April 6, 2016: Happy birthday to Anita Pallenberg [note: I’m 83.57 percent certain that today is her birthday—it’s just that one annoyingly authoritative source is insisting that it’s January 25]. I’ve spent a lot of time over the years thinking about the uncategorizable Anita, and today V magazine is nice enough to run my Anita essay online. Next up: I’ll attempt to write something about someone who isn’t blond.
March 6, 2016: I was hesitant about mentioning “Farewell to My Face,” my Salon essay/tantrum about crossing over into middle age, because I was freaked out by all the testy comments (sheesh: didn’t I admit in the essay that I was being shallow?). But it has also generated a bit of attention and led to a spirits-buoying fan letter (you rule, Kel!), an email reunion with an old friend, a free offer to try a skin care product, and, um, the suggestion that I get a better website photo, so here’s the piece. Plus, when will I have another chance to use this Will Ferrell shot?
January 8, 2016: Them’s fightin’ words, I thought when I, ‘Wire’ superfan, read David Remnick’s 2013 declaration, “’The Sopranos’ remains the best television series since the beginning of the medium.” Salon was nice enough to run my tantrum on the topic.
December 18, 2015: Don’t you dare underestimate Doris Day. Bright Lights Film Journal just posted my essay in praise of her acting. (Happy Keith Richards’s birthday to me.)
January 20, 2015: So…I’ve just published an essay about the great Linda McCartney and the fact that she was Jewish (who knew?) in the winter 2014-2015 issue of Lilith magazine. Writing about first Yoko and then Linda has made me realize that all the Beatles scholars I have ever read or listened to are men. Maybe I should have a temper tantrum about this.
July 4, 2014: Slate posted “The Book That Inspired ‘Imagine,'” my piece about Grapefruit‘s semicentennial (ooh—fancy word), on its Beatles blog.
Last month Asylum Entertainment flew me out to L.A., where I was interviewed on the subject of Yoko (and John) for a forthcoming episode of Hollywood Scandals (cable show) devoted to John. The show has a creepy name, but the content should be righteous. Oh, and the Asylum people were spectacular. (Pretty much all East Coast transplants, it seemed to me.) Anyway, I’ve just learned that the episode is supposed to air on the Reelz channel on Thursday, August 21.
Here’s what Abrams says about the book on its website:
“This lyrical biography explores the life and art of Yoko Ono, from her childhood haiku to her avant-garde visual art and experimental music. An outcast throughout most of her life, and misunderstood by every group she was supposed to belong to, Yoko always followed her own unique vision to create art that was ahead of its time and would later be celebrated. Her focus remained on being an artist, even when the rest of world saw her only as the wife of John Lennon.
“Yoko Ono’s moving story will inspire any young adult who has ever felt like an outsider, or who is developing or questioning ideas about being an artist, to follow their dreams and find beauty in all that surrounds them.”
You can read more by clicking on “Yoko Ono: Collector of Skies (book)” above. Oh, and you can buy the book here, if you’d like.
Clean text space, delicate but legible font, and scads of photographic portraiture and art piece reproductions of excellent clarity contribute to an overall book design worthy of its subject.
— Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, starred review
A detailed portrait of a complex woman who for several reasons has a significant place in our cultural history. Even rabid fans of Lennon or the 1960s will find new information and angles in this searching study.
— Kirkus Reviews
This beautifully produced, comprehensive, and highly sympathetic biography of the artist covers her entire life, reporting her influences and her accomplishments, and bringing her out from behind the shadow of her famous husband.
— School Library Journal
This is handsomely designed and generously illustrated; it is also well researched and filled with intriguing details. There’s not a lot for young people about Ono. They will find this a good starting place.
— Booklist