The CBe edition of Christopher Reid’s The Song of Lunch is now officially an ex. Out of print. But we did have a lot of fun while it lasted. This was the agreed plan when Faber took it over; but as they never troubled to tell me the publication date of their edition I’ve been sauntering on, until yesterday, when I got a stern message to stop selling the CBe edition.
Also yesterday, the post included two copies of Vanitas, a US ‘journal of poetry, writings by artists, criticism, and essays’. I met the editor, Vincent Katz, two years ago. The new issue starts with a two-page email I sent him in November 2008. It now feels dated to me, and boring, except for maybe two sentences. ‘Seems to me that public funding can distort the literary scene just as much as the commercial pressures we all criticise the big publishers for bowing to.’ And: ‘I’m still amazed by what can be done with tiny amounts of money and one small contact leading to another.’
If you have a tiny amount of money going spare, consider (after buying a CBe book) this: And Other Stories. A coming together of various people, with various languages, deciding what it would be good to publish, and doing so.
A random Twitter encountered on the net, by someone unknown to me: ‘I’m currently reading a beautifully written, intelligent, crafty and deliciously readable book, called Only Joking, by Gabriel Josipovici.’ The 140-character limit didn’t stretch to a link, so here it is: Only Joking.
2 comments:
Did you see page 1 of the September 'Literary Review'? It begins with D J Taylor apologising at length for his intemperate and incorrect negative response to the Gabriel Josipovici 'interview'. I can scan and email it to you if you'd like to see it.
Yes, I saw it. Apologies are rare birds; it was good to spot one.
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