Realms like Westeros, in George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire," or Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast are imaginary landscapes -- places that exist only in the reader's mind. Until about 80 or 90 years ago, you could have added my Southern California to the list of imaginary topographies. More than 22 million people consider my … Continue reading Ancient H2O: new in bookstores
Category: Books
Books, new and old, in fiction and nonfiction.
Relic, relique, reliquus: Part 2
Besides having a great name, Ransom Riggs is a good fellow (we once sat on a panel together at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books) who's in the habit of making relics. Sort of. As I was thinking about Umberto Eco and my personal artifacts in a previous post, Riggs came to mind. The … Continue reading Relic, relique, reliquus: Part 2
Val – thank you, rest in peace
Muse, benefactor, saint -- the poetry world lost Valerie Eliot this week, and it is a big loss. A lovely piece by David Morley in the Guardian lays it all out: how "Val" proved to be the ideal spouse for T.S. Eliot, how she was enthusiastically engaged with the poetry world and an important supporter … Continue reading Val – thank you, rest in peace
Nick Owchar 
You must be logged in to post a comment.