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Irish Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Wolf Moon by Arifa Akbar: On the night shift
Wolf Moon Author : Arifa Akbar ISBN-13 : 978-1399712859 Publisher : Sceptre Guideline Price : £16.99 Wolf Moon by Arifa Akbar is a book I wanted to like. Its central question—'What does it mean to be a woman in the night?'— serves as a loose thread binding together memoir, cultural criticism and feminist theory. Akbar's experiences of menopausal insomnia lead into analyses of Louise Bourgeois's night drawings and Sarah Kane's 4.48 Psychosis. Visits to her father's care home are interwoven with eerie Pakistani folktales he once told her. She interviews night-shift workers, dancers in Lahore and security guards. She drifts through galleries, goes clubbing and attends late-night films. There's a perceptive reading of Henri Fuseli's The Nightmare, as well as some evocative descriptions of David Lynch scenes. The cultural references are obvious and a little self-consciously tasteful, but they are handled deftly. This is, unmistakably, a serious and intelligent book. Still, the cumulative effect is deadening. READ MORE The problem isn't the material, which is often fascinating, but Akbar's compulsive need to filter it through the dull strainer of introspective autotheory. Entire pages are padded with limp self-reflection—'I think back to' 'I felt' 'I wondered'—until the prose begins to sag under the weight of its own inwardness. The analytical intensity is often laughably disproportionate to the life being examined: 'I put a notebook beside my bed. I open it up the next morning. I write a few words down, but I am left straining for more.' There's also a wearying performance of liberal empathy. When she encounters sex workers dancing in Amsterdam's red-light district, she rushes to ally herself with them, as though fending off imagined accusations. 'I feel horrified,' she declares at a Jack the Ripper tour. 'I was in awe of her fortitude,' she writes of a security guard at her theatre, then asks, 'How did Maria remain invisible to me?' I am naturally distrustful of anyone so easily scandalised. Again and again, moments that might have thrummed with tension are robbed of all charge. We don't just hear that she went to Berghain; we're told what Berghain is, then led through one of the tamest nights in club history. Not her fault, but it's hard to be invested in such a safe and orderly life. A book about night, yes, but drained of its Dionysian wildness.
Fast Company
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
8 indie publishing gems worth your time and money
The LA Art Book Fair returned this weekend with a new venue and a renewed sense of intention. Now in its eighth edition, the fair took over ArtCenter College of Design's South Campus in Pasadena, California, transforming classrooms, courtyards, and even the rooftop of a Subaru Outback into vibrant hubs of independent publishing. Produced remotely by Printed Matter's New York team, the fair was made possible through deep collaboration with LA's creative community. Still reeling from January's wildfires, the city's small press scene showed up with resilience and purpose, supported by mutual aid efforts and fee waivers for affected publishers. At a time when book bans, cultural conservatism, and generative AI are reshaping the creative landscape, LAABF 2025 was a celebration of subculture, radical publishing, and the enduring power of print. Across more than 300 exhibitors from 26 countries, LAABF offered up hand-bound zines, risograph prints, speculative fiction, surreal artist books, and design ephemera, and was a welcome counterpoint to the algorithmic flattening of culture we currently view through our screens. Here's a roundup of our favorite finds from LAABF. , published by Hat & Beard Press Spanning film, literature, and jazz, this sweeping retrospective brings together 100 of Jonathan Rosenbaum's sharpest essays from nearly six decades of cultural criticism. Published by Los Angeles-based indie press Hat & Beard, the collection reveals how these three art forms intertwine in Rosenbaum's singular worldview. Best known for his influential film writing at the Chicago Reader, Rosenbaum also weaves in deep reflections on music and literature, building a kind of critical manifesto. Expect essays on Stanley Kubrick, Chantal Akerman, Thomas Pynchon, Duke Ellington, and beyond, all filtered through Rosenbaum's iconoclastic lens. Cult Classic issue 06 explores the unseen threads that bind creative culture. Centered on ideas of mirroring, manifestation, and momentum, the issue reflects on what draws us together, and what keeps us moving forward. With three cover variations to choose from, readers will find conversations with artists, musicians, designers, and writers who are shaping the future of culture. From underground music to indie fashion, Cult Classic continues to document the pulse of creative communities with depth, and eclectic vision. THE DOME: Throat Heart Mouth Earth, by Carly Jean Andrews; published by Secret Headquarters Secret Headquarters redefines the comic book store with a sharply curated, design-forward approach to graphic storytelling. Known for its focus on comic book culture, the shop showcases an exceptional selection of graphic novels, trade paperbacks, and monthly titles. One must-see title to debut at LAABF was THE DOME: Throat Heart Mouth Earth by LA-based illustrator Carly Jean Andrews, a kaleidoscopic, spiral-bound collection of self-portraits that blends vintage maximalist aesthetics with the artist's signature explorations of the female form. Each copy comes with a silkscreened thong printed with one of Andrew's original drawings in a surprise color. Time, Myth and Matter, by LD Deutsch; published by Sacred Bones Blending science, speculation, and storytelling, Time, Myth and Matter is the debut essay collection from LD Deutsch, published by Brooklyn-based record label Sacred Bones. Across five expansive essays, including revised versions of her cult zines and one never-before-published piece, Deutsch explores how we use both technology and myth to make sense of reality. Deutsch moves between the cosmic and the personal, drawing unexpected connections between consciousness, physics, and narrative. It's a genre-defying read that sits comfortably between philosophy, pop culture, and futurism. Tired of the same old conference formats? This inventive guide, created by Rachel Berger with Meg Bisineer, Sara Dean, and Janette Kim, offers a fresh take on how artists, designers, and thinkers can gather with more purpose and creativity. Originally developed during a two-day residency at This Will Take Time and later shaped through the uncertainty of the early days of the pandemic, the book is packed with tools, prompts, and strategies to help make professional meetups more meaningful, and a lot less boring. Think poetic icebreakers, alternative