Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Language Lessons: Volume 1

Today is the day. As of July 22nd, Third Man Books is taking pre-orders for Language Lessons: Volume I. The official street date is August 5th.



At long last Third Man Records and Third Man Books are very proud to present our first commercially available book, Language Lessons: Volume I. Though the term book, in this case, may actually be a bit limiting considering what this whole package actually contains… Want to hear more? Read on. 

Language Lessons is a 321 page hardbound book, co-edited by Chet Weise and Third Man’s own Ben Swank, full of contemporary poetry and prose including over 20 award winning and/or nominated contemporary poets and authors such as Dale Ray Phillips, a Pulitzer Prize nominee in fiction, C.D. Wright, a National Book Award finalist and National Book Critics Circle winner in poetry, and Adrian Matejka, a National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize finalist in poetry. Language Lessons is two vinyl LPs of jazz, psychedelic-punk, poetry, blues and pop from artists such as William Tyler, Destruction Unit, Ken Vandermark, Sampson Starkweather, and more. Language Lessons is five pieces of frameable broadsides of poems by C.D. Wright, Frank Stanford, Brian Barker, Jake Adam York and Chet Weise with original art from former Big Boys guitartist Tim Kerr, one-time Hate illustrator Jim Blanchard, intertwangle-ist folk artist Butch Anthony, and more. That’s a lot of bang for your buck… and it all comes housed in a hard-case clothbound sleeve. Has any other record label ever created such a thing?

As previously mentioned, LL:VI will be Third Man Books' first commercially available tome and signifies a strong intent for Third Man entering the universe of publishing. Third Man Books, like Language Lessons, will be fearless, imaginative, and eclectic. We hope to be a welcome addition to what is already a very compelling and thrilling independent American literary landscape.

Language Lessons: Volume I is now available for pre-sale direct from the Third Man Store and will be available in discerning book and record stores the world over from August 5th.

I am proud to have two of my poems included in LL:VI, even though I am considerably out-classed. Get your copy today!

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Lit by the Bridge

I'm reading from new and collected works tonight at this series...

Lit by the Bridge is an open-mic reading held on the third Thursday each month from 6:30-8 p.m. at Culture Stock bookstore in downtown Aurora, IL. 

Each month they welcome a main featured writer or poet who will read from their works. Before and after the feature there is an open-mic for anybody who wants to read. Poets, memoirists, short story-ists (?), and whatever other category of writing they come up with are welcome. 

Open-mic readers have five minutes to read, so don't bring anything too long. Get there early because sign-up for the open mic begins begins at 6:15 and is limited to 10 readers.

Hope to see you there!

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