Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
the cover design for Robert Louis Stevenson’s An Apology for Idlers is, very satisfyingly, half finished:
Louise Willder • Blurb Your Enthusiasm: A Cracking Compendium of Book Blurbs, Writing Tips, Literary Folklore and Publishing Secrets
In 2019 the Emilia Report (named after England’s first published female poet, Emilia Bassano) analysed coverage of male and female writers and found that women were twice as likely to have their ages referenced – or, in the case of Sally Rooney, her appearance, ‘like a startled deer with sensuous lips’, according to one Swiss critic.
Louise Willder • Blurb Your Enthusiasm: A Cracking Compendium of Book Blurbs, Writing Tips, Literary Folklore and Publishing Secrets
And without helping himself to a slice of the songwriting credits, which would have been standard practice. The failure of George Martin to rip them off remains one of the most bizarre elements of their story.
Rob Sheffield • Dreaming the Beatles
Libby Marrs • I Would Very Much Like To Be Excluded From This Lore
They had become friends four years before because Meche had been listening to Alan Parsons Project’s Tales of Mystery and Imagination and she didn’t get the references. So she decided to ask the only person in her class who might have the answer. At first Sebastian had been offended she didn’t know Edgar Allan Poe, but she had been equally offended
... See moreSilvia Moreno-Garcia • Signal to Noise
This collection is about love, death, plants, and weird fiction. It takes its title from a Margaret Atwood story in which an adolescent girl seems to turn into a tree. It examines works by Doris Lessin... See more
Elvia Wilk • Death by Landscape
Fats Domino was the singer, whose apparently eternal and universal appeal defies musical analysis. His records were simple, convincing, memorable, and danceable. While a steady rhythm pounded from his full-chorded piano playing, a band led and arranged by his producer Dave Bartholomew played easy riffs that emphasized the dance beat, and Domino san
... See moreCharlie Gillett • The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock & Roll
When Brian Wilson first heard the Beatles’ Rubber Soul, his mind was blown. “If I ever do anything in my life, I’m going to make that good an album,” he thought at the time. He went on to explain, “I was so happy to hear it that I went and started writing ‘God Only Knows.’ ”