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!

Brief Nudity Book Tour Update

Just returned from a swing through the southland for two readings supporting Brief Nudity. The first was at Murray State University, where I inaugurated the summer low-residency MFA reading series (and later, got to listen to and meet fellow visiting writer Claire Vaye Watkins, author of Battleborn). The following night, I was fortunate to read for one of the biggest audiences a poet can dream of at Poetry Sucks! at Third Man Records in Nashville. This multi-media event included co-poets Paige Taggart and Sampson Starkweather, musician and artist Tim Kerr (whose paintings were on display), as well as rock 'n' roll from Lee Baines III & The Glory Fires. What can I say? It was an incredible couple of days.

Photo by Mark Robbins

 Right before my trip south, I had a blast returning to the Wit Rabbit Reading Series, joined by co-poets Jason Bredle, Tim Murray, and Lana Rakhman.

Tomorrow, I will give a talk and read from Brief Nudity as well as new works at the Summer Creative Writing Institute at Northeastern Illinois University. This is yet another return engagement, one which I am always thrilled to participate in.