrating the Power of SLAKE
[contextly_auto_sidebar id="sx5hfk7MoWchhQaW7wXbDMvKVh3UKnXl"] HERE at CultureCrash, we're longtime fans of the Los Angeles literary magazine Slake, which put out four smart, handsome, forceful issues full of art, fiction, memoir and poetry. Editors Joe Donnelly and Lauria Ochoa -- both formerly of the LA Weekly -- did something not easy to pull off in sprawling LA: They galvanized a community … [Read more...]
Slake Tells LA’s Stories
PORN, celebrity, poetry and sharp graphic design: It’s got a little of everything, just like the city it chronicles. I’D heard enough good things about the new LA-centric quarterly, Slake, to have high hopes for it. But so far, to my initial assessment, Slake – a publication of fiction, art, photography and journalism -- has exceeded he high expectations I had for it.Part of the reason for my high … [Read more...]
Adrian Tomine Vs. Seth
AT this point, most enthusiasts of the graphic novel / literary comics know the work of adrian tomine, who i first encountered in his "optic nerve" comic. when i started reading his stuff, insiders often complained that tomine's drawing was too similar to dan "ghost world" clowes, but he's since gone on to carve out his own turf, whether it's a younger / hipper milieu than the losers who tend to … [Read more...]