HELLO. I am beyond thrilled to announce that I will be writing a book about PATTI SMITH for this wonderful new series from the University of Texas Press. Ecstatic to be working again with the formidable Evelyn McDonnell, whose editorial hand guided me through my contributions to WOMEN WHO ROCK. I’ll be working for a bit out of the Allen Room at the NYPL, where I’ll have access to some original manuscripts and papers. This is one of those moments where you’ve work your whole life towards doing something and then you end up doing the thing that you worked so hard to do, so you shouldn’t be so surprised when you get there, but this will never get old. There are books out in the series right now - Donna Gaines on the Ramones! Karen Tongson on Karen Carpenter! - and I am so excited to stand alongside Annie Zaleski and Michelle Threadgould in this series.
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I remember as a teenager reading every rock and roll book I could find, every encyclopedia, every compendium. Many years later and now I am writing these for the next generations. Our fearless editor Evelyn McDonnell is calling this a landmark and she is so very right. thanks to her and the unbelievable group of writers and artists in this book, now it does. It is gorgeous and substantial and I could not be prouder to be part of this effort. Teenage Caryn would be psyched. NYC book event at the Bell House on 10/21 and up in Woodstock on 10/20. Please preorder or order or request it at your local indie bookstore. It would make a fabulous holiday gift for anyone who loves music. #WomenWhoRock
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When Evelyn McDonnell extended the opportunity to me to contribute an essay on Aretha for WOMEN WHO ROCK, it was an unreal opportunity to finally be able to draw from years of following her career and do the deep research dive to pull it all together in 1500 words. I wish the last line was still true. Salon published the essay on this very sad day. Link in bio, as they say.
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that’s the pain of discovering that you married a cardboard-cutout man who can’t feel.— My Husband Dumped Me and Took My Business and I Don’t Know How to Move On
When you get dumped by your husband of 11 years, there is energy around it until you are decomposing in the cold hard ground!— My Husband Dumped Me and Took My Business and I Don’t Know How to Move On
One high shelf is lined with homemade perfumes he has concocted, hand-labeled with conceptual titles.— Brian Eno at 70: A Tribute to His Boundless Curiosity
This is a very contemplative place to bring people.— The Edge on U2’s ‘Experience’ Tour: 'This Is For Our Committed Fans’
this theme of really making it about issues and not tribal politics and that compromise is not a bad word— The Edge on U2’s ‘Experience’ Tour: 'This Is For Our Committed Fans’
make it about the songs finding a new resonance in the times we find ourselves in.— The Edge on U2’s ‘Experience’ Tour: 'This Is For Our Committed Fans’
Obviously, we were going to refer to the politics of the moment. That was an obvious thing for us, but it was a case of how— The Edge on U2’s ‘Experience’ Tour: 'This Is For Our Committed Fans’
#nofilter This morning I drove out to Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels. She purchased the land in the early 70s and spent time out there mapping the sun and the stars. The tunnels are aligned with the cardinal directions. Two align with the sun on the summer solstice and two align with the sun for the winter solstice. The holes punched into each tube are various constellations. Unlike yesterday I was alone for a very long time until two SUVs pulled up, ejecting four loud children. They were from a family where someone had just bought 160 acres on the other side of “a little mountain” nearby. They were cordial enough but one of the family members was carrying - which out here makes sense, but I am very obviously not from out here. They expressed concern at my footwear if I was going to walk in the sagebrush and patiently explained rattlesnake safety since it was patently clear I wouldn’t know (you don’t move if you hear a rattle; then you wait for them to slither away). I didn’t know how long they were going to hang out so I got in my car to drive the two hours back to Wendover, which to be fair was part of the joy of the day. I would try to go back but would do so in a camper van or at least more provisioned to spend a good amount of time, if not overnight to see sunrise and sunset. The Tunnels are not “near” anything, but there are a couple of homesteads visible (although I was strictly cautioned to not accidentally stumble into one as the proprietor shoots on sight). It is just such a vast and still empty country we have here. And I feel it in my bones, just wanting to spend more time driving secondary roads and seeing more of the emptiness. Next on the land art itinerary for the future: Lightning Fields and Double Negative. #landart #nancyholt (at Sun Tunnels)

