My band KIND BEAST released a 12″ EP. Full-length album soon.

ORDER HERE: https://downpeninsulaaudio.com/

New essay “The Sixteenth Tape” published in Creative Nonfiction Magazine’s TRUE STORY series. Careful, it’s a wild one.

https://www.creativenonfiction.org/products/true-story-issue-23

TUESDAY 3.15
LES, NY. 6pm
https://nightout.com/events/a/soho-press-night-at-cake-shop-with-matt-bell-paula-bomer-sean-madigan-hoen-dan-josefson#.VucsiSl4hgI

As part of the Michigan Notable Books Program, I’m doing several library events in April and May, 2015. Given that the libraries have scheduled me for two-hour engagements, I’m planning on performing some acoustic music, as well, for the sake of variety. Please come by and say “hello” if you’re in the area. More to follow.

SAT APRIL 25 [2-4pm]
Carson City Public Library [2pm]

SUN APRIL 26 [2-4pm]
East Lansing Public Library (East Lansing) [3 pm]

SMH

Thanks for all the support in 2014, one strange, wonderful, challenging year. It was hard to know what to do with a book like SOYK, once I’d finished writing it. The nights of work were easy compared to sharing the book with anyone interested in reading it. I’m still sorting the ashes into respective piles here, making sense of what’s happened, but what’s certain is that many friends, old and new, came through for me last year, and I am endlessly grateful. It feels good to be deep into a novel and letting go.

Rolling Stone gave the book Top Ten status in its year-end list.

SOYK was named a Michigan Notable Book, and I’ll be doing some events for that in ’15.

Vol. 1 Brooklyn and Large Hearted Boy also listed SOYK as a “best book” of 2015, as did some other publications. Thanks to these kind people.

And thanks for dropping in. If you’re into online living, please stop back by—I’ve vowed to be more active on the Transmission page, a dump for home projects and random missives.

Take care, and be well.
SMH

WOULD BE NICE TO SEE YOU.

Honored to be featured in the latest issue of Rain Taxi, one of the true literary reviews; doubly honored to that Jaimy Gordon was my interviewer. I had the good fortune of meeting Jaimy about twelve years ago during hazy phase when she, nevertheless, gave me some much-needed encouragement. Half a decade later, the publishing industry nearly overlooked her aesthetic marvel Lord of Misrule, but the National Book Award committee was smart enough to alert the world to her continuing brilliance. I’m grateful to call her a friend and mentor.

You can patronize the good business of Rain Taxi http://www.raintaxi.com/rain-taxi-review/print-edition/

Some fall book events forthcoming… thanks so much for stopping by.

SMH

…And Back Again You Go

Writer/Teacher Stephen O’Connor—certainly one of my most influential mentors—kindly took the time to interview me for The Brooklyn Rail, a publication I very much enjoy. Stephen is one of those rare people with whom you feel obliged to speak candidly when discussing writing, art, etc. He cares about these things and was one of the very first writers who encouraged me to keep after the story that would become Songs Only You Know. I owe him much, and this interview is but another example of his generosity towards me. It’s published online at: The Brooklyn Rail.

SMH

Hello, it’s after midnight—

A touch of that dirty Brooklyn summer tonight, concrete heat so dense it almost feels like fog. People have been sweating away the nights in this particular room for a hundred and twenty seven years, and it’s not impossible to enjoy the experience. Keeps the windows open so that you hear it all happening out there, the cars scraping by and the stereos banging and the deli gates rattling closed and once, about an hour ago, a lone girl singing. I couldn’t hear the words, but I enjoyed the melody…

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks to the kind folks below who talked to me about Songs Only You Know.

My honor.

SMH

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Author/Musician Rob Roberge interviewed me for the The Rumpus; great conversing with Rob.

Tobias Carroll interviewed me for Vol. 1 Brooklyn over my ninth mug of coffee one late spring evening in Greenpoint; turns out that before Tobias was a force in the coverage of new literature he’d grubbed around New Jersey’s musical underground. He was good enough to post cover art of the first record I ever played on—a 7″ recorded, weirdly enough, the afternoon of my 1996 high school graduation. The band had a ways to go toward subtly, and no foresight about the internet.

David Gutowski invited me to contribute a Book Notes playlist to Largehearted Boy and I rambled as people who love music often do.