The World of Yesterday (Armistice Day, 2018) An Essay by James J Patterson From the forthcoming collection Junk Shop Window My father always said that his first memory was of standing on the couch in his parent’s living room, small hands on the back cushion, peering out a picture widow at a neighborhood street in Bend, Oregon. There is a slow-moving line of cars and horse-drawn carriages inching its way down the lane. The line of cars is there every day, and every day he stands there and watches. His street is a long one and at the end of it is the cemetery. He is not allowed … [Read more...]
Henry Miller and NEXUS, the American Author Reconsidered By James J. Patterson Henry Miller is the missing link to a holistic understanding of the American literary tradition, argues Dr. James M. Decker, author of Henry Miller: New Perspectives and mastermind behind Nexus: The International Henry Miller Journal. “Once you have given up the ghost, everything falls into place with dead certainty, even in the midst of chaos,” opens Henry Miller’s third book, The Tropic of Capricorn (1939). Anyone who has ever really hit bottom, and survived, knows the truth and wisdom packed into that … [Read more...]
We believe that there is no reason a small press can't publish books that compete on the shelf with the best that the big houses have to offer. Welcome to Good Books, Well Made James J. Patterson, Co-Founder, ASP. I suppose the last straw for me was when Eric Foner’s masterpiece, Tom Paine, and Revolutionary America, fell apart in my hands mid-way through reading it. I say last straw because — and every voracious reader has suffered this — books have been falling apart on me for decades. I’ll confess, I’m a bit rough on my books. I break the spines, I scribble in the margins, I … [Read more...]
Gabbing With O'Reilly From Bermuda Shorts by James J. Patterson Gabbing With O'Reilly, at the opening of another NFL training camp, a 42 year season ticket holder looks back one last time at the Redskins and RFK Stadium. When O'Reilly was at last awarded his seat at RFK stadium, I had already been sitting in the one next to it for eleven years. He arrived at his first game carrying a seat cushion and blanket, though it was a warm September afternoon. He was in his fifties, if my memory serves, but ruddy-faced and as excited as a little kid. How long he had been on the waiting list for his … [Read more...]