August 2012 Newsletter

News from New Directions

Patti Smith Reading in Brooklyn Bridge Park

Throughout the summer, Brooklyn Bridge Park has been hosting — along with Brooklyn independent bookstores — a series of outdoor readings called Books Beneath the Bridge, taking place in their redesigned amphitheater space in Dumbo/Brooklyn Heights. And on Monday, August 6, Patti Smith — author of Woolgathering — will read as the guest of Park Slope's Community Bookstore. So come out to enjoy the view, the breeze off the river (hopefully!), and Patti's one-of-a-kind reading. Details are here.

 

---

September Books

Since we don't have any new book announcements this month, we thought we'd give you a peek at what's coming in September: a new collection of poetry by Lawrence Ferlinghetti called Time of Useful Consciousness; a modernist classic from Peruvian author Martín Adán entitled The Cardboard House; a stand-alone edition of Christopher Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin (featuring an introduction by actor Alan Cumming); and a paperback edition of Roberto Bolaño's The Return.

And we'd be remiss not to point you to this interview with Ferlinghetti conducted last week.

 

 

---

The New Directions Blog

Speaking of forthcoming books, in January of next year we're relaunching our Poetry Pamphlet series — originally published by James Laughlin in the 1940s — and among the first four new pamphlets is a meditation on the films of Chris Marker by poet Susan Howe. In light of Marker's death this past Sunday, we posted a short excerpt from the book on our blog. 

Other recent posts include a short essay by Eliot Weinberger concerning "What Makes a Poet Tick" and video of László Krasznahorkai reading at Housing Works Bookstore last month, marking his final US appearance. 

We're also on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr, to suit all of your social-media needs. 

 

---

César Aira, Anne Carson, and Patti Smith in Denmark

In international event news, the Louisiana Musuem of Modern Art (located in Humlebæk, Denmark) is hosting its literature festival later this month (August 23-26), and three New Directions authors — César Aira, Anne Carson, and Patti Smith — are making the trip to take part in what is widely considered one of the world's best literary gatherings. More information, including a complete list of participants and a schedule of events, can be found here.

 

---

Special Offer: Thomas Merton Gift Books

Thomas Merton, one of the greatest spiritual writers of the 20th century, a Trappist monk passionate about the life of a Christian contemplative, also became more and more intrigued with Buddhism and Taoism as his studies progressed. These small, beautiful gift books — On Eastern Meditation and On Christian Contemplation — gather essential passages of his compelling thoughts on both  Christianity and Buddhism. Together they offer a guidebook for the soul. And so for a limited time we're offering a special price for the pair: $20.00, with free shipping, available only on our website. Click here to order.

"Thomas Merton really is someone we
can look up to." — The Dalai Lama

 

---