behind the punctured canvas

Born in San Francisco, the precocious only child of Sicilian immigrants, [Philip] Lamantia discovered the expressive mode that would drive his imagination when, in 1942, exhibitions of the work of both Dalí and Miró arrived in the city. Entranced by images that appeared to emerge from an unknown reality, the fifteen-year-old immersed himself in Surrealist texts and resolved to attempt with words what he had seen done with paint. […]

     In 1953 Philip Lamantia read at what is probably America's most famous poetry reading. It was Allen Ginsberg's inaugural presentation of 'Howl,' which made the event at San Francisco's Six Gallery historic. Lamantia avoided the spotlight that night, but his Collected Poems reveal a turbulent and risky writer—one who was perhaps even braver than his Beat cohorts."
— Albert Mobilio, BookForum
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Vive la réticence

"eBooks might be seeing immense popularity in US and UK but they’re not having the same luck in France. There’s a new report out this week that shows that ebooks are still a negligible part of the french book market.
     According to the latest report from the Syndical national de l’édition (SNE), ebook market share rose from 1% in 2011 to 3% this year. That is a rather small percentage when compared to the US (21.67% for 2012), or even the UK (10% ish for 2012), but still higher than the most recent estimates for Germany (2.4% for 2012)."
— Nate Hoffelder, The Digital Reader
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About the picture...

"Élégantes et originales, les chaises signées Jean-Charles de Castelbajac à l’effigie d’Edgar Poe, d’Oscar Wilde, d’Arthur Rimbaud et de Charles Baudelaire apporteront la poésie qu’il manque à votre intérieur."
— Sève et Déco
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