Goodbye summer
Another season in the books
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…
Now, I haven’t read Dickens’ classic Tale of Two Cities since middle school, but that opening line about sums up the summer over here, friends.
On the one hand, the weather was pretty darn decent (for the most part). I got to spend some quality time with friends and family, heard some great live music, stared out at the waters of more than one beautiful lake, biked into the office when possible, did some writing and reading, and remain in good health (as far as I know). Can’t complain about that, now can ya? Or, at least, one shouldn’t.
But on the other hand, this has been a challenging summer, friends. A very sad one, too.
On July 1, a car crash on Highway 10 north of Swan River took the lives of Brendan Berg and Olivia Michalczuk. Brendan was a good pal, bandmate, and LumberBrother of mine, and a friend of my wife’s since they were in elementary school. I would have met Brendan shortly after moving to Winnipeg, maybe in 2006, more likely in 2007 or so. I had some classes at the U of M with his brother Stephen, in the environment faculty. A handful of years later, we started playing hockey together on the Lumbercats, and we’ve played likely hundreds of games together since, some wins, some losses, but always a good time with #2 in the lineup. More recently, we roped him into play bass for Cheering for the Bad Guy at a point where we could have maybe just let the band wither away. But Brendan brought new life to the project, and we were stoked to keep playing shows in the fall after cancelling a gig we had lined up in the spring owing to an injury our drummer had sustained. He was out of our league, for sure, but we had a blast jamming with the big man every time. Of course, this doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of the guy that Brendan was, but let me just say the guy was one of the best, pure and simple.
His partner Olivia was a wonderful person in her own right, though I didn’t know her as well. She was a passionate member of the local music scene, and a fellow Manitoban and Stylus alum. The last time we hung out, we’d made plans to get an annual variety show going at Riverview Community Centre to showcase all the talent in the neighbourhood, from all ages, and maybe raise a couple bucks for the club in the process. We had a lot of laughs scheming how to pull it off that evening.
Their death is a tremendous, tragic loss to all who knew them, and to the community in general.
Fuck sakes, eh?
Well, that’s the way the goddamn cookie crumbles sometimes. But it doesn’t make it any easier, does it?
With some time off at the lake, I was able to read a few books this summer. Hope you did too. Take a gander, maybe you’ll find something to add to your TBR pile…
The Sun Still Shines on a Dog’s Ass by Alan Good — OK, first off, Alan is the publisher at Malarkey Books, full disclosure. Still, I’m embarrassed it took me so long to get around to reading Alan’s collection. I’ve read some of his stuff online and always dug it. But this collection is right in my wheelhouse. Great voice, great loser characters, great writing, and the worldview behind it is right up my alley. This collection, and Alan as a writer, deserve more attention.
“There’s two things every red-blooded American should hate: cops and bankers.
Speedboat by Renata Adler — Pithy, punchy, plotless. After coming across references to Speedboat a few times over the past year, I felt compelled to give it a try, and I’m glad I did. As a reader, anytime I come across something different, particularly when it lands, I’m intrigued. Adler did not disappoint. Very enjoyable.
Faith by Itoro Bassey — Took me too long to get to this novel by a fellow Malarkey writer. After hearing Itoro read from it in LA, I knew I had to get my act together. A story of identity, immigration, and intergenerational trauma, Faith draws readers in, with twists and turns enough to tie readers up in delightful knots along the way. Check it out!
You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue (translated by Natasha Wimmer) — A fantastical, tripped out retelling of the meeting of conquistador Hernán Cortés and emperor Moctezuma. I picked this up after reading about it in Jim Ruland’s newsletter, and am glad I made the impulse request from the library. The language was evocative and bold, the imagery fantastic, colourful. I don’t know squat about latin American history, but really, there are whole worlds to learn about. Time is an ocean. A flat circle. Highly recommend.
How Music Works by David Byrne — Enjoyed this deep dive into Byrne’s mind. Very thoughtful and thought provoking.
