[paulbaptiste]

Most of the Beat Generation, but Kerouac and Richard Brautigan mostly.
Tim Winton, an Australian writer who really stirs me.
Terry Tempest Williams, a nature writer, her book "Leap" is amazing
John Fante, Bukowski, Nabakov, Henry Miller, Nick Toshes, Jonathan Safran Foer, Gao Xing, Denis Johnson, Jon Krakauer


I'm sure i'm leaving some out. But it's a start

[Smaoineamh]

Will have to divide this list in two or my Irishness may overrun things. I also put in the name of a book that I currently favour by each of the authors. Most of the authors are incredibly well known, but for some of the others it may be a jumping off point if you're heading to your local library!

John McGahern:Collected Stories, Flann O'Brien:At-Swim-Two-Birds, JM Synge: Collected Plays, Kevin Barry: There Are Little Kingdoms, Patrick Kavanagh: Collected Poems, James Joyce: Dubliners

Raymond Carver: Collected Stories, Turgenev: A Sportsmans Sketches, Dylan Thomas: Collected Poems, William Burroughs: Junky, Ernest Hemmingway: A Moveable Feast, Hunter S Thompson: The Rum Diary, George Orwell: Down and Out In Paris and London,

As with the post yesterday, it's only a start, the bookshelves could never be big enough........

[takethis]

nice work nick

ok favorite authors; Larry McMurtry, Cormac McCarthy, Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Steinbeck, Larry Brown

Most recent reading: Peoples History of the United States by Howard Zinn. Carried this motherfucker for 1200 miles while walking, might be the best book i ever read. It changed me. I also just read the autobiography of Clarence Clemons.

Read a lot of poetry in the past few months as well, mostly from the 19th century trancendentalists like Emerson and Whitman.

Rock writing, well i have long been a devotee of Lester Bangs, who if you want to know my musical tastes, they pretty much mirror most of his, but he colors his opiniions beautifully and with great humor.

Greil Marcus is the greatest rock writer but is more writing about 20th century american history through music. He is an artist.

Of course i love Simone's writing, which is very much in step with his heroes (Whitman, Emerson, Frost). Ian is a great writer and amazing storyteller. James is wonderful as well and "Goddamn you Jim" is really an amazing piece of storytelling.

[laralaurent]

One of the most influential authors in my life is e.e. Cummings. His poetry has always been really unconventional in the sense that he didn't prescribe to conservative means of writing and really played with lower caps, parentheses, and word placement.


here's one of my favorites: may my heart always be open to little


may my heart always be open to little
birds who are the secrets of living
whatever they sing is better than to know
and if men should not hear them men are old

may my mind stroll about hungry
and fearless and thirsty and supple
and even if it's sunday may i be wrong
for whenever men are right they are not young

and may myself do nothing usefully
and love yourself so more than truly
there's never been quite such a fool who could fail
pulling all the sky over him with one smile


His "introduction" is also a big favorite of mine. A quote from there is one of my mottos in life, "always a beautiful answer, who asks a more beautiful question."

[youlookalittlehu...]

My favourite has to be Fitzgerald- I genuinely think Gatsby and Tender is the Night are two of the greatest works ever written. Otherwise, I very much like Steinbeck and Kerouac, as well as Robert Frost's poetry

[paulbaptiste]

A recently deceased poet we all probably know from the basketball diaries, but he was a hell of a poet. Jim Carroll- and probably the only poem i have commited to memory:

Your Growing Up
And Rain Sort of remains
on the branches of a tree that will someday rule the earth

and it's good that there's rain
It clears the months of our sorry rainbow expressions
and clears the streets of the silent armies

so that we can dance

[paulbaptiste]

A recently deceased poet we all probably know from the basketball diaries, but he was a hell of a poet. Jim Carroll- and probably the only poem i have commited to memory:

Your Growing Up
And Rain Sort of remains
on the branches of a tree that will someday rule the earth

and it's good that there's rain
It clears the months of our sorry rainbow expressions
and clears the streets of the silent armies

so that we can dance

and because of the beats mostly, i hate to confrom to rhyme, so it's made songwriting quite difficult for me

[uticaclub]

nice work nick

ok favorite authors; Larry McMurtry, Cormac McCarthy, Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Steinbeck, Larry Brown

Second McMurtry, McCarthy, Steinbeck. Lonesome Dove is a favorite

[The-Lonesome-Dri...]

If you want a brilliant modern day writer in the style of someone like Steinbeck then check out Willy Vlautin. Not sure how many of you have heard of the band Richmond Fontaine? Well they happen to be one of my favourite bands around today, just incredible. Well Willy Vlaution is the lead singer/songwriter of that band and let me tell ya, he's one hell of a writer. He's wrote three books, The Motel Life (incredible debut), The Northline and his latest one is called Lean On Pete set in and around Portland (lean on pete is a racehorse) Check him out, I think going from who you's like on here you's will like Willy.

Lean On Pete Trailer.

[The-Lonesome-Dri...]

[takethis]

Drifter, big Richmond Fontaine fan. I think you will find many folks here are as well.
They rarely play my area.

[The-Lonesome-Dri...]

Yeah great band Takethis. Luckily my friend is their tour manager/driver when they play the UK so gives me the lowdown on when they plan to tour here. I'm getting them to play for me next time they're here hopefully.

If they do pass through your town, go see em. One of the best live bands i've ever seen and Willy is one funny cat.

[paulbaptiste]

For Probably the 10th time i will attempt to read "The Sheltering Sky" by Paul Bowles. The wife made me go through the bookshelf and clean out some books, quite a few actually, and this one survived for a reason. I used to have the Paul Bowles Reader but loaned it out never to return again.

[donald]

Hmm, I see some recurring themes here, both with others and myself. Its not often you hear of Lester Bangs these days, but def a favorite - got a couple of compilation books, and a few ragged creem articles. Fitgerald is always fabulous, currently reading john Irvings book about loggers in new England(can't for the life of me remember the name!) Also, Bill McKibbens newest is on the nightstand as well.

donald