This is a stunning novel, both timely and chilling.

Wildfire Moon

Shadetop Day

Spotted today at the protest in Melrose, Massachusetts.

United States senator Alex Padilla. The Brown Shirts come to mind.

Misty Night in Greater Boston

My good buddy Edmund and I are working up a program for Malden Porchfest on May 31. I’ll be singing some songs by Hank and Jimmie, there’ll be some Edmund Jorgensen originals and a fiddle tune or two. Last time we played out was five years ago right before the PanD. Y’all come.

Metaphor

I knew Megan Marshall was a great biographer. It turns out she’s a fabulous essayist too. There’s not an inelegant sentence in this entire collection, and the essays are deeply moving. I won’t be if she wins her second Pulitzer. It would please me if she does.

David Borofka is one of the best short story writers on the planet, and his new book is unimaginably special. Highly recommended.

I wouldn’t call this a great biography, but it’s a good one.

There is nothing quite like a “new” old Martin guitar.

41 years as a college professor ended tonight. The students were gold. I needed this year’s grad class to be good. Instead it was great. What a privilege I’ve been granted.

Fabulous new book of poems from Peter Mladinic, surprisingly dedicated to yours truly.

Saw Sturgill Simpson and his band last night. 3 hours and 20 minutes of high octane music.

If someone had told me Harkaway (or any other writer) could pull this off, I would have voiced severe doubts. But he succeeded in bringing Smiley and his creator brilliantly back to life, and I loved every word.

I grew up in a house without a lot of books. This is the first hardcover novel I ever bought, back in 1974. Over the next few years I probably read it ten times. It had a lot to do with my becoming a writer. I’ve loved Richard Price’s work for half a century and am looking forward to his latest.