Synopses & Reviews
Whatever the topic and mood, these essays are a pleasure . . . deserves the broadest possible readership.”Kirkus Reviews In his books (Low Life, The Factory of Facts) and in a string of wide-ranging and inventive essays, Luc Sante has shown himself to be not only one of our pre-eminent stylists, but also a critic of uncommon power and range. Kill All Your Darlings is the first collection of his articlesmany of which first appeared in the New York Review of Books and the Village Voiceand offers ample justification for this high praise. Alongside meditations on cigarettes, factory work, and hipness, and the critical tour de force, The Invention of the Blues,” Sante offers his incomparable take on icons from Arthur Rimbaud to Bob Dylan, René Magritte to Tintin, Buddy Bolden to Walker Evans, Allen Ginsberg to Robert Mapplethorpe, demonstrating the gifts that have made him one of the handful of living masters of the American language, as well as a singular historian and philosopher of American experience” (Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker).
Review
"Burning passion and a prose style to die for." William Gibson
Review
"Sante has a talent for the striking, impressionistic insight and the ability to write transcendental prose." The New York Times Book Review
Review
"One of the handful of living masters of the American language, as well as a singular historian and philosopher of American experience." The New Yorker
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"At once tough in his thinking, empathic in his analysis, and liberated in expression, Sante selects barbed details, tunes in to danger and suspense, and dispenses wry humor and sure insight." Booklist
Review
"Whatever the topic and mood, these essays are a pleasure...deserves the broadest possible readership." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
In this collection of stylish and cogent essays, cultural historian Luc Sante offers his incomparable take on icons from Arthur Rimbaud to Allen Ginsberg, Rudolph Giuliani to Robert Mapplethorpe, New York to New Jersey, Buddy Bolden to Bob Dylan, Magritte to Tintin, along with meditations on cigarettes, the invention of the blues, hipness, New Year's Eve, and more.
Synopsis
Lucy Sante is "one of the handful of living masters of the American language, as well as a singular historian and philosopher of American experience," writes the New Yorker 's Peter Schjeldahl. Kill All Your Darlings is the first collection of Sante's articles, many of which first appeared in the New York Review of Books and the Village Voice, and it offers ample justification for this high praise.
Sante is best known for her ground-breaking work in urban history-her book Low Life brilliantly refocused and expanded our understanding of New York in the late 19th/early 20th century-as well as for a particularly penetrating form of autobiography (The Factory of Facts). These themes are also reflected in several essays included here, but it is the author's intense and scrupulous writing about music, painting, photography, and poetry that takes center stage. Alongside meditations on cigarettes, factory work, and hipness, and her critical tour de force, "The Invention of the Blues," Sante offers her incomparable take on icons from Arthur Rimbaud to Bob Dylan, Ren Magritte to Tintin, Buddy Bolden to Walker Evans, Allen Ginsberg to Robert Mapplethorpe.
Synopsis
In his books and in a string of wide-ranging and inventive essays, Luc Sante has shown himself to be not only one of our pre-eminent stylists, but also a critic of uncommon power and range. He is "one of the handful of living masters of the American language, as well as a singular historian and philosopher of American experience," says the New Yorker's Peter Schjeldahl. Kill All Your Darlings is the first collection of Sante's articles--many of which first appeared in the New York Review of Books and the Village Voice--and offers ample justification for such high praise. Sante is best known for his groundbreaking work in urban history (Low Life), and for a particularly penetrating form of autobiography (The Factory of Facts). These subjects are also reflected in several essays here, but it is the author's intense and scrupulous writing about music, painting, photography, and poetry that takes center stage. Alongside meditations on cigarettes, factory work, and hipness, and his critical tour de force, "The Invention of the Blues," Sante offers his incomparable take on icons from Arthur Rimbaud to Bob Dylan, Ren Magritte to Tintin, Buddy Bolden to Walker Evans, Allen Ginsberg to Robert Mapplethorpe.
Synopsis
In his books and in a string of wide-ranging and inventive essays, Luc Sante has shown himself to be not only one of our pre-eminent stylists, but also a critic of uncommon power and range.
Kill All Your Darlings is the first collection of Sante's articles many of which first appeared in the New York Review of Books and the Village Voice and offers ample justification for this high praise. Sante is best known for his ground-breaking work in urban history (Low Life), and for a particularly penetrating form of autobiography (The Factory of Facts). These subjects are also reflected in several essays here, but it is the author's intense and scrupulous writing about music, painting, photography, and poetry that takes center stage.
Alongside meditations on cigarettes, factory work, and hipness, and the critical tour de force, "The Invention of the Blues," Sante offers his incomparable take on icons from Arthur Rimbaud to Bob Dylan, René Magritte to Tintin, Buddy Bolden to Walker Evans, Allen Ginsberg to Robert Mapplethorpe.
About the Author
Luc Sante's books include Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York, Evidence, and The Factory of Facts. He is a frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books and has written about books, movies, art, photography, and music for many other periodicals. Sante has received a Whiting Writer's Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a Grammy (for album notes).