Quirky reflections on a writer’s unusual conflicts make for a quick and amusing read.
An arch essay collection about the ups and downs of the writing life.
Now 10 books into his career, Orcutt (The Ronald and Other Plays, 2017, etc.) has accumulated a rich reservoir of experiences and insights into the writing process. He shares these in his first memoir, a lighthearted collection of amusing anecdotes and reflections on his way of working. Several of the experiences will be familiar to readers—a young romance, an uncomfortable doctor’s visit, a return to old stomping grounds. Others, like the author’s visit to a Thomas Kinkade exhibit or an infestation of ladybugs, run further afield. Many of these essays are platforms for Orcutt to reflect on his inspirations for writing, from people he’s met to philosophy classes he took in college. Whether he’s exploring the extraordinary or the everyday, the narrator’s personality is apparent throughout—he doesn’t back down from an argument. He is the kind of person who tells people to be quiet in movie theaters, the one who rebukes strangers for not tipping their waitresses: “Why am I always the one who has to speak up?” It’s obvious to readers that Orcutt thrives on confrontation. But if his personality is combative, his prose is the opposite. Orcutt’s writing style is lighthearted and conversational, and he treats arguments with an easy humor. In the essay “Absentminded,” for example, in which Orcutt moves swiftly through a variety of encounters in which he benefited from his own forgetfulness, an abundance of rhetorical charm compensates for a lack of thematic depth. Whether or not readers agree with Orcutt’s life choices, they are sure to find him a vibrant character and enjoyable writer.
Quirky reflections on a writer’s unusual conflicts make for a quick and amusing read.Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-9962783-7-9
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Have Pen, Will Travel
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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