My love of book cover design has led me to pick up Penguin by Design: A Cover Story 1935 – 2005, an illustrated guide to the history of Penguin book covers, as found on a trendy coffee table near you. (more…)
Writings
Gheorghe Hagi – My Right-Hand Man
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013
Gheorghe Hagi meant a lot to me growing up. Most English kids would associate Hagi with Romania. This was a very good thing. It would stop the beasts from laughing about orphans or communists or wondering why I was at their school. I got ten years of semi-acceptance due to Hagi. Thank you, sir; you were my right-hand man. (more…)
A Kavanagh Gore
Monday, March 4th, 2013
We need to talk about bad books
Sunday, December 9th, 2012
We need to talk about Kevin. We do. Because Kevin kept me entertained. I held him and I read him constantly and quickly. Two days. On the sofa, off the sofa, stirring pasta, on my way to the toilet, in bed, out of bed. I did Kevin everywhere. I adored Kevin and his mother. His sister, Celia, freaked me out slightly; that whole thing with the glass eye. I don’t like eyes. So, I enjoyed Kevin immensely, and became a fan. Shortly after becoming a fan, I headed to a bookshop to look for other books by my new favourite author. I found ‘Double Fault’. (more…)
Another Christmas. This time it’s with books.
Sunday, November 25th, 2012
And it’s Christmas. So you sit around a tree, and there are not enough chairs for everyone. Someone gets uncomfortable on a floor, or an occasional stool. Everyone is seated at a different height, not quite fitting in a photo. You stretch your arms as far as they will go…SMILE…nobody smiles. Except you. Granny twiddles her thumbs and stares at her skirt, mother runs to the kitchen, because, FUCK, something is burning. Dad mumbles about gadgetry-it was different when you could shake it like a Polaroid picture. Everyone wishes for a different type of potato. Mashed or creamed or roasted or all of them. Never enough. Brothers and sisters and neighbours and friends wait. They wait for the presents. You had to buy presents, even if you didn’t want to. Everyone wants a present.
Bird
Thursday, October 18th, 2012Presenting ‘Bird’, a chapter from a forthcoming, as-yet-unnamed novel by Honest Publishing’s own Bogdan Tiganov. Bogdan’s collection of short stories and poetry, The Wooden Tongue Speaks, is out now. (more…)
The Bruce Willis Stare
Tuesday, September 25th, 2012Bruce Willis has a new film out, or several. I’ve seen the poster. The poster with Bruce Willis’ head on. He’s giving it the stare – the Bruce Willis stare. Is there anything better than the Bruce Willis stare? Bruce, I hope he won’t mind me calling him Bruce, has perfected it over the years. In Die Hard parts 1 to 25. In Pulp Fiction. Check out the stare in Lucky Number Slevin. Bruce has gotten older, and balder, but his stare has withstood the ice age (sorry, I mean the iCe age). (more…)
Letter from Steven Jesse Bernstein to Willie Smith
Wednesday, September 19th, 2012We’d like to share with you, dear readers, this fascinating letter from legendary American underground writer Steven Jesse Bernstein to our very own Willie Smith. Sent back in January 1983, Willie’s blown the dust off, and now here it is. Enjoy! (more…)
And Then It’s Gone
Tuesday, September 11th, 2012Recently my parents celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Nowadays this is quite a feat. But not for them. They were great parents growing up. Took us to country after country instead of hording money or buying stuff they didn’t need. Traveling the world at a young age was the greatest education they could have given us. We saw that not every place was like at home. We saw poverty with our own two eyes. We saw the great cities of Paris and Rome and Berlin and Barcelona. We ate the food of our ancestral forefathers, swam in their lakes and rivers, and we learned that no place is greater than another. (more…)
The Porno Star By Willie Smith
Thursday, September 6th, 2012For Annette Haven
In sheer blouse,
high heels, nylons and
skimpy skirt disclosing
the moving wonder of her thighs,
she shakes henna hair
over a shoulder
and gets into the black chrome Lincoln
that drives off (more…)
