I Am Reading/Watching/Listening No. 18
A quick list of what I'm paying attention to after a successful library haul
Hey everyone, I’m working on a ton of projects right now and feeling a bit guilty that I haven’t finished any of the half dozen or so Substack micro-essays in progress, so here is a very hastily thrown-together roundup of what I’m up to and why.
William Blake vs The World, by John Higgs — This fascinating survey of Blake is very lay-person friendly and sucked me in a couple nights ago, it’s compulsively readable. Here’s a line for you: “If we really want to understand William Blake, we need a deeper understanding of what it means when someone sees a ‘vision.’ This one’s purely for pleasure, although as I recently indicated, there’s really no clear distinction for me anymore between “work” and “leisure.”
Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion, by William Blake — The book above is a slim paperback with just a few small, black-and-white illustrations. So I picked up the first of six oversized volumes of Blake’s Illuminated Works, published by Princeton, for the real, spectacular deal, where you get images like the one above.
The Art of Peter Voulkos, by Rose Slivka and Karen Tsujimoto — Candidly, I’d never heard of the guy until a couple weeks ago when I learned there will be a small display of the famed ceramicist’s work at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem this fall. I’ll write a short piece on it, and so I picked this up just to see what he’s all about.
How to Think Impossibly, by Jeffrey Kripal — The author is a historian of religions and a trailblazer in his field, basically advancing a serious, philosophically sound case why we should take the “paranormal” seriously. Terrific writer, very lay-person friendly for an academic, and he’s also got a lively sense of humor.
America Through Transgender Eyes, by I.E. Sumerau and Lain A.B. Mathers — Timely collection of essays offering insight into the problems and struggles of transgender people. This is an area of ongoing interest for me. Quite a bit drier than Kripal, but valuable nonetheless.
Simone Forti: Thinking with the Body, edited by Sabrine Breitwieser — Another book from my library haul this morning, that syncs up nicely with two work projects, one anticipating a future interview with a poet who is looking at the work of this dancer, and the other in preparation for what I expect will be a fascinating conversation with the artistic director of a dance company in Oregon. I’ve never written about dance. It’s time.
Anselm, a film by Wim Wenders — I watched this on the Criteron Channel, a gorgeous, minimalist documentary about the German artist Anselm Kiefer. I’d never heard of him, but this one I was drawn to because I judged the book by its cover — or rather, the film by its poster. Even on the small screen, it’s a beautiful, immersive and meditative experience, that rare film you can watch right before bed that doesn’t wind you up, but rather has you hitting the sheets relaxed and peaceful. Highly recommend, although I can understand how some might find it boring.
“Highly recommend, although I can understand how some might find it boring.”
This made me giggle. It’s how I feel about most of the niche books I recommend but also maybe what others say about my work! I find recommendations tricky—I wonder how many people actually follow up and read the book, watch the movie etc? Sometimes I feel like I’m just showing off what a well-read person I am😬