READ IT: My Top 10 Books of 2013 I hate listicles, but I like Mensah and books, so I agreed to write this. My disdain for the year-end tradition of list-making is trumped by my belief that sharing books we love and our reading practices are incredibly important for human beings. Some books that have made [...]
When you read something awful-terrible about yourself
“The act of hurling something to the Earth is an interesting one. It connotes a dismissal of physical/material form, both in terms of the thing being hurled and a violence toward the dirt-planet at one’s feet. Furthermore, the act of presenting an object to someone in this way exaggerates the act of looking down, and [...]
The Boston Marathon was bombed today.
I ran on the elliptical after work, my standard 30 minutes. I turned on ABC World News, a full half hour of pure horror, scene after scene of the aftermath, the debris, bloody marathoners and spectators, expressions of terror. I would like to quietly say now, then, that my heart goes out to everyone affected, [...]
In the last days of rock ‘n’ roll, a savior emerges: Leroy Powell & the Messengers
I wrote about Leroy Powell and his newest album for Rhythm of the Region. We talk music, his diverse playlist, and superheroes (of course!).
If there’s one argument for heading to Columbus this weekend, it’s to see the last days of rock and roll. I’m not talking hair rock. I’m not talking metal. I’m not talking straight country, either. I’m talking real rock and roll, the kind you feel in your stomach, the kind that needs no introduction. It’s to see Leroy Powell and the Messengers on stage at Woodlands Tavern on March 29.
But I’m going to introduce you to Leroy Powell anyway. First, a disclaimer: I met Leroy back in the day. When I say “back in the day” I actually mean back in my day, which is about 7 years ago, when he was playing with Shooter Jennings and the .357s. In addition to the way he plays guitar (pure nasty, in case you were wondering), he sang backup vocals and could write one hell of a song (“Busted in Baylor…
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On Writing: The Anti-Narrative

I've been working on an essay lately, and it's doing all the things that working on an essay should: making me think, making me dig, making me research. More importantly, it's forcing me to ask questions of myself, to reexamine my opinions on literary trends and traditions -- narrative, to be specific. I'm the first [...]