structures, and replicable ideas for reimagining how we come together. Newly updated with a foreword by Draw Down Books founders, Christopher and Kathleen Sleboda, this slim, beautifully designed volume is both practical and inspirational. , by M12 studio; published by Spector Books Spanning a four-year engagement by M12 STUDIO, LANDLINES is a 400-page volume exploring Colorado's San Luis Valley, a vast alpine basin shaped by diverse landscapes and layered histories. Situated over 10,000 feet above sea level between the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan mountain ranges, The Valley has long been a crossroads of intersecting worlds: indigenous lands, Spanish and Anglo settlements, and a surprising range of religious communities, from Catholic to Amish to Hindu. Its landscapes carry traces of adobe architecture, ancient waterways, potato and cannabis farms, volcanic remnants, and folklore swirling with cryptids, UFO sightings, and folk music. LANDLINES blends research-driven storytelling with evocative imagery, offering a rare and multifaceted portrait of the rural Southwest. Organizing Power: Volume 1, by Jessalyn Aaland with Ana Fox-Hodess and Nat Naylor; published by Current Editions Organizing Power: Volume 1 is a pocket-size guide to starting a union at your workplace. Created by Jessalyn Aaland with Ana Fox-Hodess and Nat Naylor, this zine-style handbook has already helped workers organize institutions like the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Wexner Center for the Arts. Originally developed during Aaland's fellowship at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the saddle-stitched booklet adapts trusted labor organizing resources with added insights from the authors. The risograph cover design gives a nod to the Whole Earth Catalog aesthetic, grounding the project in a legacy of DIY empowerment. BUGUE – Issue No. 1, by Liana Jegers; published by Caboose Part field guide, part personal zine, Bugue is a tender love letter to the overlooked wonders of backyard nature. Created by Liana Jegers, this debut issue zooms in on the flora and fauna just outside her door, and offers meditations on the hidden world beneath our feet. Printed on soft newsprint and filled with lush photography and hand-drawn illustrations, Bugue brings a slow, observational approach to nature writing, grounded in the hyperlocal and the everyday.
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
From 'dried out prune' to ‘corrupt': How the nasty divide between Springsteen and Trump began
Bruce Springsteen and Donald Trump are both guys in their 70s with homes in New Jersey and big constituencies among white American men, middle-aged and older - but that is where the similarities end. The veteran rock star, long a political opponent of the president, recently stood up as one of Trump's most prominent cultural critics with a verbal takedown from a British stage. As is his nature, Trump is fighting back. He called Springsteen a 'dried out prune of a rocker' and then suggested both Springsteen and Beyoncé should be investigated to see if appearances they made on behalf of his Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, last fall represented an illegal campaign donation. Opening a tour in Manchester, England, Springsteen told his audience last Thursday that 'the America I love, the America I've written about that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.' He added, 'Tonight we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring." And the back and forth began Springsteen later made reference to an 'unfit president and a rogue government' who have 'no concern or idea for what it means to be deeply American.' The next morning, Trump called Springsteen highly overrated. 'Never liked him, never liked his music or his Radical Left Politics and, importantly, he's not a talented guy — just a pushy, obnoxious JERK,' he wrote on social media. 'This dried-out prune of a rocker (his skin is all atrophied) ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back in the Country,' he said. The next night, also in Manchester, Springsteen repeated his criticisms. 'It's no surprise what Springsteen's political leanings are and have been for many decades,' said veteran music writer Alan Light, author of the upcoming 'Don't Stop: Why We (Still) Love Fleetwood Mac's Rumours.' 'He's somebody who has been outspoken in his music and his actions.' The Boss' statements this week showed he wasn't afraid to speak out 'at a time when so many people and institutions are just kind of rolling over,' Light said. Springsteen isn't new to this game It's not the first time Springsteen has spoken out against Trump — or a Republican president. When former President Ronald Reagan referenced Springsteen's 'message of hope' at a campaign stop during the height of the rocker's 'Born in the USA' popularity, Springsteen wondered if he had listened to his music's references to those left behind in the 1980s economy. He also has had an occasionally bumpy relationship with onetime Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a fan of his music. Springsteen has campaigned for Trump's opponents, including Harris last fall. In 2020, he said that 'a good portion of our fine country, to my eye, has been thoroughly hypnotized, brainwashed by a con man from Queens.' He knows the outer-borough reference still stung a man who built his own tower in Manhattan and ascended to the presidency. Trump often stays at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. Springsteen grew up in New Jersey — you may have heard — and lives in Colts Neck, New Jersey, now. Trump doesn't hesitate to go after the biggest musical names that speak out against him, like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. But the political risk may be less; their younger, more female audiences are less likely to intersect with Trump's core constituency. During his career, Springsteen has challenged his audience politically beyond presidential endorsements. The 1995 album 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' bluntly documented the lives of struggling immigrants — Mexican and Vietnamese among them. And his 2001 song 'American Skin (41 Shots)," criticized the shooting by New York City police officers of an unarmed Guinean immigrant named Amadou Diallo, angering some of the blue-collar segments of his fan base. Clearly, Springsteen has conservative fans and some who wish he'd steer clear of politics, Light said. Still, '40 years later, it's hard to imagine what they think would happen' with Trump, he said. While Trump made a point to reference Springsteen's criticism in an overseas show, he and the E Street Band haven't performed in the United States since before the 2024 election. His tour last year hit heavily on themes of mortality, less of politics. He has several European tour dates scheduled this year into July and hasn't announced any new American shows.
