Hello, Rick Moody- "The Black Veil" and "Purple America" (both excellent, the former a memoir "with digressions" that, among other things, deals heavily w/ the work of Nat Hawthorne. Some of the turns that Moody takes are completely unexpected, more tangents than digressions, and by the end he's brought it all together into a stinging statement. "Purple America" has one of the best 1st chapters that I can remember reading, stuffed w/ commas and emotional navigation, it brought me to tears.) "City Lights Pocket Poets Anthology"- (lots of heavyweights included: Ginsberg, O' Hara, Lorca, Bob Kaufman, W.C. Williams etc.) Jonathan Lethem- "Motherless Brooklyn" (very good. Reminded me a bit of the George P. Pelicanos that I've read in the way Lethem examines the protagonist's relationship w/ his neighborhood and also the music he likes, in this case Prince.) William Gaddis- "Agape Agape" (a piece of aching brilliance) William H. Gass "Finding a Form" (essays, very good ones, though he can get a little bit crotchety at times. He can craft some dazzling sentences, and he will pepper his stuff w/ lists of objects/emotions/images that shows why he intro-ed the recent edition of Burton's "The Anatomy of Melancholy". I prefer his fiction, but this is still very worthwhile.) Richard Meltzer- "The Night (Alone)" (re-read this. The chapter "Let's Kill Joy" is possibly my favorite thing by the guy.) Currently reading Bruce Sterling's short story collection "Globalhead", another essay collection by Gass ("The World Within the Word", and a book of poems by Denise Levertov ("A Door in the Hive") BTW, I'm going to be in Tampa, FL from 8/2 through 8/8. Any suggestions for events/stores/museums/etc. please let me know. Thanks. I remain.... Joseph NP: Michael Yonkers Band- "Microminiature Love" CD