Dylan at 85
Today is Bob Dylan’s 85th birthday. I expect he finds that number at least as weird as the rest of us do — how did Bob Dylan manage to survive to be 85 years old? But also: how was Bob Dylan ever less than 85 years old? In 2021, I […]
For Karl Marx on His 208th Birthday
Today is May 5, Karl Marx’s 208th birthday. Last night, celebrities got together for the annual display of wealth that is the Met Gala, this year with the billionaire Bezos family as honorary chairs. Could there be a more appropriate anticipation of Marx’s birthday? Protestors should have set up cake […]
Happy (Belated) Birthday, Robert Aickman
June 27 was Robert Aickman’s birthday, but I missed it. I was busy somehow. I’m often late to people’s birthdays. I don’t think Aickman minds very much, since he’s been dead for most of my life. To be honest, I was thinking it was this month. I’ve been reading Tartarus […]
Read Carol Emshwiller!
Today is the 103rd birthday of Carol Emshwiller (1921-2019), and it provides me with the opportunity to say something I am happy to say every day: “You should read some writing by Carol Emshwiller.” I have a few more things to say, but I am perfectly happy if you skip […]
Richard Thompson at 75
Yesterday, April 3, was the singer-songwriter Richard Thompson’s 75th birthday. Thompson is renowned for two things, really: his extraordinary talent with a guitar and his ability to channel various styles and tell myriad stories in the short space of a song. I’m not going to write here about his long career […]