A rich selection of articles, stories, book extracts, poems, plays, cartoons, and covers from the first decade of America's premier avant-garde magazine of the 50's and 60's (Evergreen Review lasted until 1973, but its importance as an iconoclastic voice waned with the arising of the 60's countercultural movement). The array of writers and work published by founding editor Rosset was staggering: Reprinted here from Evergreen Review's first year alone are—to name just a few entries—original short stories by Samuel Beckett and Jack Kerouac (with his ``October in the Railroad Earth'' predating the publication of On the Road); Allen Ginsberg's Howl (previously published only as a pamphlet that'd been seized by customs officials); a selection from Lawrence Ferlinghetti's A Coney Island of the Mind; and a long passage from Alexander Trocchi's Cain's Book. Though much of the material has by now shown up in other books, numerous items (including the marvelous covers- -e.g., the classic one from 1966 of a heavily bearded Ginsberg cavorting in a sport coat and Uncle Sam top hat—and several reprinted comic strips—notably, Michael O'Donoghue's The Adventure of Phoebe Zeit-geist)—are here saved from oblivion. To see them all together is not only to take a stimulating walk down Memory Lane but to remember how much influence and prophetic insight a daring literary magazine with high standards can have.
Pub Date: Nov. 30, 1993
ISBN: 1-56201-045-X
Page Count: 356
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 1993
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s...
Music journalist and musician Wald (Talking 'Bout Your Mama: The Dozens, Snaps, and the Deep Roots of Rap, 2014, etc.) focuses on one evening in music history to explain the evolution of contemporary music, especially folk, blues, and rock.
The date of that evening is July 25, 1965, at the Newport Folk Festival, where there was an unbelievably unexpected occurrence: singer/songwriter Bob Dylan, already a living legend in his early 20s, overriding the acoustic music that made him famous in favor of electronically based music, causing reactions ranging from adoration to intense resentment among other musicians, DJs, and record buyers. Dylan has told his own stories (those stories vary because that’s Dylan’s character), and plenty of other music journalists have explored the Dylan phenomenon. What sets Wald's book apart is his laser focus on that one date. The detailed recounting of what did and did not occur on stage and in the audience that night contains contradictory evidence sorted skillfully by the author. He offers a wealth of context; in fact, his account of Dylan's stage appearance does not arrive until 250 pages in. The author cites dozens of sources, well-known and otherwise, but the key storylines, other than Dylan, involve acoustic folk music guru Pete Seeger and the rich history of the Newport festival, a history that had created expectations smashed by Dylan. Furthermore, the appearances on the pages by other musicians—e.g., Joan Baez, the Weaver, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Dave Van Ronk, and Gordon Lightfoot—give the book enough of an expansive feel. Wald's personal knowledge seems encyclopedic, and his endnotes show how he ranged far beyond personal knowledge to produce the book.
An enjoyable slice of 20th-century music journalism almost certain to provide something for most readers, no matter one’s personal feelings about Dylan's music or persona.Pub Date: July 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-236668-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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