Saturday, December 31, 2022

Recently Read: James Agee: A Life, by Laurence Bergreen

 


Laurence Bergreen's book, the fullest and most ambitious biography of James Agee's life, gives a balanced, well-researched and unsparing look at the short life of the novelist, poet, journalist, critic and screenwriter.

It's largely a tale of wasted, sporadic talent, practiced by a man nearly hell-bent on self-destruction (and the destruction of those around him) through his addiction to alcohol, undisciplined work methods and perpetual affairs with women who weren't his wife (or wives). His talent, even so, was so pronounced that, even with a premature death, he made a name for himself as one of the best and first important film critics (writing for two magazines simultaneously); the author of a masterpiece of poetic, investigative journalism (Let Us Now Praise Famous Men), the author of a classic, near perfect novel (A Death in the Family) and the author (or partial author) of two major screenplays (The African Queen and The Night of the Hunter), the latter of which has, over time, become accepted as a masterpiece of gothic Americana.

Bergreen's book is now thirty-seven years old. I have disappointments with its lack of completeness and context in places. (What were the sharecroppers' reactions to the book Agee wrote about them? What became of Agee's several children? Who became the executor of his estate after his death? What became of Louise Saunders, who Agee wrote to for decades? Did his wives write memoirs of their own?, etc.) A better Agee biography, though, isn't likely to happen in 2023 or in the future. For better or worse, this effort, alongside Agee's published work will continue to be the record historians refer to.

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Wednesday, December 28, 2022

New Pop Culture Paper Ephemera for Perusal on NenoWorld






 Pop Culture Paper Ephemera (nenoworld.com)

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Saturday, December 24, 2022

Tempt-Dress

 


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Friday, December 23, 2022

Michael R. Neno Catalog 2022 Available Now!


My new 16-page, minicomic sized catalog is in stock and available for purchase. It's a keepsake of wondrous items available for order through the US Postal Service. Click here:
Michael Neno Catalog 2022 (nenoworld.com)

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Queen of the Rink

 


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Thursday, December 22, 2022

The Incident, Reviewed on Film Review Central

 


I review Isaac Ezban's 2014 sci-fi thriller on Film Review Central: The Incident – Film Review Central

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Saturday, December 17, 2022

Bamboola!

 


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Monday, December 12, 2022

Comics I've Recently Read, December 12, 2022

 
















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Saturday, December 10, 2022

Let's Go Krogarring!


 

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Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Fabric by Verney

 


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Monday, December 5, 2022

Magazines I've Recently Read, December 5, 2022

 









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Saturday, December 3, 2022

Comics I've Recently Read, December 3, 2022

 
















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