Archive for the ‘Books/Book Feature’ Category
December 24th, 2009
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Author: Lydia Millet’s emotional short stories focus on animals and celebrities—and the animals star
by Julia Ramey
Most of us know from experience that animals have immense power to draw forth fierce, unexpected emotion. In her new collection of short stories, Love in Infant Monkeys, Lydia Millet strikes this particular nerve again and again, using animals—plus her rich prose and expansive imagination—to make us laugh, cry and respect every creature, from the humble pigeon to the roaming lion. The author, who lives in the desert outside of Tucson, has penned six novels, including My Happy Life and…
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‘Poetry Is Dead’ hammers a nail into the stuffy genre’s coffin
by Jarret Keene
Many red devils ran from my heart And out upon the page. They were so tiny The pen could mash them. And many struggled in the ink. It was strange To write in this red muck Of things from my heart. —Stephen Crane As far back as Stephen Crane’s The Black Riders and Other Lines (1895), the idea that mediocre bards had exhausted, abused and rendered meaningless the art of poetry has motivated writers to produce their own epitaphs for…
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Richard Mahler writes an engrossing love letter to the jaguar
by Tim Hull
Big cats breed obsession, and the jaguar is the biggest one there is in the New World. For centuries, this perfect predator’s little-known habits and little-seen form have been wrapped into human ritual and art, appearing in creation myths, sacrificial routines and the deepest, darkest fears and excitements of the common jungle dweller. The jaguar is a god, and gods can do whatever they want. New Mexico-based writer Richard Mahler found that out at his expense, but for his trouble,…
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A new book by Tucsonan Chris O’Dell tells behind-the-scenes details of the ’60s/’70s music world
by Gene Armstrong
For many years, Tucsonan Chris O’Dell lived in the magic world of rock ‘n’ roll, surrounded by and friends with musicians many of us have only admired or idolized. It’s all there in her new lively book, Miss O’Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights With The Beatles, The Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved. Only a few years out of high school, O’Dell sang in the closing chorus of “Hey Jude” and was on the…
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Edie Jarolim offers knowledge about dogs in a smart and funny way
by Tim Vanderpool
Each installment of The Dog Whisperer begins with the caution, “Don’t try this at home.” From there, Cesar Millan proceeds to get heavy with animals plagued by a variety of disorders. Some are vicious; others are shy, and many are afflicted with bizarre phobias, such as Kane, the Great Dane who grew terrified of linoleum floors. Tapping into the tough approach that brought him fame and riches, Millan forced the tremulous, 160-pound dog to roam a linoleum-floored hallway until Kane…
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More than 750 Tucsonans are trying to write 50,000-word novels this month
by Anna Mirocha
Could you write a novel, from start to finish, in a month? What if it didn’t have to be … you know … good? In 1999, a San Francisco man named Chris Baty thought he could do it. He and a score of friends gave it a try, each pledging to write a 50,000-word piece of fiction in 30 days. No plot? No problem, they said. No inspiration? Too bad. All they needed was the discipline to crank out words…
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More than 750 Tucsonans are trying to write 50,000-word novels this month
by Anna Mirocha
Would you write a novel, from start to finish, in a month? What if it didn’t have to be … you know … good? In 1999, a San Francisco man named Chris Baty thought he could do it. He and a score of friends gave it a try, each pledging to write a 50,000-word piece of fiction in 30 days. No plot? No problem, they said. No inspiration? Too bad. All they needed was the discipline to crank out words…
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Part-time Tucsonan Victor Lodato’s tight debut novel leaves no loose threads
by Christine Wald-Hopkins
I want you to call me ‘Lufwa,’” the girl says to her beautiful best friend. The name is the word “awful” spelled backward, and the girl has already told the reader that she aspires to be awful. Her beautiful friend complies: She calls her “Lufwa,” which sounds like “La Fois,” and the girls fall out, thinking that the girl has named herself “king of France.” But the girl telling the story is an unreliable narrator, and the writer of this…
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Did New Deal leaders deny Native Americans access to emerging art markets?
by Jarret Keene
Government-sponsored art is a thorny issue to many artists. On the one hand, state-funded institutions and grants offer financial incentives and exhibition opportunities to advance one’s career. On the other, a gallery in almost any city or county building is typically a dead zone, with only a trickle of visitors bothering to even glance at the art on their way to pay taxes, renew a license or (at best) enjoy a ballroom-dancing lesson at a “cultural center.” This is because…
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An intimate portrait of a distinctive Tohono O’odham artist
by Tim Hull
Leonard F. Chana, who chronicled transitional and postmodern Tohono O’odham culture in bright-colored acrylic paintings and stippled pen-and-ink drawings, must have inherited his independent streak from his father, a hard-working reservation entrepreneur during a time when commercial foods, clothing and other items were becoming more popular among the O’odham. In the affecting, beautifully illustrated oral history of the local artist’s life and work, The Sweet Smell of Home: The Life and Art of Leonard F. Chana, his distinctive voice is…
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