Tiny Love by Larry Brown — Reread these stories along with a buddy. Had been about 5 years or so since I first read it. Enjoyable revisiting and discussing with someone along the way.
Awful People by Scott Mitchel May — Covert psyops, loser kitchen worker-party culture, telekinesis and Wisconsin. Mix it all up like a recipe and rail it back, bud.
Sixty Stories by Donald Barthelme — Been chugging away at this sucker for a couple years now, slowly but surely. Half the time, I’m thinking dang, I’m into what he’s selling. The other half I’m thinking, what the shit? I must be dumb as a brick to not get what he’s selling here. Enjoyed it nonetheless, will likely revisit — along with 40 Stories — somewhere down the line, if the good lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise.
Girl on Girl by Emily Costa — Saw Emily read the title story at the Rejection Letters/House of Vlad reading in Silver Lake back in March, and couldn’t get the story out of my head. The others are top notch, as well. Anyone who grew up in the 90s will be able to relate to these characters and situations they find themselves in. A pleasure to read from start to finish.
Butcher’s Crossing by John Williams — Dang, boy. This had been hyped up pretty good, and it did not disappoint. Wonderfully evocative language, hard knock western action. There are some images and passages that will be sitting with me for some time.
“Young people,” McDonald said contemptuously. “You always think there’s something to find out.”
“Yes, sir,” Andrews said.
“Well, there’s nothing,” McDonald said. “You get born, and you nurse in lies, and you get weaned on lies, and you learn fancier lies in school. You live all your life on lies, and then maybe when you’re ready to die, it comes to you—that there’s nothing, nothing but yourself and what you could have done.”
Hope and Wild Panic by Sean Ennis — A novel in flash form. Really vibed with the narrator throughout, a nice little read. Don’t let the “experimental” nature of the structure turn you off, Hope & Wild Panic is a treat to read.
Gone to the Wolves by John Wray — This novel hit all the right spots for me. Dark coming of age story? Underground heavy metal? Hell yeah. A little cheesy, at times? Sure. But so is heavy metal, motherfucker. Could have cut the epilogue and I think it would have ended stronger, for me, but what the hell. Wray knocks it outta the park when writing about the ins and outs of the underground scenes, as well as the music itself, while the rest of it was fine. I’m gonna have to dig back into his previous novels now.
Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist by Liz Pelly — Delete your Spotify account if you still have one. Not that Apple Music is much better, I suppose, but this detailed accounting of how Spotify has fucked with the music industry will push you over the edge if you’ve been at all on the fence. It’s not all doom and gloom (though it mostly is), as Pelly shares some examples of groups (public libraries, in particular) who are working at alternatives to the status quo streamers…
On a collective level, we have to be active participants in the cultural economies we want to see flourish; we have to validate the culture we want to see in the world. The corporate culture industry entrenches its power not just through controlling the marketplace but also by controlling the popular imagination, by convincing us that there are no alternatives. The alternatives are growing all around us, though.
Sky Daddy by Kate Folk — When I heard Kate Folk talk about her writing, both her short-fiction, and then-yet-to-be-release novel Sky Daddy, at an AWP panel earlier this year, I was very intrigued. Both Out There and Sky Daddy were highly enjoyable, with the latter being a far hornier read. It might just be me, but I feel like this novel pairs well with season 2 of The Rehearsal (highly complimentary).
As far as my own writing goes, I’ve had a couple pieces accepted, which should publish later this fall. I’m keen to dig into a second draft of a novel in progress, and keep plugging away at other ideas if / when time permits.
But hey, in the meantime, come check out the next instalment of our Wednesday of wild & wonderful words at Sookram’s Brewing next Wednesday, Sept. 17. We’ll also be doing readings in October and November, and have a few real special things cooking for January…
There’s been some good music out this summer, too. Hope you’ve been digging something new. Check out the new Friendship and Wednesday records! There’s some great new stuff coming out this fall, too, with new records from Jonny Fritz, Living Hour, and more. Heck yeah!
In the meantime, friends, take care of each other out there. Hope to see you soon.