NEW BOOK BY SPLAKE

CONNECTIONS: ANN ARBOR/ KEWEENAW

Someday somebody's gonna have to do a proper study of splake's work. Just to see how it all fits together and where it stands in relation to all the other stuff people have been doing on the quiet for the last twenty years without anybody overground in the mainstream of literature having a clue what's going on.

I think a study of splake's work would be interesting, just like a study of Mark Weber's work would be interesting. Or Todd Moore. He's a fucking treasure of contemporary literary life, in my prejudiced book, and "CONNECTIONS" provides further evidence that he needs to be given due appreciation.

It's another epistolary work. It's about a poet called t.kilgore splake. But it's deep and it's sweet and his language is effortlessly brilliant: when he blows he blows like a master jazz musician who doesn't seem to be doing anything and yet his sound could belong to no one else. splake's so much in command of his talents these days he doesn't even have to fake cynicism to make himself look good. He can be romantic and sentimental and forgive life for the blows it has laid on him and STILL seem ahead of the crowd.

I don't know if "CONNECTIONS" is out yet, but do yourselves a favour, go over to the Vertin site and see if you can get hold of a copy. It'd be especially nice to have one in those quiet moments over Christmas, when even the hardest heart has a touch of romance about it.