Short Takes
February 10, 2010
Bob Dylan at the White House
For whatever reason, the image is static. The music certainly is not.
January 24, 2010
Animal Farm: The Harvard literary magazine goes to the barnyard
The Harvard Advocate is America’s oldest college literary magazine and, most of the time, its best. (One exception: when I was its managing editor. The editor, a poet, was too lofty to produce an issue and had zero intention of letting me produce one so, with some colleagues, I formally impeached him. “That sort of thing” just “isn’t done” at Harvard; he survived.) But the Winter 2010 issue is a great one; The New Yorker calls it “a beautiful little compendium of writing and artwork on animals and the animalistic.” Among the star contributors: Mark Strand, Jay McInerney, Amy Hempel, Louise Bourgeois. For sheer snob status on your coffee table, it’s worth $12. Order by mail.
January 24, 2010
Kate McGarrigle: ‘Her soul told her hands what to do”
Extraordinarily eloquent descriptions of a life — and a death — by her children, Martha and Rufus, and her sister Anna. From an English newspaper, of course.January 24, 2010
Book Awards: How odd, we occasionally agree
The finalists for the National Book Critics Circle awards have been announced, and three books I liked made the cut:
FICTION: Blame, by Michelle HunevenNON-FICTION: Strength in What Remains, by Tracy KidderMEMOIR: Lit, by Mary KarrNow will you try them?January 21, 2010
You may never drink Chardonnay again
Not much white wine is consumed in this household, largely because friends keep giving us Chardonnay. I know I’m a jerk about this, but really — is Chardonnay a wine or a marketing strategy? Chardonnay is especially despised around here because I had a great cheap white once in Paris, a Bordeaux called Chateau Magence. It was thin as a Riesling, just more structured, and it packed a deceptively gentle punch. Sadly, I could never find this lovely white Graves again.Now Chateau Magence is being distributed in the United States, and it’s even better than I remembered. In New York, K&D Wines (1366 Madison Avenue, phone: 212 289 1818) sells the 2008 Magence for $9.49 a bottle — an insane price for a wine of this quality. (Buy a case, save 10%). If you live elsewhere, ask the best wine store in town to order it. I’ll completely understand if you lie about the price, but won’t you at least tell friends you learned about Magence from HeadButler.com?
